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If you feel like taking a two-hour drive South-West from Bangkok and chilling out by the sea in the Gulf of Thailand, there’s always the King’s seaside holiday town of Hua Hin. One of the best Hua Hin restaurants, Cool Breeze tapas bar is also a charming bars, and one of the best places to relax.
How to find one of the Best Restaurants in Hua Hin
Drive down Soi 55, take a right at the end, past the small Chinese temple. 150 metres along the narrow road you will find one of the best Hua Hin restaurants in town.
Cool Breeze is a charming tapas restaurant and one of the best bars in Hua Hin. It is not like the typical tapas bars you will find in the bodegas of the Andalucian region of Southern Spain. There the dishes are laid out under glass countertops. But it is among the best bars in Hua Hin, for atmosphere and quality. And it makes a welcome change from the cheap and cheerful plethora of Thai street food.
The Decor and Cuisine will relax you
There are a few tables on the small roadside terrace, where you can chill with a glass of wine and enjoy alfresco dining. The road is more of a walkway, so narrow diners from the restaurants around easily mingle with walkers. And the many Italian restaurants give it a Mediterranean feel.
Why not select a tapas or two and watch the walkers. Or go inside to the more formal dining area, which leads to a cosy cottage garden.
Up the old wooden staircase, you’ll find the second-floor balcony above the busy narrow street, where strollers spend their evenings browsing in art shops and boutiques. I thought a couple of my surreal wall-art pictures wouldn’t look out of place and may even liven Cool Breeze up a bit more. But there was no need to overdo the ambience, and anyway I was relaxing, not on a business trip to sell art.
Enjoy the old fishing town of Hua Hin
The Cool Breeze area of Hua Hin has retained its rustic old fishing village charm, and the atmosphere will transport you back in time. Especially if you drink as much wine as I do when I go there. The heat, rain and salty sea air do their best to destroy them, but the local landlords take good care of the old wooden shops and restaurants that line the narrow streets. Fine dining in the old Hua Hin district make up for the lack of a sea view.
The Cool Breeze experience
The menu is not extensive. With 30 to 40 dishes you can be sure your order will be fresh and served without delay. The English owner Vaughan Parkes goes to the market every day to buy fresh ingredients. His wife runs the kitchen while he receives customers with a warm welcome.
Nothing is too much trouble, the dining experience is relaxed, and the food is tasty and appetizing. Try the asparagus and Manchego cheese, wrapped in Serrano ham served with a crusty baguette. I promise you won’t be disappointed. I drank a few glasses of South African Mont Clair red, because the wine farm is near my old home in Cape Town. It’s reasonably priced for wine in Thailand, but no great quality. There are plenty of others to choose from plus local beers and spirits. Vaughan even makes Sangria if you feel like pretending you are in Spain.
When it’s time to pay, cough up
After a totally relaxing couple of hours in congenial surroundings, I had no resistance to handing over my wallet. I’ll be back at Cool Breeze on my next visit to Hua HIn.