Reviews of the Best Local Thai Restaurants in Phuket ✓
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Our list of the best local Thai restaurants in Phuket keeps growing because local food in Phuket is great, especially if you step away from Patong Beach! We chose not to list any places and no trendy venues here; our blog is about local food and only local food! These restaurants are not fancy, and all are cheap: they don’t care about the decor, and they sometimes forget to smile; it’s all about efficiency and great taste. Some of them might appear dirty if you are not used to local experiences, so if you don’t like busy places, plastic chairs and plates, toilet paper as napkins and ice cubes in your beer (and sometimes MSG), you probably will not print our page to take it with you. If you want to know what makes people queue in Phuket, prepare for a real dining experience!
Our list of local Thai restaurants in Phuket is, of course, very subjective. We know other places would make it to the list, but here are the best-known local shops for two decades. We also built a map at the end of the page to help you locate these fancy places.
Quick Jump to Restaurants Pages
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Mor Mu Dong Restaurant
Seafood Local Restaurant
Chalong
Mor Mu Dong is quite an unusual restaurant in Phuket. If you enjoy eating off the beaten tracks where many locals go for a great lunch or dinner, Mor Mu Dong is your place. Every Phuket resident knows it, and you have to count the cars in the parking to know that something special is cooking here. Read More
Phuket Floating Restaurant – Kruvit Raft
Seafood Restaurant
Phuket East Coast
Phuket floating restaurant 'Kruvit Raft' is one of the most original ways to enjoy dinner when you get tired of your 'Same Same but Different' Thai food restaurant. Try this unusual but popular place known as 'Kra Chang' ('fishing basket'), an assemblage of several restaurants floating between Phuket Island's east coast and Maphrao Island. In 2021, Kru Suwit Seafood Raft was added to the Phuket Michelin Guide. Read More
Bang Pae Seafood
Seafood Restaurant
Phuket East Coast
Bang Pae Seafood is a great local restaurant, very hidden on the east coast of Phuket. It's not so easy to find, and yet, it's busy on weekends with a mix of Thai, expats and some tourists brought by local friends. Read More
Laem Sai Seafood
Seafood Restaurant
Phuket East Coast
Laem Sai Seafood is a local restaurant hidden far away on the east coast of Phuket. The restaurant mostly consists of a vast wooden terrace over the sea or the mud, depending on the tide. Read More
Kan Eang 2 Seafood Restaurant
Chalong Bay
Kan Eang 2 is not the most accessible place to find, but it's one of Phuket's best local seafood restaurants. Everyone here knows that there are 2 Kan Eang Seafood restaurants on the island. Read More
Peang Prai Restaurant
Michelin Restaurant
Local Restaurant
Local Restaurant
Bang Pae - East Coast
Peang Prai Restaurant (Krua Piang Prai) is an excellent local venue in a green nest next to Bang Pae waterfall. Mostly unknown to tourists because of its remote location, Peang Prai is one of the two great places to have lunch if you happen to be in the area. Read More
Nam Yoi Restaurant
Local Thai Restaurant
Phuket Town
Nam Yoi Restaurant is a discreet local place tucked away on a remote street in Phuket Town. While it’s challenging to find, the effort is worth it for their excellent local and southern Thai cuisine. The setting is simple, prices are very affordable, and the food is exceptional. Read More
Salaloy Seafood Restaurant
Rawai Beach
Salaloy Seafood Restaurant in Phuket is located on Rawai Beach, in the very south of Phuket. Divided into two parts on each side of the busy beachfront road, the kitchen and main dining room are on one side and a sidewalk by the ocean and under the tall trees. Read More
Ko Ang Seafood
Local Seafood
Phuket Town
Ko Ang Seafood is a local restaurant serving excellent seafood on the east side of Phuket Town. Ko Ang has been around for a long time and started as a modest shop with no decoration and a zinc roof. But seafood lovers always find the right places (and maybe we recommended it a lot too), and Ko Ang Seafood is now a bright restaurant and even added Chinese decoration. Read More
Chom Chan by One Chun Restaurant
Phuket Town
Chom Chan is an excellent Thai restaurant serving a great selection of Phuket dishes and local specialities. Read More
Jadjan Restaurant
Michelin - Local Thai
Phuket Town
Jadjan is an excellent local Thai restaurant hidden on the outskirts of Phuket Town. Not many travellers know that a former chef from a 5-star hotel in Bangkok runs it. Read More
Kan Eang at Pier Seafood Restaurant
Chalong
Kan Eang at Pier is a trendy seafood restaurant in Chalong Bay on the way to Rawai Beach, in the south of Phuket. Popular since decades, Kan Eang is a relaxing place in the shade of huge trees with a beautiful sea breeze. Read More
Piset Restaurant Phuket
Young Thai Restaurant
Phuket Town
Piset Restaurant is a fun place on Yaowarat Road in the old Phuket town that has been very popular with the young local crowd for serving creative Thai food for many years. The restaurant is run by Khun Praew, a famous local influencer and a member of one of the longest-established families in Phuket. Read More
Hong Khao Tom Pla Restaurant
Local Restaurant
Phuket Town
Hong Khao Tom Pla is a discreet and long-established restaurant in Phuket Town, named after its famous fish rice porridge speciality. Behind this modest appearance is a little gem, so good that the Michelin Guide awarded them a 'Bib Gourmand', which is a sign of good quality and good value cooking. Read More
Khun Jeed Yod Pak Restaurant
Michelin - Local Thai
Phuket Town
Khun Jeed Yod Pak Restaurant is an institution in Phuket Town and one of the best local restaurants on the island. It is open as far as I can remember, which is more than 20 years now. It became famous for a dish Thai people love called radna. Read More
Go Benz Phuket
Phuket Town
Go Benz Phuket has been one of Phuket's most popular local restaurants for over 15 years. Go Benz served a relatively small choice of noodle soups and rice porridge, and by keeping it focused, they became very good at preparing them. Read More
Red Clam Restaurant
Kathu
Red Clam in Kathu, or Hoi Pai Daeng in Thai, is a local restaurant serving good and simple Thai food, perfect for sharing with your friends at the end of the day, the way Thai food is best enjoyed. The restaurant is modest, but the setting is fun, with a vast open-air garden with open tables and those typical bamboo huts so popular in Thai restaurants. In case of rain, there is also a large covered area in the back. Read More
Rimpan Seafood Restaurant Phuket
North Phuket
Rimpan Seafood is a small but great Phuket local restaurant hidden in plain sight in the north of Phuket Island, near the bridge that connects the island to the mainland. Thousand people drive past Rimpan each day without realising such a great place sits right here. Read More
Tu Kab Khao Phuket
Thai Restaurant
Phuket Town
Tu Kab Khao is a popular Thai restaurant in Phuket Town that serves great southern Thai food. Give yourself a chance to try their selection of dishes that are typical of Phuket. Tu Kab Khao received a Michelin rating from the new Michelin Guide for Phuket, a sign of excellent food. Read More
Green Heart Garden
Amazing Views
Kata Beach
Green Heart Garden is a superb hidden restaurant perched high on the hills above Kata Beach and blessed with incredible panoramic views of the Andaman Sea. Read More
Kha Moo Boran
Kathu
Kha Mu Boran is a very discreet and modest restaurant at a busy intersection of Kathu. It is easily missed as you drive by and not easy to park, but when you know the place, it is worth it for a delicious casual lunch. Read More
Khrua Ohm Restaurant Phuket
Kathu
Krua Ohm is a small and modest local Thai restaurant in Kathu with a mention on the famous Michelin Guide for two consecutive years. Read More
Krua Kao Kuk Restaurant
Michelin Restaurant
Local Favourite
Local Favourite
Phuket Town
Krua Kao Kuk is a hidden gem on the outskirts of Phuket Town, praised for its simple and delicious southern Thai cuisine. Founded by a Peranakan family in 1995, it's a favourite among locals for fresh seafood dishes, vegetables with ginger, and classic Thai comfort food like omelettes and pork belly. Read More
Kalim Rim Lay Restaurant
Patong Beach
Kalim Rim Lay Restaurant is a little-known restaurant serving good honest Thai food and seafood at a good price. Best of all for some of you, it is located not far from Patong Beach, just past Kalim Beach. Rim Lay is a very relaxing spot to enjoy lunch or dinner with spectacular sunsets if you are lucky to get one as we did. Read More
Kaab Gluay Restaurant
Patong Beach
Kaab Gluay is one of the few authentic local Thai restaurants in Patong Beach. The food is delicious and well priced, and the staff is always amiable. Read More
Nai Dam Restaurant
Kathu
Nai Dam Restaurant in Kathu looks just like any restaurant by the roadside of Phuket. It's not fancy, there are no exterior signs of luxury and even the restaurant signboard is hardly visible. Read More
Wanlamun Phuket
Thai Sweets
Phuket Town
Wanlamun is the most popular Thai sweets and Thai desserts restaurant in Phuket Town. The restaurant has been open for decades and serves an astonishingly large choice of local sweets you probably didn't even know existed. Read More
Som Chit Hokkien Noodle Soup
Hokkien Noodle Soup
Phuket Town
Som Chit Restaurant is famous for its delicious Hokkien Noodles Soup, and people from Bangkok who know about it would stop here for lunch when they visit Phuket Town. Read More
Kanom Jeen Saphan Hin
Phuket Town
Kanom Jeen Saphan Hin is a long time favourite restaurant in Phuket Town where mostly locals come for a late breakfast, lunch or even dinner. Read More
Krua Jongjit Kitchen Kathu in Phuket
Kathu
Krua Jongjit restaurant in Kathu is proof that a restaurant doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to be excellent, and even receive a Michelin Plate for fresh ingredients, carefully prepared. The restaurant is local and modest, the prices are low and the food served is excellent and truly local, making it a good culinary experience while in Phuket. Read More
Mee Sapam Phuket
Phuket Town
Mee Sapam is a a famous 50-year-old restaurant located on the outskirts of Phuket Town and owned by a local Phuketian Khun Yai Chian, listed in the Phuket Michelin Guide. Read More
Aek Rawai Seafood Restaurant
Rawai Beach
Aek Rawai Seafood Restaurant is one of the few local seafood restaurants peppering the roadside of Rawai Beach. This small restaurant doesn’t have any particular sign and it doesn’t attract a mass of hungry tourists, but this is where we love to go for a real seafood lunch or dinner. Read More
Ko Yoon Restaurant
Phuket Town
Ko Yoon Restaurant is a very small and discreet place serving amazing Hokkien Noodles. If you happen to visit Phuket Town, chances are you walked passed it without noticing it, it looks like any other anonymous local hole-in-the-wall restaurant. But Ko Yoon has prepared those delicious big yellow noodles for decades and locals know how good they are. Read More
Ketho Coffee & Kitchen Dim Sum Restaurant
Great for Breakfast!
Kathu
Ketho Coffee & Kitchen is a dim sum restaurant very popular with locals for their breakfast, mostly for their dim sums but also for their soups and rice porridge. Read More
Boon Restaurant near Phuket Town
Phuket Town
Boon is one of the most underrated local Thai restaurants in Phuket. It's not fancy, the menu is not long, and lunch at Boon only costs a few baht, but the taste is unique. The restaurant is tiny, hard to spot, and so modest; we probably wouldn't bother explaining to anyone how to go there. But after so many years, we realised that this place is very special to us: It's what local Thai food is all about: simple, cheap, casual, and delicious. Read More
Somtam Puma 2 Kathu
Kathu
Somtam Puma 2 Kathu (ส้มตำปูม้า 2) is another hidden local restaurant we alwats enjoy in Kathu. Read More
5 Most Spicy Southern Thai Dishes and Where to Find Them!
Southern Thai food is a fiery fusion of flavours. We use a lot of turmeric, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and of course, an abundance of chillies that will make your taste buds dance – or cry, depending on your spice tolerance! Read More
Baan Mae Taan Restaurant
Phuket Town
Baan Mae Taan is an excellent local Thai restaurant in Phuket Town. It is slightly away from the old streets of historical Phuket, where the tourist crowd always go for their selfies and therefore addresses more to a local clientele, and that is a good sign! Read More
Chuan Chim
Local Restaurant
Phuket Town
A small local restaurant on Montri Road in Phuket Town, where most jewellery shops are. Chuan Chim is quite large, simple and spotlessly clean. The food is cheap and excellent. We loved the fried basil with minced pork or chicken and the seafood salad. Read More
Cue Bar in Phuket Town
Local Rooftop
Old Phuket Town
Cue Bar is a friendly place to enjoy live music and pool in the Phuket Old Town area on Phang Nga Road. The bar is split into two sections, with its main bar, pool table and stage found on the air-conditioned ground floor space with a sports bar vibe, and an open-air rooftop bar. Read More
Kanom Jeen in Phuket
Phuket Town
Kanom Jeen is, without a doubt, our favourite Thai breakfast on weekends. We'll never miss a chance to go to 'Kanom Jeen Saphan Hin' or 'Pa Mai Kanom Jeen Restaurant' Read More
Khao Tom Thanon Di Buk Phuket Town
Khao Tom Thanon Di Buk is a local restaurant famous for its morning rice porridge and noodle soup, located on Phang Nga Road in the back of Phuket Town, and only open from 6 in the morning to 12 pm. The restaurant has been listed three years in a row in the Michelin Guide for Thailand. Read More
Khum Kathu Mookata
Kathu
Khum Kathu is a popular mookata restaurant with a unique location by a small lake. In addition to the relaxing view, the open air allows a cool breeze to flow through the dining area. Read More
Lock Tien Food Court in Phuket Town
Phuket Town
Lock Tien food court in Phuket Town is a place every person living in Phuket long enough knows. It doesn’t look like much but with 50 years old history, it’s probably the oldest food court on the island. What really matters is that Lock Tien serves some real Phuket specialities. Read More
Mee Jirayuwat
Phuket Town
This local restaurant appeared in a famous Korean Magazine, and many customers are now Korean. Their speciality is a Seafood Hokkien noodle soup. Order two; you won’t regret it. Choose between ‘Hokkien Mee’, a fat round yellow noodle, or ‘Ba Mee’, a thin egg noodle. The noodles can be served dry or ‘Hang’ (soup on the side). They are located on Phang Nga Road in Phuket Town. Read More
North Karon Roadside Restaurants
Karon Beach
Just before reaching the hill that leads to Kata Beach, visitors can see a line of small seafood restaurants. The fresh seafood is kept on ice in front of the restaurants and you can pick what you want them to cook, or choose and Thai dish directly from their menu. It's quite cheap and has a fun local feel to it. Read More
Pa Mai Kanom Jeen in Phuket Town
Popular with locals!
Phuket Town
Pa Mai Kanom Jeen is a modest local Thai restaurant located at the intersection of Dibuk Road and Satun Road, just next to the famous Blue Elephant Restaurant in Old Phuket Town. Pa Mai has been a popular local place for decades, and if you haven't yet tried Kanom Jeen, this might be your chance to try a truly delicious breakfast. Read More
Royros Restaurant
Ya Nui Beach
Royros is a lively local restaurant located along the roadside of Ya Nui Beach in Phuket. With its large outdoor seating area shaded by tall trees, it’s an excellent spot to enjoy a meal or a drink after activities like swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, or relaxing on the beautiful beach Read More
Seafood Restaurants By The Lake – Karon Beach
Karon Beach
For seafood or Thai food, you can choose one of the many small restaurants in front of the stadium or those by the lake. They are relatively cheap, and while they are not serving haute cuisine, they have a unique exotic charm and a beach view. Read More
Star Mountain Cafe
Chalong
Star Mountain Cafe is another tiny open-air restaurant where we occasionally stop for the sweeping views of the bay of Karon below. The cafe is located just before arriving at the Big Buddha and serves drinks and simple Thai food. Read More
Ta Tuay Restaurant in Phuket
Ta Tuay is a little-known local restaurant, hidden not far from the Sarasin Bridge in the very north of Phuket, near Sai Kaew Beach. Ta Tuay serves excellent local food and dishes from Phuket. Read More
Thai Mueang Restaurant Phuket
Phuket Town
Thai Mueang Restaurant is set in an ancient house that is more than 100 years old and has been renovated to make it new and beautiful just next to the Chinpracha House Museum. Read More
Thanoon Seafood Restaurant Phuket
Thanoon Seafood Restaurant is perfect for spending a half-day in a unique location, a breezy place right on the beach of a stunning bay in the very north of Phuket Island. Thanoon Seafood has found itself a little golden spot no one had thought about before: next to the Sarasin Bridge connecting Phuket to the mainland. This small bay benefits from a gentle breeze with amazing views of both the open sea and the new bridge on the other side. Read More
The Pad Thai Shop
Karon Beach
The Pad Thai Shop is a tiny restaurant on the side of the back road of Karon Beach. It's so small and modest; you would drive past it without paying much attention if it wasn’t for its growing reputation and a large yellow signboard that says 'The Pad Thai Shop'. Read More
We Camping Phuket
Kathu
We Camping Phuket is a local restaurant in Kathu, with a fun camping decor and a vast outdoor sitting area. Despite the name, the place is not related to camping at all. Read More
Ya Nui Restaurant
Ya Nui Beach
There are two or three restaurants around, which also rent basic bungalows. One is called Ya Nui Restaurant, and it’s just across the street from the beach, set in the welcome shade of tall trees; it is a perfect place for lunch. They serve excellent Thai food at the right price, so don’t hesitate. Read More
Nom Jeen Phuket
Phuket Town
Nom Jeen Phuket is a beautiful and relaxing new local restaurant serving kanom jeen on the outskirt of Phuket Town. Read More
Jun Phen Isan Restaurant
Phuket Town
Like most of the great restaurants serving excellent good old-fashioned Thai food in Phuket, Jun Phen didn't bother much with the design. Read More
Boonrat Dim Sum
This popular place gets crowded in the early morning. It serves some excellent Dim Sum from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., but there won’t be much choice left if you come late.
Location: : Phuket Town
Address: 5/2 Tilok Uthit 2 Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Open: 6 am – 10 am
Phone: 076 210 897
Price: Cheap
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