City centre Thai restaurant Koh Samui, serves high quality Thai food in an informal and friendly atmosphere. Conveniently situated between China Town and the commercial heart of Manchester, this well-regarded restaurant offers classic Thai dishes and specialises in seafood.
The owners pride themselves on serving only the best and freshest of ingredients cooked to a consistently high standard. Where to begin? Well, recommended starters would have to include duck spring rolls, spicy Thai salads, chicken in pandanus leaf, home-made spicy Thai sausage, steamed mussels with aromatic Thai herbs and, almost a meal in itself, pan-fried crispy scallops.
Soups include the ever popular hot and sour coconut cream, but then the very aromatic clear fish ball soup is especially good. Curries at Koh Samui have always been popular - red, green, yellow and the sweeter massaman - but for a change try the Kow Sol, a red curry-based noodle soup with meat or seafood, again now a firm favourite with Koh Samui's regular customers.
From the wide selection of main courses, for those who like a spicier dish, try dry red curry or the Drunk's Cure (extremely spicy), believed by Thais to be a cure-all, especially for the morning after. Another frequently ordered main dish is the triple cooked, three flavoured crispy duck - hot, sweet and sour. Seafood must-haves include classic Thai garlic-fried sea bass, steamed fish with lime, and Samui fish - whole crispy sea bass topped with salad and pineapple in a chilli and lemon dressing. Noodle and rice dishes, including the ever-popular phad Thai, are delicately cooked and taste fantastic. From the vegetarian menu, the most popular dishes are vegetable tempura, aubergine stir-fried with chilli and holy basil and the potato and vegetable curry.
Koh Samui offers a varied wine selection, all at reasonable prices with good quality house wines chosen by the owners as the ideal accompaniment to their food.
Lunch at Koh Samui is probably the best value served lunch in the city. The same high standards are maintained and you can choose from a wide selection of starters and main courses (including rice) from just £7 per head.
But don't just take my word for it; Koh Samui featured in 'The Good Food Guide' 2006. Harden's Restaurant Guide said it was 'Arguably the best Thai outside the capital', and The Independent Magazine called Koh Samui 'Manchester's best Thai restaurant'. Believe them, believe me - just try it.
The owners pride themselves on serving only the best and freshest of ingredients cooked to a consistently high standard. Where to begin? Well, recommended starters would have to include duck spring rolls, spicy Thai salads, chicken in pandanus leaf, home-made spicy Thai sausage, steamed mussels with aromatic Thai herbs and, almost a meal in itself, pan-fried crispy scallops.
Soups include the ever popular hot and sour coconut cream, but then the very aromatic clear fish ball soup is especially good. Curries at Koh Samui have always been popular - red, green, yellow and the sweeter massaman - but for a change try the Kow Sol, a red curry-based noodle soup with meat or seafood, again now a firm favourite with Koh Samui's regular customers.
From the wide selection of main courses, for those who like a spicier dish, try dry red curry or the Drunk's Cure (extremely spicy), believed by Thais to be a cure-all, especially for the morning after. Another frequently ordered main dish is the triple cooked, three flavoured crispy duck - hot, sweet and sour. Seafood must-haves include classic Thai garlic-fried sea bass, steamed fish with lime, and Samui fish - whole crispy sea bass topped with salad and pineapple in a chilli and lemon dressing. Noodle and rice dishes, including the ever-popular phad Thai, are delicately cooked and taste fantastic. From the vegetarian menu, the most popular dishes are vegetable tempura, aubergine stir-fried with chilli and holy basil and the potato and vegetable curry.
Koh Samui offers a varied wine selection, all at reasonable prices with good quality house wines chosen by the owners as the ideal accompaniment to their food.
Lunch at Koh Samui is probably the best value served lunch in the city. The same high standards are maintained and you can choose from a wide selection of starters and main courses (including rice) from just £7 per head.
But don't just take my word for it; Koh Samui featured in 'The Good Food Guide' 2006. Harden's Restaurant Guide said it was 'Arguably the best Thai outside the capital', and The Independent Magazine called Koh Samui 'Manchester's best Thai restaurant'. Believe them, believe me - just try it.
Open: Mon-Fri noon-3pm, 6pm- 11.30pm; Sat & Sun 6pm-11.30pm