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Is Golden Monkey in Limassol worth it? The food is the best Thai in Cyprus, but around 140 euro for two courses is hard to justify.
Our verdict: Recommended with caveats. It ranks fifteenth in our guide to the best restaurants in Cyprus. Golden Monkey is Cyprus’ first restaurant dedicated entirely to Thai fine dining, inside The Tower at the St Raphael Resort on the Limassol seafront. The cooking is genuinely good and the room is handsome, but the bill is where the conversation starts.
Golden Monkey at a Glance
- Best dish: the platter, which is the order worth repeating.
- Weakest part: value, and a room that does not quite carry the price.
- Good for: Thai food in a city with almost no alternatives, a quieter evening, good service, anyone already staying at the St Raphael.
- Cost: around 140 euro for two courses, a side, two drinks and water.
Fancy a bed with your pad thai? The St Raphael hotel is the building you are already standing in.
Address and How to Get There
Address: Golden Monkey, The Tower, St Raphael Resort and Marina, Amathountos Avenue 502, 4520 Pyrgos, Limassol, Cyprus.
Hotels near Golden Monkey, Limassol
Golden Monkey is inside The Tower at St Raphael Resort and Marina, on the eastern side of Limassol. Booking is recommended and the dress code is smart casual. Hours vary by season, so check before travelling out there. The marina is worth a walk before or after, and the resort has other dining options if Golden Monkey is full. Our Limassol guide covers the rest of the city, and our St Raphael Resort review covers the rooms and the marina.
Limassol is roughly 45 to 60 minutes from Larnaca Airport and about an hour from Paphos Airport. The nearest official taxi tariff figure from Larnaca is the Germasogeia area at €48.17 by day and €56.47 at night, and operators often quote more, so agree the price before you get in. For a fixed price you can pre-book a private transfer. The map above shows current hotel prices around the resort.
Is Golden Monkey Worth Visiting?
Yes, with your eyes open about the price. Limassol has very little Asian food of any real quality, and Golden Monkey is comfortably the best Thai on the island. The kitchen is run by a Thai head chef with a team brought from Thailand, and it shows in the cooking rather than only in the marketing.
The difficulty is value. Our last visit came to around 140 euro for a platter, fried rice, a duck breast, one cocktail, one beer and water. That is a lot of money for what arrived, particularly the duck, which was an average portion by any measure. Cyprus has become expensive across the board and this still sits at the top end of what the food justifies.
Why Golden Monkey Matters in Limassol
This is most of the case for going. Limassol’s restaurant scene has grown enormously over the past decade, and Asian food is the obvious hole in it. There are a handful of decent places and very little at the top end.
Golden Monkey opened in 2021 as the island’s first dedicated Thai fine dining room, and nothing has really challenged it since. If you want proper Thai in Cyprus, the list is short and this is at the top of it.
What Is the Food Like?
Genuinely decent, and that is not faint praise in a market this thin. The flavours are there rather than flattened for European palates, the ingredients are good and the plates arrive looking like somebody cared.
The duck breast is where the value question sharpens. It was cooked well, but the portion was modest for the price. The fried rice was fine without being memorable, and the platter was the better order. Nothing arrived badly, which is the frustrating part of the review, because the kitchen is not the problem.
What Are the Room and Service Like?
The room is mixed. The Thai design elements are well done, the handcrafted pieces are genuinely attractive and the atmosphere is pleasant and calm.
What it does not do is feel like a destination. The setting reads as slightly enclosed, closer to a lower ground floor space than to a room you would choose for the view, which is an odd outcome given the Tower it sits in and the marina outside. There is a terrace, which improves matters considerably in warm weather. For a restaurant at this price point the competition sets a high bar on setting, and ORIS at Trilogy and Matsuhisa at the Amara both look considerably more impressive, whatever we thought of their kitchens.
Service has been consistently good across visits. It is attentive without hovering, knowledgeable about the menu and comfortable making recommendations. It has never been the weak point here, which is worth saying given how often it is elsewhere in the city.
Is Golden Monkey Worth the Price?
Around 140 euro for two courses, a side, two drinks and water is fine dining pricing, and it invites fine dining comparison. Against that standard it is difficult. Beefbar costs more and delivers a clearly premium product. Prime at City of Dreams costs less and is more consistent. A full meze at Meze Taverna feeds you for three hours at a fraction of it.
The sharpest comparison is the closest one. BEGE, a few steps away on the same marina, delivers a considerably better meal for money in the same bracket. The counterargument is scarcity, because you cannot get this food elsewhere in Cyprus and rarity carries a premium everywhere. Whether that premium feels reasonable depends on how much you want Thai food that evening.
Other Places to Eat in Limassol
If Thai is not what you are after, Limassol has stronger options at similar prices: BEGE for fish, Prime or Beefbar for steak, and Meze Taverna for traditional food. Our guide to the best restaurants in Cyprus ranks them all.
Staying nearby? Check Limassol hotel prices on Booking.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Address of Golden Monkey?
The Tower, St Raphael Resort and Marina, Amathountos Avenue 502, 4520 Pyrgos, Limassol, Cyprus. It is on the eastern side of the city.
Is Golden Monkey Expensive?
Yes. Budget around 140 euro for two with a couple of drinks, which is genuine fine dining pricing.
Is the Food Authentic?
More so than most Asian food in Cyprus. The kitchen is run by a Thai head chef with a team from Thailand.
Is There Better Thai in Cyprus?
Not that we have found. It is the best on the island, which is part of why the price holds.
Do You Need to Book?
Yes, particularly at weekends and in summer. Booking is recommended at any time of year.
What Is the Dress Code?
Smart casual.
Where Is the Best Place to Eat in Limassol?
It depends on the evening. For Thai, Golden Monkey. For fish, BEGE. For steak, Prime or Beefbar.
How Much Is a Taxi From Larnaca Airport to Limassol?
The official tariff to the Germasogeia area is €48.17 by day and €56.47 at night. Limassol centre is €54.52 by day and €63.86 at night.
Final Verdict
Our verdict: Recommended with caveats
Good:
- The best Thai food in Cyprus, cooked by a Thai head chef and team.
- Consistently good, attentive service.
- Pleasant, calm room with attractive Thai design details and a terrace.
Not so good:
- Around 140 euro for two courses, a side, two drinks and water.
- Modest portions, particularly the duck, for the price.
- A slightly enclosed setting that does not quite carry the price.
Best for: Thai food in a city with almost no alternatives, and anyone already staying at the St Raphael.
Not for: anyone looking for value, or a room with a view.
Golden Monkey is a good restaurant with a difficult bill. The cooking is genuinely decent, the service is reliable and it fills a gap in Limassol that nobody else has properly filled. What holds it back is the relationship between what arrives and what you pay, and a room that does not quite carry the price.
Go when you want Thai food and accept the cost as the price of scarcity. Golden Monkey sits at number fifteen in our ranking of the best restaurants in Cyprus, held back by value rather than by the kitchen.