Fine Dining - Red Snapper Bar & Grill

Before you even enter this restaurant, you know that it’s not going to disappoint. From outside a curtain of bulrushes provides a sense of a place, hidden away from the bustle of the street outside. Once you go through the portal, you are greeted by modern architecture at its best: soothing on the eye and senses, but never bland. It’s cool without being intimidating, and you enter a world where it’s very easy to relax.

The bar area has a separate feel to it, and leads off from the main dining room. It’s just behind a long interior terrace that’s ideal for looking out onto the street. There’s a choice of seating; either at the bar itself, or on comfy wicker chairs. Whichever you choose, the ambience is laid back and is completed by a pebble wall with its own cascade of water, and a cunningly designed glass cabinet that acts both as a wall and a chiller for racks of wine. Monday to Saturday inclusive, a band plays Latin music on a small stage in the bar area.

A cocktail or two at the bar, and then it’s time to order from the menu which is the brainchild of the head chef Jason Large who hails from New Zealand. Trained in Fiji and Malaysia, Jason has now come to Koh Samui and specializes in Mediterranean foods. He has created a lavish menu where you will always find something to suit your culinary mood.

As for the wines, there is a fine selection that will suit most palates and also most pockets. Choose from wines from all over the world. Personally I would recommend the Tortoise creek syrah Mouroedre. A full-bodied red that, of course, goes well with the New Zealand Kapiti cheeseboard, offered separately from the menu. A good way to finish off any dinner, but I am getting ahead of myself. For a starter we shared the delicious Haloumi cheese with semi-dried tomatoes and red pepper tapenade. This is a pan-fried dish, and was superb. It came dressed with a tapenade that gave it a spicy tang. As it’s also garnished with rocket leaves and mushrooms, it’s healthy, whilst also being light yet tasty.

Jason has given much thought to the question of health, and there is one of Samui’s best salad buffets right there in the dining room, beautifully laid out, and filled with simple yet tasty salad dishes for you to combine as you see fit. If you have a hankering for let’s say, a rare combination of stuffed olives, capers, beetroots and artichokes, it would be hard to know where else to go to find them.

At Red Snapper, it’s easy – just help yourself. Go there hungry, too, as the portions tend to be on the generous size. With a basket of different types of breads, it’s all too easy to be full before the main course arrives. The lamb skewers I chose were marinated in herbs and garlic and very filling and delicious. My dining companion said of her choice, red snapper fillets lightly breaded, that they were delicious and not too heavy. She enjoyed the red capiscum coulis, an imaginative addition that heightened the taste of the fish itself. In addition to the regular menu, there are the restaurant’s specials, and these are extraordinarily good value. Pasta also features on the menu, but for those with heavier appetites, why not try some of the specially imported Australian steaks and optional side orders of say, wedge-style fries with sour cream?

Plenty to choose from and more to come in the dessert section with delights such as mango cheesecake, home-made pineapple pie, rich chocolate cake and rum chocolate sauce and tiramisu mousse with Kahlua cream. It was a delicious dinner, and last but not least, the service was impeccable whilst being very friendly at the same time.

Red Snapper Bar & Grill is located on the Chaweng Beach Road next to the Chaweng Regent Beach Resort, a little before the turn-off to Lake Road North. The restaurant is open daily from 5 pm until last 1 am. Please call 0 7742 2008 for further information, or to make a reservation.