With thousands of visitors from all over the world, Phuket has restaurants to cater to almost every taste. There's a heavy emphasis on seafood, of course, but you'll also find steaks, pizza and just about everything else on offer. The main concentration of restaurants is in the main beach area of Patong, although you'll find restaurants all over the island.
In Patong, the Beach Road (Thaweewong) is lined with outdoor seafood establishments, as well as a sprinkling of American fast food outfits. More restaurants, as well as bars and other entertainment places, can be found along Soi Bangla, which at night is closed to auto traffic.
Recommended Restaurants
Note: The December 2004 tsunami destroyed many businesses, in Patong especially. Many were re-built, but some changed hands in the process. Therefore, we've "started over" and are only listing restaurants that we've visited since the big wave.
- Papaya
- Karon Beach - 076 398 030 - Thai
This single story restaurant in the middle of a block of shop-houses was very inviting from the very beginning, with its open courtyard in the middle making for a very cool and comfortable place. This is not a fancy restaurant. The Thai food was extremely delicious, and the staff were quite used to asking how spicy you wanted your food. - Sea Hag
- Patong Beach - Soi Wattana Clinic - 076 341 111 - Thai
Sea Hag was recommended to us as a place where those "in the know" went for the best Thai seafood in Phuket. They certainly must be doing something right. The restaurant has virtually no signs. We walked past it twice before noticing the tiny sign above the door. Nevertheless, it was almost full when we got there late one night. The location is in a row of shop-houses on a side street off the Beach Road in Patong. The decor is more or less modern Thai, which is about how we would describe the food as well. All the classic Thai dishes were available, as well as some with a more Western influence.