There are several restaurants and bars on the beach and most bungalow operators have restaurants as well. Many do not have electricity during the day, meaning that unless they are careful with food storage you'll end up with a nasty case of food poisoning. Normally there is electricity from 18:00-06:00 during low- and mid-season. During high-season there is electricity for most of the businesses.

The street vendors make fantastic authentic Thai food. Try the mango with sticky rice or som tam (papaya salad). Cheap too!!

• 8.0200698.836181 Mamas Chicken Kitchen. Highly recommended. Will do "Thai style" if you ask them. Sells fresh banana bread for 70 baht per loaf. 
• Capote's Pyramid. (on the upper main road). Mexican dishes with a Thai twist, BBQ on weekends and burgers with buns from a bakery.
• Sao Legacy (on the west side of the beach, a few meters up the concrete road from the longtail stop). Best prices with the biggest plates. Expect a monster and delicious pad Thai, lad naa, or veggie burger for 100 baht, or a huge bowl of fruit with homemade yoghurt and granola for breakfast for 60 baht. (updated Mar 2023)