Phuket Restaurants

Tonsai Seafood
(Phi Phi Island)

Tonsai Bay is a bustling and colourful place at most times of day. But when the sun sinks into the Andaman Sea and the lights go up along the coastline there is a tangible sense of magic in the air.

Tonsai Seafood is right in the heart of all this fairylike seaside sorcery and, like a fairy’s magic wand, the restaurant glistens and glitters with bright lights.

Mama's Restaurant
(Phi Phi Island)

Mama’s restaurant has been open for some 20 years now and this has got to be some sort of a record for Phi Phi Island. And if not, it should be. Owner, Angelo Rasami from Tours in France, has been in Thailand for 21 years and he’s managed to make his eatery one of the most popular and reputable around. Mama’s is in Tonsai, the busiest part of the Phi Phi Island group so no one can say that Angelo has shied away from a challenging location.

Panwa House
(Cape Panwa)

Tin plays such an important part of Phuket’s history and the island has a stronger Chinese presence than any other Thai province due to the influx of Chinese labour over 100 years ago. One of the results of the tin boom is an impressive collection of colonial-style tin mogul mansions dotted throughout the island, in various stages of disrepair or recondition. One of the better-maintained mansions is situated on the beach in Cape Panwa Hotel’s grounds; this is Panwa House, a veritable monument to an epoch when tin was king.

China Inn Café
(Phuket Town)

If you enter the front room at 20 Thalang Road in Phuket you may be tempted to sit down in the lovely red sofa there and stare in wonder at the beautiful Chinese artifacts, figurines, lacquer work, textiles and fabrics… but don’t. This is because the sofa, a ‘Thairalia’ seasoned hardwood goose and duck feather-filled marvel, is for sale. Welcome to China Inn Café & Restaurant, a beautifully restored example of what people can do with a rundown old building if they possess dedication, patience and an unswervable vision.

Sala Bua Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

Sala Bua roughly translates as ‘Lotus Pavillion’ in English and indeed, the flower is the leitmotif running through Impiana Cabana Resort in Patong, home of Sala Bua. You’ll find lotuses placed discretely in the lobby, rooms and restaurants at the resort. It’s a pity that lotuses aren’t edible because it’s a sure bet that Sala Bua’s award-winning Filipino executive chef Ronnie Macuja would rustle something delicious up with them – maybe a lotus and paprika salad with heart of palm in balsamic vinegar?

Ristorante Da Ali
(Laem Singh Beach)

Laem Singh Beach features seven restaurants in high season and three in the low season but Da Ali is the capo di tutti capi of these beachside affairs. You can tell from the name that there is a strong Italian influence on this beach and indeed several beach workers speak the language, as well as pretty good English. Before going to visit Da Ali you will have to ask yourself if you can handle a mini workout as to get down to the beach from the Kamala-to-Surin road you will be faced with a steep descent and a muscle-straining climb up afterwards.

Floyd's Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

Whereas it’s really TV chef Keith Floyd, stomping around, making sure things are just right for his culinary audience tonight. Floyd creates a gastronomic buzz wherever he breezes through. Recently, he helped open a restaurant at Burasari and has been the object of much media attention in Phuket ever since.

Rum Jungle Café
(Nai Harn)

One of the healthier aspects of Phuket’s vibrant culinary scene is that it is decentralised. No matter where you go in Phuket, neighbourhood eateries abound, from street stall level to fashionable cafes to high-class dining. A good example of this indigenous movement is Rum Jungle, a bistro in Nai Harn, at the foot of the island.

Capannina
(Kata Beach)

‘Capannina’ translates into English as ‘small hut’ but in reality, this Italian restaurant in Kata Beach is a much bigger affair than that. Italian restaurants are known to build up a regular clientele – perhaps because of the Italians’ love of family and children or perhaps because Italian food is so universally loved.

Palai Seafood
(Chalong)

If you had to choose just one thing that Phuket is famous for, many people would opt for its sensationally fresh seafood. Phuket’s surrounding waters teem with the sort of marine life that would leave Jacques Cousteau dancing the calypso and wise visitors make sure that they benefit from this abundance.

Kan Eang@Pier
(Chalong)

Chalong boasts two Kan Eangs, and both are on choice seafront land, both serve fresh seafood, and both are large affairs. Kan Eang@Pier (KEP), however, has recently had a major overhaul and oozes class, tasteful design and dining comfort. Oh, by the way, kan eang roughly translates as ‘easy going’.

Tamachart Restaurant
(Phuket Town)

Tamachart Restaurant in Phuket City has got to be the most unusual, out-of-the-ordinary eatery this side of Bangkok. It’s been going for 15 years now and is a tremendously popular spot for expats and locals alike. The word ‘Tamachart’ translates into English as ‘Natural’ and many people in Phuket use the English word when discussing this oddly fitted out Thai-Chinese eating place.

The Dining Room
(Karon Beach)

It seems there are two types of people in Thailand’s catering world: Those who believe that quality domestic beef is a real possibility and those who don’t and import it at cost.

The Dining Room in Karon Beach’s Pacific Club & Spa, however, swings both ways and does so successfully. The restaurant’s philosophy is simple; create great dishes at minimal price. And who in their right mind can argue with that?

S&G Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

There’s something intrinsically different about family run restaurants. Could it be a heightened sense of unity among staff members or a fluidity of service that a “normal” business lacks? Whatever it may be, S&G in Patong possesses this mysterious quality, perhaps without even knowing it. Unobtrusive, easy to pass by on a busy walking street, but ultimately delivering the goods, S&G epitomizes the best of middle-range Patong eateries.

Mali Seafood
(Kata Beach)

Phuket is forever changing. New developments spring up continually that range from the tasteful to the hideous. Mali (meaning “jasmine” in Thai) Seafood, in Kata, is the flagship restaurant of the recently completed Malisa Sugar Palm resort – and in itself a tasteful architectural achievement. With impeccable design and an experienced chef on board, Mali has what it takes to deliver an impressive dining experience.

Sunday Brunch
(in 5 Phuket Resorts)

Much of the pleasure of living or visiting Phuket is choosing from the wonderful selection of restaurants whose international executive chefs present foods that are hard to find anywhere else in the world. Though many of the tasty ingredients found on the menus of the island’s five star resorts are imported from Europe or Australia, a lot is fresh from the surrounding Andaman Sea or grown in organic gardens sprinkled around the region.

Flavors Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

Patong doesn’t boast too many top-of-the-class eateries. With an underlit bar (which seems to be all the rage these days), discreet lighting, a spacious interior and a well-turned-out staff, Flavors has the edge over its neighbouring, more middle-ranged competitors.

Baan Yin Dee
(Patong Beach)

Baan Yin Dee is a gem. With a view to die for, in a location that only the privileged could dream about, and an execution of service that rivals the best, Baan Yin Dee, a 21-room boutique hotel with a tastefully fitted-out restaurant, fits into a welcome slot in the island’s culinary kaleidoscope.

Sea Hag Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

A legend in its own lifetime already, Sea Hag is not only the flagship gay restaurant in Patong, but it stands on its own as a culinary landmark after 15 years on the scene. Owner Khun Kenya, has shown impeccable taste in décor and atmosphere and with this combination of good food and discernment it’s hard to find a better intimate dining location in his part of Patong – albeit gay or straight.

Kaab Kluay
(Patong Beach)

I bet you’re wondering what Kaab Gluay means. Well, it means “banana trunk”. And if you’re further into entomology, the word Patong, (where the restaurant itself is located) means “banana grove.”
So now you know. Still, Kaab Gluay is a restaurant that has more to do with seafood than bananas.

La Casa Restaurant
(Patong Beach)

Italian restaurants abound in Phuket – and nowhere more so than in Patong. One or two are astounding in their innovatory skills yet most stick to traditional food preparation and a dependable atmosphere. La Casa Pizzeria e Ristorante, part of Patong Bay Garden Resort, is smack-bang in the heart of Patong’s action and is a popular tourist eating spot.

On The Rocks
(Kata Beach)

On the Rock is one of the oldest established restaurants in Phuket and is rightly regarded as an institution on the island – a place where families, lovers and friends can count on eating spanking-fresh seafood in a great setting. As the name suggests, the restaurant is at the end of a rocky promontory in the grounds of Marina Phuket Resort,

Silk (Surin Beach)

When a restaurant has the vision to name itself Silk, you can pretty much bet that dining there automatically results in a smooth, soft and luxurious evening. Yet for us the evening got off to a bad start. Just as we parked at the glitzy Surin Plaza where Silk is located, Mother Nature contrived to ruin it all; a thunderstorm came crashing and splashing through Cherng Talay. We ran through the downpour to the elevator.

Lair Lay Tong (Patong Beach)

Patong has almost boundless shopping opportunities, water sports by the cartful and an energetic nightlife. But the town also offers some charming subtleties as well if you go looking for them. Patong's side streets are a world of their own and teem with interesting little bars, cafes and restaurants. Soi Dr. Wattana, off Beach Road, is a good example of Patong's diversity and right at the end of this cul de sac is a busy restaurant called Lair Lay Tong.

Ratri Jazztaurant
(Kata Beach)

Perched high up above Kata, Ratri Jazztaurant has a wonderful view of the whole of Kata Bay and out to the Andaman Sea and is subsequently one of the best sunset-watching locations in Phuket.

Located on Kata's "upper" road - Patak Road - turn up the hill by the Big One supermarket. Be prepared for an exceptionally steep climb/drive up for a few hundred meters.

Charoen Seafood
(Kamala Beach)

It's a truth that many successful restaurants are family run affairs and Charoen Seafood in Kamala is no exception. Khun Charoen's personal touch has meant good dining here for over 20 years.

Charoen is part of the eighteen-room Kamala Dreams boutique hotel on Kamala's beach road, on the right as you arrive from the north.