Stop right there! If you’ve got preconceived ideas of how your favourite Thai dishes should look, forget about it right now. Because what you’re going to find out about the presentation of Thai cuisine at this restaurant will blow your socks off. So let me now take you on an extraordinary culinary adventure, where all will be revealed!

But before I come to the food, I’m going to tell you about the restaurant itself as it, too, is an integral part of this unique dining experience. Twisted Thai is situated right on the beach in quiet Chaweng Noi, just south of busy Chaweng Beach itself. And to get there you have a choice. Walk along the beach and you’ll come to it directly in all its resplendent glory, or, if you’re heading south from Chaweng on the ring-road, stop off at the landmark Imperial Samui Beach Resort and take the complimentary 30-second electric buggy-ride down a twisting pathway through scenic tropical gardens until you reach Twisted Thai in one of Samui’s most beautiful locations.

A spacious white sandy beach, tall palm trees swaying in the breeze and warm balmy evening air. This has got to be the perfect backdrop for an idyllic night of gastronomic pleasure. And when we enter the restaurant, things keep getting better.

The choices here continue and you can decide to sit outside on the expansive wooden decking areas, complete with attractive water features and rockpools, or you can opt to go inside (although, as the floor-to-ceiling windows are nearly always open, it still feels like you’re sitting outside here, too). Stylish drapes, a contemporary grey-black-red-orange colour scheme throughout and ultra-modern coloured panel lighting combine to create an effortlessly-classy-yet-casual atmosphere.

Moving further into Twisted Thai, you’ll come across the long open kitchen with its bright ‘graffiti’ mural running along the base. And it’s very much an interactive affair here as diners are encouraged to watch the busy chefs at work and see them using their specialised techniques (be patient, we’ve nearly reached the food part!). For those of you who really like to be amongst the action, there are two six-seater chef’s tables directly in front of the kitchen with their own panel-lighting silhouetting some fine examples of traditional Thai puppets – a nice touch of respect towards the local culture. There’s a definite feeling of vibrancy and fun here with lots going on.

But should you wish to have a more laid-back experience at Twisted Thai, just take the few steps up next to the kitchen and you’ll find yourself on a spacious rooftop directly facing the ocean through the adjacent coconut trees. There’s further seating for 20 up here, including romantic draped salas, with more ‘graffiti’ murals creating a splash of colour up here, too. 

“… and what they’ve done with Thai cuisine is given it a totally different slant.”

Right! Now let’s put you out of your misery and tell you about the food. Well, firstly, I’d like to say that it comes courtesy of the talented brigade of Thai chefs. And what they’ve done with Thai cuisine is given it a totally different slant (thus the name of the restaurant). They’ve taken regular Thai dishes, such as Prew Wan Ghai (sweet and sour chicken, poached root vegetables, sour glaze) and Boo Phad Kai Chem (smoked curried crab salad, salted egg mayonnaise), broken them down into their component parts and then reconstituted them into something completely different using a multitude of molecular gastronomy cooking techniques, including sous vide, freezing and the like. The results are truly amazing as not only are the resulting dishes totally unrecognizable from their traditional namesakes, but the original textures have also been entirely transformed although the characteristic flavours remain.

And should there be a favourite Thai dish of yours, that isn’t already on the menu, that you’d like to be given the ‘Twisted Thai treatment’, just give the restaurant 48 hours’ notice and they’ll set straight to work with the lengthy process of designing and tweaking until they’ve reconstructed the dish to perfection. Now that’s customer service!

Another novel idea here is that the appetisers (which have also been given the same transformations) are available ‘tapas-buffet-style’, enabling you to make a complete meal of it if you wish. And there are plenty of similarly altered variations on classic Thai desserts, such as Fuk Tong Ghang Buad (pumpkin panacotta and frozen mallows) and Gloe Buad Chee (galama banoffe) to round off this truly amazing (and shocking!) Samui dining experience.

Twisted Thai is open from 7:00 pm with the kitchen closing at 10:00 pm.
For reservations and further information, telephone 0 7741 3528.