Restaurants, Food and Drink

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 restaurants in Phuket that we like...

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 find Danang and Kan Eang, and there's also the new Kan Eang @ The Pier which is more expensive, but very nicely - we have only stopped there for drinks so far, but I am sure will go for dinner sometime soon...

• Laem Hin Seafood
• Bang Pae Seafood
• Danang Seafood... now closed.
• Kan Eang 2 Seafood
• Batik Seafood (Nai Yang Beach)
• Samchong Seafood (just off Phuket in Phang Nga)



Eating by the sea

We like to find small local places that don't have tourist rip off prices, which normaly 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. Friendship Beach is more expensive (it's American owned) but the location is great and they have a pool too. On Koh Sirey there are several small places which get almost no tourist business - inexpensive, by the sea, peaceful - just how we like it.

• The Beach Bar
• The Beach Bar again!
• Nikitas, Rawai Beach
• Bang Rong Floating Restaurant
• Friendship Beach
• Haad Pleum Suk (Koh Sirey)
• Nakkerd Seaview (on Buddha Mountain)
• Nice Food Good View (Cape Panwa)



Around Phuket Town

Phuket Town has a lot of dining options - we rarely go "into town", but have found a few good ones this year like Rimtang and Kawejai. 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. Leelawadee is on the road to Chalong next to the "Kajonkiet" school. Chen Long is one of many all you can eat buffet places around town, you can find it in between Big C and Central. Pak Nam Seafood we just found recently to the north of town.

• Dairy Hut
• UpTown Restaurant
• Rimtang Restaurant
• Kaewjai Bakery and Restaurant
• Chen Long Kung Kata (Buffet)
• Leelawadee
• Pak Nam Seafood
• Farang Restaurant
• The Big Chicken
• The Lunch Room
• Phuket Brewery - microbrewery, live music and food too!



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. The Lakeside is run by a friend of ours, it's on the road towards Bang Pae waterfall about 2km from the Heroines monument.

• Lakeside Restaurant

Noodles!

If you just want a snack - a bowl of noodles does the trick and normally only costs about 25 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



There are also plenty of food options in the Phuket Town shops, supermarkets and malls such as Tesco Lotus or Central festival (we like Zen or Fuji Japanese).

Main beaches

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

• Mama Noi (Karon Beach)
• The Ninth Floor (Patong)
• BBQ Hut
• English Food in Phuket (Pineapple Guesthouse)


Phuket Food Festival

The food festival at Sapan Hin in Phuket City was 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 recently:

• Phuket Food Festival

Thirsty after all that food? About Thai Beer - just an intro - I am doing extensive taste tests at the moment... results soon.

More to come, may include a cheap local restaurant in Kathu and a few places I can recommend on the main beaches including the best pizza on the island... Of course, nothing compares to good home cooking (see: Thai Food: Home Cooking), but we have vowed to try and explore a few new restaurants this year.

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, sticky rice sellers etc. all over Thailand. Street food is well worth a try!

• Street Food - Pa Tong Go
• A Working Lunch
• Fruit Stalls

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
• Kru Suwit Seafood by Precious Pea