This alfresco hilltop restaurant and lounge overlooking Chaweng Beach and Chaweng Lake offers a fun alternative to resort dining. Under the ownership of a Thai/Swiss couple, the property is actually a two-bedroom villa available for rent, featuring an outdoor poolside restaurant and roof deck lounge that is open to the public. Lit with multicolored LED lights and decorated with all white, Art Deco furniture, 9 Gems offers trendy, lounge-style dining and cocktails with panoramic views over Samui. Though you come for the ambiance more than the culinary experience, the slightly over-priced menu offers well-prepared fusion tapas plates served at leisure and intermittently between drinks and chats with owners Sathit and Peter. Plan to make a night of any dinner reservation here and don’t miss a drink on the rooftop or a stroll through the back garden.

Sunset cocktails at the Intercontinental Air Bar, perched on the cliffs of Surat Thani, offers spectacular views over the gulf. Playing light lounge music in an open-air setting, the appropriately named Air Bar is also a lovely place for an after-dinner digestif while the green lights of squid boats offshore twinkle in the distance.

You half expect white gloves and pearls to be mandatory for high tea at the Mandarin Oriental’s Authors’ Lounge, a lovely spot to refuel in the afternoon. Cucumber sandwiches, homemade pastries and jams, cookies and sweet treats are served on three-tiered silver trays, but the warm and friendly staff prevents the ambience from turning stuffy.

You all but expect to come across Joseph Conrad or Graham Greene nursing a whiskey at the venerable, but fun, Bamboo Bar in the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, which features leopard- and tiger-print fabrics and an array of potted greenery. It’s not memorable enough to warrant a special trip, but if you’re having dinner at one of the restaurants, it’s a nice spot for a drink and live music before or after.

Set in a whimsical garden—complete with greenery and a koi pond—this is a popular spot for breakfast and brunch and has afternoon tea.

Jewelry designer Elizabeth Locke, a frequent traveler to Bangkok, recommends this classic, saying, “It’s beautiful and has great service, and the staff will understand if someone wants to order a Diet Coke. It’s on Sathorn Road, and any concierge will know it.” Part of the Blue Elephant group, a collection of Thai restaurants whose original outpost opened in 1980, Bangkok’s Blue Elephant is housed in a Colonial-era mansion, and the menu offers a modern twist on traditional Thai cuisine. There’s a cooking school on the premises as well, in case you want to learn to prepare those rice paper–wrapped prawns or that juicy tamarind-flavored duck you just ate.

The sister to Blue Elephant Bangkok, this Old Town restaurant serves Royal Thai cuisine out of a restored governor’s mansion.

Phuket’s best-looking expats kick off their shoes at this laidback lounge/eatery on Bang Tao Beach. They swear by the fried rock lobster in red curry sauce and Andaman tiger prawns. Salads, rotisserie chicken and pizzas round out a respectable menu, though lunch and dinner buffets are the best bet for those who work up an appetite dancing to local and visiting bands that play here by the bonfire.

The acclaimed fine-dining restaurant at the Ed Tuttle–designed Sukhothai serves up a stylish ambience (the restaurant is surrounded by lotus ponds) and consistently terrific Thai cuisine prepared with top ingredients. Guests can choose between the elegant (and air-conditioned) dining room and the romantic outdoor terrace.

Don’t let the alley location fool you. This trendy and young spot serves a fusion of authentic and modern Thai food crafted from local ingredients, as well as a list of signature cocktails. The space has a contemporary feel and an open kitchen concept.

Nip inside this Sino-Portuguese shop house on Phuket Town’s main Thalang Road for its charming vintage interior as well as the simple but delicious Thai noodle dishes, Chinese fried rice and freshly caught Phuket seafood.

A taste of the Riviera in Bangkok, this one-Michelin-starred restaurant by chef Mauro Colagreco (of three-Michelin-starred Mirazur) is at the Capella Bangkok overlooking the river. The cuisine blends contemporary touches with the traditions of the Mediterranean and fits in the light and airy dining room.

The culinary must-do on Koh Samui is having dinner perched above the island and with views of the sea on the terraced, hilltop roof decks of the Six Senses Resort restaurant, Dining on the Rocks. Serving innovative food concepts with deconstructed interpretations on intercontinental classics, Dining on the Rocks offers award-winning food with organic produce and herbs, many of which are sourced from the resort's own garden. Set menus allow for patrons to enjoy a comprehensive sampling, which reflects the restaurant’s overarching concept of preserving and utilizing the purity of original flavor.

Wine aficionados will appreciate the extensive wine list that is offered. Perhaps the most impressive aspects of the restaurant are the stunning views from the weathered teak-and-bamboo decks (both covered and open air). Stylish, candle-lit tables that boast 270-degree panoramas over the sparkling Gulf of Thailand, creating the ultimate ambiance for a romantic dinner or wow-factor for a special night out.

This multilevel, cool but welcoming restaurant, bar and art gallery, on an unassuming street, is a real find. Darren and Cherie Hausler are an Australian brother-and-sister duo, whose inspired and well-executed menu includes such dishes as pumpkin, coconut and blood-orange soup; fig-and-blue-cheese ravioli; and pan-fried duck foie gras. Cocktails, too, are delectable. This is an intimate, delicious spot located away from the bustling city. Request a table on the terrace, which is shaded by leafy trees, for a romantic, peaceful dinner. Afterward, take a ten-minute stroll to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for some late shopping, or head to the Met Bar at the Metropolitan hotel, also within walking distance.

A short walk from both Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, this neighborhood eatery is bold in design and flavor, which should come as no surprise: Err comes from chefs Bo and Dylan of the now closed Bo.Lan. Style-wise, there’s a mix here of throwback kitsch, industrial toughness and street-art vibrancy. The kitchen, however, turns out elevated street food plus homey classics like baskets of crispy chicken skin and sliced green mango in spicy fish sauce, braised pork belly and ribs in a sweet-and-spicy pepper and toddy palm sugar sauce.

After leaving his beloved Gaggan, internationally-renowned chef Gaggan Anand set up shop anew across town with his second restaurant.

You probably won’t go out of your way to come to the all-organic health restaurant on the second floor of the Metropolitan hotel, but if you’re planning to go to the Como Shambhala spa, it’s worth scheduling in some extra time before or after for a light meal and an energizing juice here.

A favorite of exiled prime minister Taksin Shinawatra (originally a Chiang Mai native), this homey, fan cooled eatery serves authentic northern Thai fare like pomelo salad, coconut curry with minced pork and the signature Hong Tauw fish.

“Not only do you have beautiful things, but what is rare, you have arranged them with faultless taste,” wrote Somerset Maugham in a letter to Jim Thompson, whose former home is now a not-to-be-missed museum. The self-made American entrepreneur came to Thailand in the late 1940s, after World War II. In subsequent years, Thompson single-handedly revived Thai silk weaving, a craft that had been slowly dying out. Not only did he revitalize an industry that runs strong to this day, he also championed socially responsible business practices, letting his female weavers work from home (where they were able to watch their children) and giving the core group of his weavers shares in his Thai Silk Company. Thompson disappeared under mysterious circumstances in Malaysia in 1967. There are lots of theories of what happened to him; be sure to ask your guide.

Thompson was a major collector of Southeast Asian art, and many of his unique finds from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia and Laos are displayed in the house, which he began building in 1958. The complex is made up of several typical Thai houses that were taken apart and moved from Ayutthaya, the ancient capital. It’s a stunning oasis of beauty and serenity and the second-most-visited attraction in Bangkok (trumped only by the Grand Palace). Open 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Tip: You can visit the interior of the home only on a guided tour. When you purchase your ticket, you are given a place on the next tour given in your language. During the unavoidable wait, you are encouraged to hang out in the boutique; a nicer way to while away the time is to have a coffee at the gorgeous little café and restaurant on the property.

Acclaimed chef and Indagare Insider Daniel Moran recommends this sleek Japanese-fusion restaurant. The Bangkok outpost of this international sushi titan is one of the most talked about restaurants in town, from the rumored shady business dealings to the “models night” that draws every clotheshorse in the city. But, all controversy aside, there is a lively vibe to Koi. The tables are packed every night and the bar scene (we recommend the wasabi martini) is always buzzing with a young, well-heeled crowd.

A short uphill ride from the main beach at Ao Nang, lofty Lae Lay Grill specializes in fresh seafood and offers a wide selection of good Thai dishes. The menu changes frequently to reflect the season and the nightly specials include preparations of the freshest catch. While the interiors are casual, the second floor balcony offers fabulous Andaman Sea views and is an excellent place to catch the sunset.

This takeout spot is just a window in the heart of Thong Lor, but it is famous for its mango sticky rice. The menu consists of different flavored and colored rices that are fun to try, such as a butterfly pea infused rice.

Dine on elevated pad thai, kaosoi and natural wines at this hidden spot. The setting is trendy but casual, done in pinks and reds with an upside -down flower lighting fixture hanging before a bar framed by shimmering pink curtains. Any dish with Wagyu is a must.

Technically, the bar at the Metropolitan hotel is a “members only” hot spot, but Indagare members can call ahead and get on the list. There are comfy leather-chaise seating groups, trendy cocktails (think Tom Yumtini), loungy music and Bangkok’s beau monde to watch. But be sure to come on a weekend after dinner, as the bar tends to be dead during the week.