This is a new topic to cover the above subject. The old topic was started in 2006 thus containing old referrals, Tried cleaning up, but I do not know all the restaurants etc.... mentioned.

So we are now starting a new one, will be deleted at the end of the year & new one started again.

Thank you for all your input.

and my recommedations for 2012 are as follows

1) - Best Sunday Roast - Red Fox lamai Carvery ,

2) - Best Full English .. Though Sweeny Todds still holds this title - Sweeny todds, followed by The Coffee Club Full English

3) - Best Curry HOuse on the Island - Was Kush untill it shut, followed by the curry house at the entance to Tops Supermarket

4) - Best Steak on the Island - The Shack !

5) - Best Place for Lamb Chops - ( must be served with mint sauce ) - The Cliff Bar and Grill ( note Bondi, same owner , the lamb chops are not the same quilty )

6) - Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name

7) - Any thing new and exciting to eat / visit - a few but cant remember the name !

8) Best all you can eat buffet - the one next to ice bar !, second place goes to the one near the fishermans traffic lights

9) THE BEST BURGER ! - Difficult one ... few places, 1) Piri Piri Chicken, 2) The Shack 3) Catcandoo ... difficult choice, as different times i have been , different quilty

6) - Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name

Second this suggestion, just north of the lady boxing, next to the big PX pharmacy.

Pizza Napoli, also has a small sign "Boomerang Pizza", their old name I think. The Italian gent is Antonio, and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character. I just call her Mama.

I still love the Japanese food at Fuji (Lotus-Homepro building)

Try the juicy tender imported beef teppaniaki set menu, for 320++ with a salad, miso sup, a prawn with mushrooms, rice and some more

6) - Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name

Second this suggestion, just north of the lady boxing, next to the big PX pharmacy.

Pizza Napoli, also has a small sign "Boomerang Pizza", their old name I think. The Italian gent is Antonio, and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character. I just call her Mama.

yes that is the place ! ,

6) - Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name

Second this suggestion, just north of the lady boxing, next to the big PX pharmacy.

Pizza Napoli, also has a small sign "Boomerang Pizza", their old name I think. The Italian gent is Antonio, and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character. I just call her Mama.

yes that is the place ! ,

Juzza pizza....sausage, blue cheese and chilli pizza....anchovies optional....

Edit: Fisherman's Village...turn right...

Best place for that special occasion - Ocean 11 BangRak

We went there last night. Excellent.

Great service, good location and brilliant food.

Not for every day eating but definitely the best place on the island to spoil 'er indoors.

Fantastic staff. Well done.

6) - Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name

Second this suggestion, just north of the lady boxing, next to the big PX pharmacy.

Pizza Napoli, also has a small sign "Boomerang Pizza", their old name I think. The Italian gent is Antonio, and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character. I just call her Mama.

yes that is the place ! ,

Mama's? he mentioned 3.......Chicago style or the thin, dry ones?

I only mentioned 1, all the same place. I just tried to make the directions clearer, and they do have 2 different names on different sign boards, one old one new.

Style, I've never been to Chicago, but they are not thin and dry, and they are not deep pan.

Is there a Polish (not Russian) restaurant on the island?

Took my girlfriend and parents to Rik's Bar on the Ghost Road in Bangrak last night. I was told by a friend to try the Lamp Chops. They were absolutely excellent. Would definitely recommend.

Took my girlfriend and parents to Rik's Bar on the Ghost Road in Bangrak last night. I was told by a friend to try the Lamp Chops. They were absolutely excellent. Would definitely recommend.

Good food there for sure. Be careful - he closes at least once a week - I think that it is on Sundays.

Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name ...Pizza Napoli

Must disagree. I had a pizza there and it was so bad I could not finish it, and that's almost impossible when it comes to pizza. It was like squashed bread slathered with a thin layer of ketchup. Bland in the extreme. I noticed the foreigner working there and was amazed that he would allow such poor pizza to be served, but there you go.

...and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character.

Uh, yeah, that's one way of putting it. Warning: Don't complain about anything if you are a customer there.

I also have to report that Mama Burger, at the Buddy complex in Lamai, has changed its products. The hamburger is smaller and the meat seems to be coarser. The french fries have been replaced with the very thin variety that cook up to having no soft potato inside -- it's all crisp. The drinks are now in smaller plastic cups filled with ice.

It's a real shame since they had a good, quality product there before. ...oh, and did I mention with the reduction in quality, they have put up the price of this combo from 149 to 169 baht....

Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name ...Pizza Napoli

Must disagree. I had a pizza there and it was so bad I could not finish it, and that's almost impossible when it comes to pizza. It was like squashed bread slathered with a thin layer of ketchup. Bland in the extreme. I noticed the foreigner working there and was amazed that he would allow such poor pizza to be served, but there you go.

...and his wife runs the front area and she is a real character.

Uh, yeah, that's one way of putting it. Warning: Don't complain about anything if you are a customer there.

I also have to report that Mama Burger, at the Buddy complex in Lamai, has changed its products. The hamburger is smaller and the meat seems to be coarser. The french fries have been replaced with the very thin variety that cook up to having no soft potato inside -- it's all crisp. The drinks are now in smaller plastic cups filled with ice.

It's a real shame since they had a good, quality product there before. ...oh, and did I mention with the reduction in quality, they have put up the price of this combo from 149 to 169 baht....

Wow, your happy today. Very positive

Recommend your preffered pizza restaurant then. I was going to try that place over the weekend but if you've given it such a bad review.....

Any other contenders?

Edit: Also, anybody know how much the full breakfast at The secret garden is? I may have a drive up to try and find it tomorrow morning

Edit: Also, anybody know how much the full breakfast at The secret garden is? I may have a drive up to try and find it tomorrow morning

Std is 200 baht. Then you can add yummy fried pots.

For a really good Milk or Fruit Shake, (many flavours) there is a little place in Maenam, just after the traffic lights & 7-11 & "10 baht Shop", on right hand side... (coming from Bopout direction...)

Prices are very reasonable... ( Ice coffee is good too... _ )

Usually quite busy, so sometimes a bit of a wait.... but worth trying....

Best Pizza on the island -7 years on the Island, the best place is the Pizza shop next to lamai boxing, run by an italian gent, cant remember the name ...Pizza Napoli

Must disagree. I had a pizza there and it was so bad I could not finish it, and that's almost impossible when it comes to pizza. It was like squashed bread slathered with a thin layer of ketchup. Bland in the extreme. I noticed the foreigner working there and was amazed that he would allow such poor pizza to be served, but there you go.

Have to agree with insertmembernamehere. Myself and the wife ate there two weeks ago. OK base, but poor quality toppings. Spent 1,000 baht on two pizzas and a half-litre (looked smaller) carafe of freezing red plonk. Not good value at all.

I must add that I have become rather partial to the ribs at Bondi Aussie Bar & Grill in Lamai - dam_n they're good! Much better than Bikini BarBQ's self proclaimed "Best Ribs in Samui"

Unfortunately, it's pretty much all downhill from there. The Bondi Burger is ok, but not great; and their 'Melbourne's Famous Parma' was a massive disappointment (being from Melbourne, and loving a good parma). Their steak was good, but nowhere near as good as those from The Shack - which I would consider one of the best steaks I have ever had!

Speaking of parmas, I had a Breakfast Parma at the Ark bar a few weeks ago (for dinner), and can not wait to get back there and have another! All you Melbournians out there - do yourselves a favour...

As far as breakfasts go - I have not yet found one that deserves a second visit. The bog-standard 'Full English' or 'Big Breakfast' (with two fried eggs, two oft questionable sausages, bacon, tomato and beans, with toasted white bread) does nothing for me in the slightest. Every one is the same with no imagination or point of difference whatsoever. I understand people like them, but that is what this thread is for - personal opinions...

james, what is a "parma" ?

james, what is a "parma" ?

I googled it...its like a parmagiana...eggplant thing I think. Bit confused by the chicken parma though?

Hopefully he can explain it more comprehensively.

Also wonder if he's tried the Sweeney Todd breakfast yet?

La Taverna on Green Mango has a very tasty parmiagana btw....

james, what is a "parma" ?

The term 'Parma' is Australian slang for a Chicken Parmigiana - an Australian pub staple.

I googled it...its like a parmagiana...eggplant thing I think. Bit confused by the chicken parma though?

Hopefully he can explain it more comprehensively.

Indeed it is a variation of the parmigiana; with the chicken version (with Virginian ham) being a uniquely Melbournian dish.

I hope this is comprehensive enough:

1. Start with a 400g good quality chicken breast that's thick and juicy (a pre-crumbed heart shaped schnitzel isn't going to cut it)
   
2. Crumb with tasty seasoned bread crumbs
   
3. Grill (definitely don't fry) for 14 minutes on a hot plate
   
4. Top with homemade Napoli sauce, Virginian ham and mozzarella cheese
   
5. Bake or grill until the cheese is bubbly and just beginning to brown
   
6. Serve with seasoned chips, fresh garden salad and homemade vinaigrette
   

God, I'm salivating just thinking about it!

Also wonder if he's tried the Sweeney Todd breakfast yet?

La Taverna on Green Mango has a very tasty parmiagana btw....

Interesting...

No, I have not been to Sweeney Todd yet; but will definitely try to get there when I'm more mobile.

On Samui until Monday. Is there a fish n chip shop on Samui? Not frozen chips, traditional English fish n chips. There was one here when I lived here 8 years ago, not far from Starbucks that had the big friers. But Starbucks has moved also...........infact everything has moved!!!!

The Outback in Lamai does good fish and chips (170 Baht I think) though I'm pretty sure the chips are frozen.Good few months back there was a fella in there who I overheard asking for chips and curry sauce. They don't do curry sauce so walked over and suggested he get chips and a Panang curry, then just upend the curry (no rice) over the chips. He wasn't sure so I said I would pay for it if he didn't like it. I didn't have to pay for it and got a couple of beers as a thank you.

On Samui until Monday. Is there a fish n chip shop on Samui? Not frozen chips, traditional English fish n chips. There was one here when I lived here 8 years ago, not far from Starbucks that had the big friers. But Starbucks has moved also...........infact everything has moved!!!!

Tropical Murphy's on Chewang Beach Road (opposite MacDonalds) used to do good fish and chips - but I have not eaten there for a few years.

On Samui until Monday. Is there a fish n chip shop on Samui? Not frozen chips, traditional English fish n chips. There was one here when I lived here 8 years ago, not far from Starbucks that had the big friers. But Starbucks has moved also...........infact everything has moved!!!!

The potatoes we get here in samui, are not good enough for chipping,like we have in uk, i think they are too floury

They do in fact make very good chips though not with the method of cut, cook then serve. Chip then boil for 60-90 seconds, pour out into ice water for a minute or so (to stop the cooking process) before draining. Turn out, pat dry and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to remove any excess water. Then fry as normal. No way restaurants are not going to do this but it can be done at home no problem.

what excellent Thai restaurant? where?

what excellent Thai restaurant? where?

In the corner, coming from Bophut red light, turning to Bangrak.

Does anyone know where the potatoes that I buy at the old market in Lamai come from?

Does anyone know where the potatoes that I buy at the old market in Lamai come from?

The Ground?? ....

on a serious note, they would have been grown locally , so best to ask them

I friend had his last day here before going to England and I told him I would buy him dinner at any place he wanted. He decided to go to Bondi.

I ordered the tenderloin (medium) (600 baht) and he ordered the "Famous Melbourne Chicken Parmagiana" (380 baht).

The tenderloin was a decent sized round piece of meat, which as it turned out, is not easy to cook correctly unless you have the skill and experience. The outside of the meat was seared to a crisp in some spots and in the middle, the meat was basically raw. The cut of meat was not too bad, and I'd say it was slightly better than any meat I have had from Tesco, but not remarkably so. This was served with run of the mill fries, which was a disappointment as I thought that a quality place would make their own fries (of some kind) using actual potatoes. No luck there.

There was a tiny side salad on the plate that had some tasty Italian dressing; I wished they had more of the salad. I also ordered the "pepper sauce" on the side and it was passable but lackluster.

My friend's chicken looked horrible on the plate. I later had to look up the dish (Parmigiana: [a short form of Parmigiana di melanzane] is a Southern Italian dish made with a shallow-fried sliced filling, layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked). The actual food on the plate looked like some part of the chicken after it had been sat on by a fat person (must be an Italian I would think to authenticate the dish) and then put a smidgen of a couple of different colored cheeses on top, melted. Earlier, I had given my friend a small slice of my steak for him to taste -- including part of the outer, scorched part -- and his comment on the chicken was: "I think my chicken is tougher than your steak." However, he did say that the flavor was okay.

I need also to mention the service. Our server was clearly having too much to do and although her attention was prompt and perfunctory, she gave us the feeling that we needed to "speed things up," so to speak. She came to give us the menus and almost ran away, then when she came back for our orders (in about 3 minutes), she was fidgeting and antsy and projected this aura of, "Come on! Spit it out! I have four other tables to get to!" It was not a relaxed ordering experience; thankfully we already knew what we wanted or we might have been waterboarded for our order.

Overall, I'd rate this place as a B-minus. I think the food, as it was, was over-priced slightly, the service was edgy and the food was decent, but incorrectly cooked (both dishes). The experience did not nearly live up to the hype and the "upscale" and "professional" chain restaurant experience that they want you to embrace.