Thai restaurants are the real deal, the “authentic experience” you may be after. Most of these places only serve Thai food, English might not be spoken at all and even the menus can be in Thai only (when there is a menu, that is). And of course what you have ordered may, or may not arrive, and “not spicy” could turn out very hot! In other words, it can be fun.
- See our page about Thai food (and download our Thai travel menu).
- Also see our article about international restaurants in Cha-am.
- Do you want to share a place you like? Please contact us.
Note: Unlike our page about international restaurants, we chose to organize the Thai restaurants by style, rather than by area.
Seafood on the beach
Eating seafood on the beach is part of the Cha-am experience for most tourists, including Thai tourists. There are two restaurants on the northern part of the beach: Krua Medsai (ครัวเม็ดทราย), which is just before the road leading to the fishing port, and Chay Lae (ชายเล), which is after the fishing port, where the peer with the squid statues starts. Kiang Kleun (เคียงคลื่น) is another seafood restaurant on the beach, a bit hard to find but worth the trip: take the hospital road, pass the bridge, takes the first road on your right, follow it for 1 km and turn left just before the right curve. Kiang Kleun is 500 meters farther, on the right. To the south of Cha-am, Platoo restaurant (ปลาทู) is also worth mentioning. Take the road leading to the Novotel (after km 200), turn right at the end, first left into the small alley and you are there.
Foreigner friendly
We are not implying that the other restaurants mentioned here are not foreigner-friendly, but some restaurants are just more used to catering to foreigners. Sea Zabb (ซีแซ่บ), on Hospital road (first U-turn after the 3-way junction), is one of them. You can eat inside or outside in the garden, or under a “sala”. Hat Thip seafood (หาดทิพย์ ซีฟู๊ด), on the south part of the beach (near soi South 5), is a simple but nice Thai restaurant. If you are on the north beach, just next to the Methavalai hotel is the Family restaurant, another simple place, yet very good. Monta Seafood (ครัวคุณมณฑา), north of Cha-am, has very good reviews on Tripadvisor, and it is indeed very good and not expensive. The only drawback is that they close very early: 8.00 pm! Take the hospital road, then third right after the bridge, then turn right after 2 km, just when the road veers left. You will find the restaurant on the left, not far from the beach.
Steak restaurants
Some Thai restaurants specialize in steaks, though beef is usually not their strong point, as very few Thai people eat beef. Cowboy restaurant is on the left hand side of the bypass road when coming from Pranburi, at the junction that leads to Cha-am and Hua Hin. Though the theme is cowboys and Indians, the decoration is a mix of everything! On Cha-am beach, you will find King Kong steak just after turning right at the viewpoint. South of Cha-am, after km 202 when coming from Hua Hin, Steak Nawang (สเต็กหน้าวัง) is set in a traditional wooden house.
Cook it yourself
What is becoming a trend in the western world has been around in Asia for a long time. Basically they bring you a hot pot, you order raw food (meat, seafood, vegetables…) and you cook it the way you want. The Thai style is called “mookata” and the most popular one in Cha-am is Champ Mookata (แชมป์ หมูกะทะ), on the hospital road (on the right hand side, a few meters before the steel bridge). Kenta Shabu, opposite the Family Mart, is not a real mookata, more like what the Thais call a Korean barbecue, but it’s the same principle (and it’s a buffet).
For an authentic Thai experience
Zaab Eli (แซ่บอีหลี) are Isan (or northeastern) restaurants that can be found all around Thailand, and they have two branches in Cha-am. It is rumored that the one at km 205 (on the left hand side when coming from Hua Hin) is even tastier than the one which is closer to Cha-am, on the other side of the road (soi 31 coming from the Grand Pacific hotel, another road that doesn’t have any name). Ozone, on Cha-am north beach (between the Furama and the Golden Beach hotels) provides a different but still authentic Thai experience, as it is a pub with live music, popular with Thai youngsters.
Other Thai restaurants
There are too many Thai restaurants in Cha-am to mention them all. Several can be found on Phetkasem at Cha-am traffic lights, and many others along Narathip road, including Komit Seafood (โกมิตร ซีฟู๊ด), Krua Song Pinong (ครัวสองพี่น้อง), which stays open late, and two muslim/halal restaurants. On the north beach at soi 3/1 is Krua Watsana (ครัววาสนา), small but popular too.
Thai food to take away
As most food stalls also have tables and chairs around, including those at the markets, sometimes it’s hard to tell what is a restaurant and what is not, but the distinction doesn’t matter. All places where food can be bought have those foam boxes and plastic bags, which are a disaster in terms of ecology, but which come handy to take your food home (ask for “take away”, or “ao klap ban” – เอากลับบ้าน – in Thai). You can also order food at the beach, without moving from your beach chair. Basically, the Thais make sure that food is available almost anywhere!
If you are staying in Cha am for any length of time, spend a few baht for some Tupperware or equivalent and bring it with you whenever you want take away food. The overuse of plastics in this country is nothing short of abhorrent. This country should be sanctioned by every other country until it puts in REAL measures to combat this abuse of the planet. If you feel this to be excessive then I suggest a walk on the beach at a lower tide. It was so nice last year to come upon a sea turtle wrapped in twine.