The great thing about having restaurant reviews in newspapers and magazines is that it gives the people that live on Koh Samui ideas for new places to try and visitors to the island can find some great places to eat that perhaps they would not have known about otherwise. A great example of a place that is well worth a visit for both residents and visitors is Tams bar that can be found opposite the World Gym near to the Laem Din turning on the Chaweng ring road.

Albin

Tams is owned and run by Albin, from Austria, and his wife Tam. On face value Tams looks like a large bar with big screen TV’s so you can watch all of your favorite sporting events, such as F1 and football, a large dedicated pool room with plenty of space to enjoy a really good match and a separate bar area where you can engage in some cheerful conversation with the friendly loyal and regular customers. Once you open the menu however or have a chat with Albin you will discover that it is far more than that! Not only does Tams offer some amazing German, Swiss and Austrian food but thanks to Albin and his rabbit farm there are some amazing rabbit dishes to boot.

Rabbit is a popular dish in Europe but one that is hard to find on Koh Samui. In order to rectify this situation Albin sent one of his staff off to the mainland to find some rabbits, after a journey that took him almost all the way to Bangkok the chap came back with five female and two male rabbits, eight months later Albin found himself the proud owner of one hundred and twenty rabbits and the only rabbit farm on Koh Samui. As Thai’s don’t really eat rabbit Albin had to teach his wife and kitchen staff how to prepare and cook them, his experience as a waiter in within the restaurant industry in Austria gave him all the experience he needed. The staff were a little reluctant to start off with and Tam especially as she was previously vegetarian and would only handle meat through thick rubber gloves, but after a bit of perseverance Tams is now serving up the most delicious Greek Rabbit Stifado, French Style Rabbit with carrots, mustard and white wine sauce and the Austrian specialty Rabbit Goulash.

If rabbit is not to your taste there is plenty more on the menu, popular dishes include specialty German sausages, a superb range of huge salads including a fitness salad which is perfect when you are working out in the gym across the road. Weiner Schnitzel, Meat Balls and Grilled Meats are served with fried potatoes or potato salad as well as hunter or garlic sauce. There is an authentic and affordable Thai menu and 149 baht daily specials such as the Monday Potato Sausage Goulash, Wednesday Schnitzel, salad and French fries and Sundays Hunter Schnitzel with bread dumplings.

Other special deals include 199 baht pizza when the football is on, as much as you can eat buffets for only 199 baht on Mondays and Wednesdays. Happy hour is from 5pm until 8pm with cocktails at only 99 baht. The kitchen is open until 10pm after which time if you are still hungry you can enjoy HD burgers until 2am! A range of breakfasts are on offer as well as another house specialty Bavarian beef roll that was introduced onto the menu by a regular customer.

When it comes to having a drink you will find nothing missing and a huge range of imported bottled beers some of which you would be hard pushed to find anywhere else on the island, both Singha been and Weihenstephaner wheat beer are on draught.

Tams bar also has two pool teams so if you fancy joining the team or enjoying some fine German Fayre or meeting some friendly people over an ice cold beer call in to Tams. For more information contact Albin on 0813679410