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Browse through our guide on some of the best eateries
at various locations around the island
Bang Tao
Offers some of the best local and international dining on the
island. Within the luxury resort of the Laguna area, is a myriad
of choices for dining - little wonder many visitors don't feel
the necessity to venture out of this area at all.
 At
the Dusit
Laguna Hotel there is lots to choose from, but especially
enjoyable is La Trattoria, the sophisticated Italian haute
cuisine restaurant with a view of the sweeping lawn, or Ruen
Thai, a beautiful Thai-style restaurant on a romantic lagoon.
The traditional Thai cuisine is elegantly served in handsome dishes
accompanied with carved vegetables. At La Trattoria, the
chef recommend you try his homemade pastas and polish off your
meal with cold, refreshing gelato made on the premises. Open daily
from breakfast.
 The
Banyan Tree Phuket also features some great eateries,
including the upmarket local expat favourite, Saffron,
which features Mid-Eastern and Asian dishes prepared and served
with flair on unique pottery dishes and grills at surprisingly
reasonable prices for a 5-star resort. Relaxed ambiance. Lunch
and dinner daily. The beautifully situated Watercourt restaurant
overlooks calm waters. Chefs prepare exquisite meals ranging from
Asian seafood to dishes with a Mediterranean touch.
At Sheraton
Grande Laguna Phuket, sample some Southern Thai and
Phuket dishes at Chao Lay. The air-conditioned restaurant
also features traditional Thai architecture with Thai seating.
Diners can enjoy the view of the lagoon, while traditional Thai
music is provided as background music. Also enjoyable is Puccini,
a northern Italian restaurant, the hotel's signature restaurant
with a mouthwatering menu that offers a highly satisfying alternative
to Asian.
TeaHouse serves authentic Cantonese and Szchuan cuisine
prepared by a top Chinese chef. The Peking Duck is wonderful and
the decor entirely appropriate.
 At
the entrance to the resort, along Srisoonthorn Road, are some
of the most popular restaurants visited by local expatriates and
visitors alike. Tatonka is a great value restaurant where
Thais, Westerners and local expatriates mingle to sample innovative
dishes or "Globetrotter Cuisine" as the European chef and owner,
Harold, likes to call it. Right next door is the sophisticated
Supper Club, the place to gather for cocktails or to linger
late into the night over a bottle of good wine and a wonderfully
simple yet satisfying mixed and changing a la carte menu. The
mood music, slick decor and mix of people found here make this
a one of a kind venue on the island.
Toto Laguna serves classical Italian fare from
Tuscany at the ever-effervescent Bepy's second Phuket restaurant
at the entrance to Laguna Phuket. Toto Latino is in the
Why Not? Bazaar across from Toto Laguna. It features a tapas menu
that can be enjoyed in the peaceful, garden setting of this Thai-style
village.
Kamala
The small community of Kamala hosts some gems of eating-places
within a very small area close to the beach. Indeed, there is
no better way to enjoy the relaxed calm of Kamala village, than
to while away the time at any of the beach side restaurants, savouring
the best of local food, sea breezes and scenic views.
On the headland next to Kamala
Beach Estate is Paul's Place, an intimate restaurant
housed in a wooden villa which completely opens out to a romantic
view of the bay. Serving Thai and international food for both
lunch and dinner, the restaurant is relaxed and modestly priced,
with friendly local service. Open Daily.
On the beach road that follows through into the village, there
are a few little restaurants serving seafood and standard Thai
fare. The pick of them all is Kamala Seafood, easy to spot
and always full of people in the evenings during high season.
Their selection of fresh seafood dishes is extensive and the service
is always friendly. High season they are open daily for dinner.
Toto's has also opened in Kamala recently - and for the
uninitiated - this is where you'll find good moderately priced
Italian fare.
Along the northern end of the beach are a number of little beach
side restaurants that set up over high season, providing simple
Thai fare for lunch and dinner. Also look out for the village
markets held on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at the southern
end of the bay beside the main highway. Try some freshly cooked
spring rolls, deep fried sweet potato, banana and jack fruit,
steamed corn, Thai style pancakes, steamed ground nuts, natural
ice-cream flavoured with durian, corn, coconut or taro, coconut
and sticky rice steamed in bamboo, freshly cut fruit and much
much more.
For non-Thai fare, look for Café Java, just off
the main highway. Under French management, they serve a good selection
of home style cooking in hefty portions. Also has a bar and pool
table.
Karon Beach
Karon Beach has many eateries to choose from, and whether it's
Thai food or a taste of something different, you'll find lots
to please here.
On the Rock at Marina Cottage, south end of Karon Beach
serves seafood of the highest international standard right on
a rocky promontory with a superb view of Karon Beach. Tel: 330
625. Old Siam located along Karon Beach Road at Thavorn
Palm Beach Hotel, is a stylish Thai restaurant serving excellent
Royal-Northern cuisine. Choose the terrace or traditional teakwood
house. Classical dance performed Wednesdays and Saturdays. Open
noon-2.30pm, 6-10pm.
Flamingo Patak Road, opposite the Boathouse serves great
thin-crust pizza straight from a wood-fired oven, plus an extensive
selection of other Italian dishes. Open daily, breakfast through
dinner.
Karon Café Inn & Restaurant at the Islandia Resort
Complex, Karon Centre serves home-style American cooking with
a few Continental dishes thrown in. Try the roast beef, steaks,
spareribs and salad bar; reasonable prices. Open daily 7.30am-dinner.
Kata Beach
Bluefin Tavern is known for it's American food served
in a neighborhood bar-style restaurant. And now they've gone big
with Tex-Mex! Try their excellent burritos and their special nachos,
or the hamburgers that have to be the most delicious and authentic
in Phuket. Superb piña coladas, American-style pizza, sandwiches
and more. Open daily 11.30am-late.
Talay-Tai at Karon Villa Phuket serves Thai
and international seafood and meat dishes in a relaxed setting
on the beach road. Select your own fresh Phuket lobster, crab
or saltwater fish. Reasonable prices. Open daily 11am-11pm.
 The
Boathouse Wine and Grill at Mom Tri's Boathouse serves
haute cuisine comprising of a tantalizing combination of Thai
and Western tastes served in an elegant atmosphere right on the
beach for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Excellent wine cellar.
Live jazz at 9pm every Saturday; happy hour every evening. Bookings
strongly suggested for dinner.
Gung Seafood adjacent to the Boathouse Inn at Kata Beach,
serves lunch and dinner right on the beach. The menu features
simple yet tasteful Thai food and fantastic cocktails served with
flare.
Nai Harn
 For
eating in the Nai Harn area, try Coconut Café (next
to Phuket Yacht Club) which serves good local food and is popular
with expat residents. Don's Café in Sayuan village
offers one of the islands most extensive menus in a local village
style setting. Nok Yung Restaurant serves Thai food in
pleasant surroundings and nearby The Wall offers French
and Thai cuisine in an Indonesian style open restaurant on stilts.
Quarterdeck Restaurant at the Le Royal Meridien Phuket
Yacht Club, is where you'll find the true ambiance of a yacht
club. White-clothed tables on an open verandah overlook the beautiful
bay of Nai Harn. Attentive service. Try the huge dinner buffet,
overflowing with gourmet dishes, or the shady outdoor terrace
restaurant that makes a lovely spot for lunch and serves lighter
specialties during the heat of the day. Both open daily from breakfast.
Newly open is "Mimi's", serving an eclectic mix cuisine
ranging from Tibetanti Swiss.
By Location:
BangTao/Surin - Kamala
- Karon - Kata - Nai
Harn - Patong
Phuket Town - Rawai/Chalong
- Rest of the Island
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