Phuket Restaurants - Some Suggestions

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You are really spoilt for choice in Phuket. You want cheap local food, you got it, you want a juicy steak, you got it, you want Italian food, Mexican food, Arabic food, Indian Food ... whatever, you can find it. We tend to avoid the really touristy places, but even in Patong there are a few places I like. We do tend to eat local food, and tend to eat at home most of the time, but it can be cheap to eat out in Thailand, and it's very easy to be lazy! The following are some Phuket restaurants that we like... some are a bit out of the way, but in general we don't eat at the main tourist beaches.. to get good local food, you might just want to get out and explore the real Phuket :)

Seafood Restaurants

Many people want to eat seafood when visiting Phuket, and you'll see seafood displays outside many restaurants on the main beaches. We prefer quieter places which are frequented more by locals. Laem Hin (in my opinion) has the best food. The restaurant is on the east coast north of Phuket Town. Bang Pae Seafood is way up in the north of the island, very quiet. Near Chalong you have Kan Eang and a bunch of others near the zoo, and there's also the new Kan Eang @ The Pier which is more expensive, but very nicely done - we have only stopped there for drinks so far, but I am sure will go for dinner sometime.

Laem Hin Seafood
Bang Pae Seafood
Pak Nam Seafood
Tha Sai Seafood (Phang Nga)
Kan Eang 2 Seafood
Batik Seafood (Nai Yang Beach)
Samchong Seafood (just off Phuket in Phang Nga)

Smoked Shrimp Salad at Laem Hin Seafood

View from Sam Chong Seafood

Eating by the sea

We like to find small local places that don't have tourist rip off prices, which normally means getting off the main tourist beaches. The Beach Bar at Cape Panwa is one of our favourite places to go and relax by the sea, watch the sunset and let the kids play on a beach devoid of jetskis and beach umbrellas. The views from Phromthep Cape restaurant or the After Beach Bar are great. On Koh Sirey there are several small places which get almost no tourist business - inexpensive, by the sea, peaceful - just how we like it.

Kruwit Raft Floating Restaurant
Phromthep Cape Restaurant
The After Beach Bar (Kata)
Bang Rong Floating Restaurant
Thanoon Seafood at the Sarasin Bridge
The Beach Bar at Cape Panwa
Nikitas, Rawai Beach
Friendship Beach
Haad Pleum Suk (Koh Sirey)
Nakkerd Seaview (on Buddha Mountain)
Nice Food Good View (Cape Panwa)

Whole Fish with chili and lime

The Beach Bar at Cape Panwa

Around Phuket Town

Phuket Town has a lot of dining options - we try to go "into town" more often these days, and have found a few good ones recently like Rimtang and Kaewjai. A few of our favourite places are on the edge of town. Dairy Hut is near the Phuket Bangkok International Hospital and has indoor (aircon) and outdoor tables, live music, big screen TV's and tasty food. Tunk Ka is great - on top of Rang Hill with a very nice view. Chen Long is one of many all you can eat buffet places around town, you can find it in between Big C and Central. And there are little local restaurants all over the place around town - try eating at a place like this for some proper local flavour!

Tunk Ka Restaurant on Rang Hill
Kopitiam (in old town)
Dairy Hut
Yellow Door
UpTown Restaurant
Rimtang Restaurant
Kaewjai Bakery and Restaurant
Moo Grob Khun Yai
Chen Long Kung Kata (Buffet)
Leelawadee
Farang Restaurant
The Big Chicken
The Lunch Room
Phuket Brewery - closed now unfortunately.

Eating at Tunk Ka Cafe in Phuket Town

Mango and Sticky Rice

Main Phuket beaches

I don't eat much around the main beaches, except for lunch in Karon, often at Sala Bua, otherwise street food. In Patong, if you want a great burger or Mexican food, try BBQ Hut, for a treat - the Ninth Floor.

Sabai Sabai Indian Curry (Kata)
Mom Tri's Kitchen (Kata Noi Beach)
Mom Tri's Oasis (Kata Beach
Coffee Pot (Karon Beach)
Mama Noi (Karon Beach)
Sala Bua @ Karon Place Hotel
The Ninth Floor (Patong)
Thai-Italy (Patong)
BBQ Hut (Patong)
English Food in Phuket (Pineapple Guesthouse)

Khao Soi at Sala Bua, Karon

Mom Tris Kitchen with view to Kata Noi Beach

Out in the Sticks

Lots of little restaurants in the center of Phuket away from the beaches and away from the town. We tend to eat around Phuket Town as it's near our house, but we are always exploring. Most recent discovery was Peang Prai, near Bang Pae Waterfall.

Kin Dee
Peang Prai Restaurant
Krua Maireab (near Kathu Waterfall)
Deli Steak (near Prince of Songkhla University, Kathu)
Andaman Viewpoint - 360 Degree Coffee (just off the island, over the Sarasin bridge)
Lakeside Restaurant - now closed :(

Nam Prik Gung Seab

Noodles!

If you just want a snack - a bowl of noodles does the trick and normally only costs about 30 - 40 Baht. There must be a noodle shop on every street and every corner. We have several favourite noodle shops. Another noodly favourite is Phad Thai, fried noodles rather than soup. Always a good lunch!

Noodles in Phuket
More Noodles in Phuket!
Best Phad Thai in Phuket!
Kuay Jap restaurant near Phuket Town
Spicy Noodles for Breakfast!

Kuay Jap style noodles

Noodles (Kuaytiaow)

There are also plenty of food options in the Phuket Town shops, supermarkets and malls such as Tesco Lotus or Central festival (we like Fuji Japanese or ). The food courts in the big stores do decent local food. Restaurants everywhere and I can't review them all... this blog does not do the main beaches as much as the more local places.

Phuket Food Festival

The annual food festival at Sapan Hin in Phuket City is worth a visit - in fact any fair or event at Sapan Hin will have food on offer, with a huge variety of food stalls plus live performances every night. We took a look around in 2008:

Phuket Food Festival

Thirsty after all that food? About Thai Beer - just an intro - I am doing extensive taste tests.. may take a few years to get results...

Street Food

I will start writing more about street food, which is mainly snacks rather than full meals. You can find fruit stalls, fried chicken stalls, somtam stalls, sticky rice sellers etc. all over Thailand. Street food is well worth a nibble! If you head to any market area in the evening, lots of food stalls to try.

Street Food - Pa Tong Go
A Working Lunch
Fruit Stalls
Weekend Market (lots of food here)

More to come, may include some cheap local restaurants in Karon and some more seafood places... Of course, nothing compares to good home cooking (see: Thai Food: Home Cooking), but we have vowed to try and keep trying new restaurants for the blogs sake!

More Phuket dining options can be found on the Where to Eat in Phuket web site, or the Phuket Dining web site.

For a lot more information about Thai and Asian Food and places to eat - check out Austin Bush's excellent food and photography blog: Austin Bush Food Blog.

I have started checking other people's blogs for good restaurant tips and reviews - after all, as a resident I do tend to eat in most of the time, whereas tourists and visitors will be eating out... Try these for starters:

Tina's Phuket Restaurant Page
Cathy and Gary's Phuket Travel Pages
Mala Dimsum, Kata Beach by Camille
Kru Suwit Seafood by Precious Pea
Thalay Tong

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