MARS Eatery & Art is an all-day restaurant, café, cocktail bar and art space in Lamai, on the east coast of Koh Samui. Stellar Property Global renovated and fitted out the building, turning an existing restaurant into a room hung with original art. We announced the work on 24 January 2026 and planned it at ten weeks. It ran longer, and MARS held its soft opening, a quiet first opening to the public, on 4 July 2026. Our own team runs it, from coffee and breakfast through to cocktails. You may also see it called MARS Lamai or MARS Koh Samui. Early guests describe the space as more like a gallery than an eatery. It is the restaurant we fitted out to run ourselves, as we run South Beach Inn in Thong Krut.

What we changed

The building in Lamai was already a restaurant. We renovated it and fitted out a new interior built around original art.

Original building before renovation, Lamai, Koh Samui — Before: the building as we found it.

On Instagram: Facade renders, March 2026.

Before we started, we posted our renders beside photos of the old place, so you can compare them. In March we shared renders of the new front of the building.

Choosing the colour

In April we painted sample colours straight onto the facade. We judged them in real light, and on how each one would stand up to sun and salt air near the coast.

Terracotta paint on a column at the MARS Eatery & Art site, Lamai

On Instagram: Colour trials on the facade, April 2026.

It is a small step, but it is the one people see first from the road.

Plan versus reality

We planned the work at ten weeks. It ran longer: in May we estimated completion for early June, and MARS held its soft opening on 4 July 2026.

MARS Eatery & Art facade at sunset, Lamai, Koh Samui — Finished facade, July 2026.

On Instagram: Progress update, May 2026.

We would rather show you that gap than hide it. Read how to choose a builder on Koh Samui for the questions to ask about timelines.

Why we run it ourselves

We did not build MARS for a client and leave. Our own team runs it day to day, so we see every choice we made in use.

That is the same approach we take at South Beach Inn in Thong Krut. We explain why it makes us better builders in building for operations on Koh Samui.

Visiting MARS

MARS runs all day, from coffee and breakfast to cocktails and dessert. The coffee is Arabica from northern Thailand. Since July 2026 MARS has also hosted Paint and Cheers evenings, where guests paint with a drink in hand. For the menu, opening hours and events, see mars-eatery-art.com or @mars.eatery.art on Instagram.