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 RestaurantsMany 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.
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Laem Hin Seafood•
Bang Pae Seafood•
Pak Nam Seafood•
Kan Eang 2 Seafood•
Batik Seafood (Nai Yang Beach)
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Samchong Seafood (just off Phuket in Phang Nga)
Eating by the seaWe 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.
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Bang Rong Floating Restaurant•
The Beach Bar at Cape Panwa
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The Beach Bar (older post) -
Beach Bar again! (yes, it's a favourite)
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Nikitas, Rawai Beach•
Friendship Beach•
Haad Pleum Suk (Koh Sirey)•
Nakkerd Seaview (on Buddha Mountain)
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Nice Food Good View (Cape Panwa)
Around Phuket TownPhuket Town has a lot of dining options - we rarely go "into town", but have found a few good ones this year 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. 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. And there are little local restaurants all over the place around town - try eating at a place like this for some proper local flavour!
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Tunk Ka Restaurant on Rang Hill•
Dairy Hut•
UpTown Restaurant•
Rimtang Restaurant•
Kaewjai Bakery and Restaurant•
Chen Long Kung Kata (Buffet)•
Leelawadee•
Farang Restaurant•
The Big Chicken•
The Lunch Room•
Phuket Brewery - closed now unfortunately.
Main Phuket beachesI 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.
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Sabai Sabai Indian Curry (Kata)•
Mom Tri's Kitchen (Kata Noi 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)Out in the SticksLots 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.
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Peang Prai Restaurant•
Lakeside Restaurant - now closed.
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Andaman Viewpoint - 360 Degree Coffee (just off the island, over the Sarasin bridge)
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!
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Noodles in Phuket•
More Noodles in Phuket!•
Best Phad Thai in Phuket!•
Kuay Jap restaurant near Phuket Town•
Spicy Noodles for Breakfast!
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.
Phuket Food FestivalThe 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:
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Phuket Food FestivalThirsty 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 FoodI will start writing more about street food, which is mainly snacks rather than full meals. You can find fruit stalls, fried chicken stalls, somtum 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.
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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:
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Tina's Phuket Restaurant Page•
Mala Dimsum, Kata Beach by Camille•
Kru Suwit Seafood by Precious Pea
Er...Tesco Lotus? The big supermarket and mall? You gotta be kidding? Not at all, and as we live but a few minutes from here, and use it for shopping, banking, video rental etc., we find it very convenient. I would not say it's worth a visit specifically for a meal, but if you are passing by and feel hungry, there are lots of choices inside. Located at Sam Kong junction, one of the busiest bits of road in Phuket where the bypass road starts, the store is huge, being not just a supermarket but a mall too, with shops, banks, a post office..and places to eat.
