Kawin’s Kitchen — Restaurant in Surat Thani Province

We came here based on a local friend's recommendation. We had a delicious meal here - everything in perfect balance. Maybe the best meal of the trip.

The tom yum goong was spiced and balanced to perfection, a bit of a thicker style with plenty of ground spices evident in the soup.

Second dish was a mango chicken salad, wow! Extraordinary. It was similar to Tom Kha base sauce, but two levels above. It had finely julienned green mango, and finely julienned kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, shallots, sliced chilli, then thinly sliced poached chicken (in the Tom Kha style base sauce).

It was rich, creamy, sweet, sharp, and with smallest amount of heat from the chilli on top, Easiest 10/10 score ever.

The last dish was a deep fried sea bass with crispy fried Thai greens such as lemongrass, Thai basil, and morning glory. The cook on the fish was perfect - crispy outer with soft juicy interior. It had been filleted then deep fried so it was very easy to eat. We actually used the left over sauce from the mango salad with the fish, it worked with it so very well.

The staff were friendly and helpful and some had quite good English. As we usually do, we talked to chef (Aof on this occasion ) afterwards about the meal. It was a wet afternoon so she had time. Delightful. They have a real dedication to perfecting their craft and dining experience.

We only have two days left but we will be back for sure.

And come back we did. We ordered three dishes.

Tropical fruit salad, made with tropical fruits but with a balsamic vinegar dressing instead of the normal som tum style, with perfectly BBQd prawns, which had almost a roast chicken flavour to them. Superb dish. Personally, I would add some little mature cheese cubes like cracker barrel, but that's just me.

Massaman beef was stunning - sweet, very rich, quite thick, so many layers of flavour. The beef fell apart under the spoon, just as it should.

The pad thai goong was a real surprise. I'm not usually a pad Thai fan, but I've had my fair share including quite a few at Thipsamai in Bangkok (how many Michelin stars now?). This was better. Sweet, sour, a tiny bit of heat. Lovely texture, not gluggy like so many pad thais often are.

Make sure you add the peanut and the lime over the top, it really makes it. And the prawns tasted quite amazing, almost like charcoal chicken from 30 years ago in Australia.

Every dish was spot on. No hesitation in recommending this restaurant to anyone who loves great Thai food.

And we came back exactly a year later, and the food is consistently amazing. We had most of the same dishes again so I won't review them again. I do have to mention the Tom yum goong again though because it is stunning. So rich, with a light yet sweet acidic lift at the end of every mouthful. Delightful.

Just remember that Kawin...

As a fellow business owner, I fully understand that not every dish or service can be perfect every time. But there’s one thing that should always be consistent: respect and responsibility toward your customers.

I visited this restaurant with high hopes after a friend recommended it. While the setting was nice, I was disappointed by both the food and the way the staff handled an important issue.

I ordered the Thai Green Curry with Chicken, a dish I’ve had many times across Thailand. What was served, however, was not the traditional version. It included large tomatoes and beans—ingredients that don’t belong in authentic green curry, which is usually made with Thai eggplants and sometimes pea eggplants. More critically, green curry should never include beans, and I have a known allergy to legumes.

When I informed the staff, the response was not only unapologetic but also dismissive. I was told, “That’s just how we make it. Next time, tell us you want it spicier.” That kind of reply is not only inappropriate but also shifts the blame onto the customer—despite the dish being made with unusual and allergy-triggering ingredients without any warning.

It’s one thing to offer a creative twist on a classic recipe. But when it affects someone’s health, the restaurant has a duty to be transparent. What’s more disappointing than the mistake itself is how it was handled.

This could’ve been a simple moment of understanding with a sincere apology. Instead, it left me feeling unheard and disrespected. I truly hope the management takes this kind of feedback seriously—for the safety of future guests and the reputation of...

At first this restaurant looked promising. Good reviews and pleasant interior. Unfortunately the following happened: It took at least 25-30 mins to take our order and throughout the meal service was incredibly slow. Even when we asked for our bill (and the restaurant was quiet) it took ages to be delivered. One of our chicken satay skewers was totally raw inside (this was discovered when the others had been eaten!). They apologised and replaced it but the damage had been done. Half our table received their order (chicken with cashew nuts which actually only contained 2 cashews beyween two dishes) at which point the others were informed that they had run out of chicken so needed to use another meat. Half the table had therefore completely finished their main before the other mains arrived. When the late main courses arrived they had forgotten the spice preference and had to take one meal away again for another 5 mins. Half way through the meal the music stopped, the ambience was lost and we felt a large refund would have been appropriate but was not forthcoming. The flavour of the food was actually ok but everything else completely spoiled...