Review

Sitting atop the headland separating Kata beach from Kata Noi, is Issara Restaurant and Bar, a favourite local bistro for those eager to taste owner-chef Nikola Lesar’s Asian fusion cuisine. This talented master of the kitchen won recognition in MasterChef Croatia and has been a challenger in Iron Chef Thailand. His journey to discover a culinary style was shaped by travels overland through China, Japan, Vietnam and Southeast Asia, carefully discovering local foods and cooking styles that he now presents at Issara. Appetisers include signature Issara Phuket crab cakes prepared with guava and lychee Thai salad, peanut chilli and spicy coconut curry sauce. The sumptuous appetiser platter presents yakitori chicken, deep fried calamari, prawn tempura and katsu chicken bao buns with prawn satay. Late 2025 the menu added wagyu carpaccio with wild mushroom crust and hazelnuts, truffle mayo, capers and lemon olive oil dressing and a five-spice duck breast with cranberry sauce, roasted pears and peaches, grapes and broccolini. He also presents slow braised Australian lamb shank brasato and octopus rolled in Sardinian fregula pasta with tomato sugo sauce and pesto. Chef’s brother Filip, creative with inventing cocktails, is inspired by local ingredients, his favourites are neo-Siam with rum, banana, kaffir lime leaf and guava and setting sun with gin, plum wine, mulberry, strawberry and citrus.