Explore Phuket Town with guides to cafés, local restaurants, and heritage attractions. Discover the island’s Old Town, street art, and unique cultural spots.
Phuket city, which is locally still called Phuket Town, is becoming increasingly popular, perfect for an exploration day away from the beach and to please selfies and Instagram enthusiasts. The architecture in the old town is beautiful, and many streets have been renovated and repainted colourfully.
Pa Mai Kanom Jeen (ขนมจีนป้ามัย) 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.
Kaeng Liang Restaurant is a small place in a beautifully decorated old shophouse hidden on Krabi Road in old Phuket Town. The name Kaeng Liang is the name of a traditional spicy shrimp paste soup from central Thailand.
While most tourists rush to the renovated old Phuket Town, mostly located around Thalang Road, we start to prefer the more authentic west side of Phuket Town, which is mostly around Phuket Town Central Market, Ranong Road and Krabi Road
Sam Sae Chu Hut Chinese Shrine is a modest and discreet Chinese shrine located near the intersection of Khaw Sim Bee Road and Mae Luan Road, on the way up to Khao Rang Hill in Phuket Town; opened in May 2002.
Da Moreno @ Town is an excellent Italian restaurant and Pizzeria located on Yaowarat Road in the heart of old Phuket Town. Da Moreno @ Town is the fourth and latest branch of the very popular Da Moreno family of restaurants. The original one was in Patong, the second in Kathu and the third one in Koh Kaew.
Maimorn Forest is a locally well-known Thai restaurant, hidden from view in Phuket Town, next to Bus Terminal 1. The place has been open for decades and was recently renovated. The new layout is beautiful, with a bit of a forest theme and an artificial waterfall. The place is immense and you can choose which part of the restaurant you want to sit in.
Dok Bua Vegetarian Restaurant is a modern restaurant kept cosy and it is located on the corner of a T-junction in Phuket Town. A beautiful front porch full of colourful plants and a small water fountain catches your eye when you are approaching the restaurant, this makes a comfortable outdoor sitting area with a neat table setup.
Loukthor Vegetarian Restaurant, located near Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town, is particularly popular during the famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival. There are a few vegan and vegetarian restaurants on that same Ranong Road, but this one is excellent. They offer cook-to-order dishes such as fried rice and stir-fried noodles.
Hok Nguan Kong Shrine is a Chinese temple near the Surin Clock Circle in Phuket Town, founded more than 80 years ago by the Chinese-Thai community in Phuket. Hok Nguan Kong Shrine’s design features many traditional Chinese motifs, including columns wrapped with large dragon images, wall murals with tigers, and bright red and yellow colours throughout
Bang Neow Shrine in Phuket Town is one of Phuket’s oldest and most revered Chinese shrines. It’s one of the main shrines taking part in the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival It is a place of worship and merit-making activity for the local Chinese-Thai community throughout the year.
Lim Hu Tai Su is a Chinese Taoist shrine on the north side of Phuket Town, also known as Sam Kong Shrine, for the neighbourhood in which it’s found. Though not as well known by visitors as larger Chinese shrines like Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket’s Old Town area, Sam Kong Shrine is a revered place of worship for the local community. It’s become a key part of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival when it hosts several ceremonies and a procession during the annual 9-day event.
Esan Bar, despite calling itself a bar, is an excellent and affordable Thai restaurant serving Isan food from the northeast of Thailand. The restaurant sits by the busy roadside on the outskirts of Phuket town,
O Cha Rot is an unassuming local restaurant, but it serves one of the best noodle soups in Phuket Town, so good that it made it to the Michelin Guide in Phuket. The restaurant has no decoration whatsoever, white wall, stainless cooking station and stainless tables.
The Library Phuket is unassuming from the outside; it looks like an anonymous old-fashioned library and is always empty of guests.
Crust Restaurant is an excellent Italian venue located on the outskirts of Phuket Town. The food is very well priced and so good that the restaurant was mentioned in the Michelin Guide for Phuket several years in a row.
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.
Day & Night of Phuket on Dibuk Road has always stood out for its striking design and buzzing atmosphere, but on our most recent visit, it was the food that really impressed.
The Memory at On On Hotel is undoubtedly the most iconic and best-known heritage hotel on Phuket Island, and this is for a few reasons. Built in 1927 and called Un Un Hotel at the time, the hotel possesses a strong Sino-Portuguese personality in a very central location on Phang Nga Road, the heart of Phuket Old Town.
Grind Cafe Phuket at Junkyard Theatre is a surprisingly beautiful restaurant and art gallery hidden on the busy by-pass road near Phuket Town. Chances are, you probably drove in front of it and didn’t know that such a special place existed, and we didn’t know either! The cafe has long been known as the Underwood Factory but only started to get noticed recently.
Surf & Turf by Soul Kitchen is a small Thai-German-owned restaurant listed the Michelin Guide. The menu is short but changes monthly, and Chef Tom takes great pride in composing European-Thai dishes.
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.
Best Thai Beef is the place to treat yourself if you are craving a perfectly cooked steak after a day of exploring Old Phuket Town. The restaurant is on Dibuk Road, in an old-fashioned house with a wooden facade that reminds a bit of an old Japanese shop.
The Charm Dining Gallery opened in a century-old Thai house in Phuket Town. The location on Dibuk Road is the perfect way to end your exploration if you spend a day wandering the old streets.
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.
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’.
Baan 109 is a fun vintage looking restaurant as well as a casual bar on the popular Thalang Road, the historical street of Old Phuket Town where the famous Sunday Walking Street Market is held every weekend. The name ‘Baan’ means house and the number 109 is the street number.
Hog’s Head Pub is a fun coffee shop and bar taken straight out of a scene of the Harry Potter world and tucked between 2 shophouses on Yaowarat Road in Old Phuket Town. The pub is somewhat discreet and looks a lot like an Irish pub from the outside, but if you look at the facade, something unusual will probably catch your attention.
Torry’s Ice Cream Boutique is a beautiful little coffee shop set in Sino Portuguese shophouse in Soi Romanee in Phuket Town.
Baba Mansion is a green heritage house on Yaowarat Road in Phuket Old Town, with a Peranakan café, costume photos and Baba Lee fine dining.
B Cat Cafe Phuket is a fun place where every cat lover can sit and play with 15 to 17 furry and fluffy felines while enjoying a cake and a drink. The location on Thepkasattri Road, just next to the old historical street of Phuket Town, makes it very convenient.
Dibuk Road is one of the famous old streets of Phuket town you should add to your list while exploring. It’s very colourful and easy to find, with plenty of casual cafes, shops and restaurants to enjoy.
Phang Nga Road is another historical street that runs parallel to the famous Thalang Road, in Old Phuket Town. Phang Nga Road maybe is less known, but it has a lot of charms, a few local restaurants, and several important historical landmarks and museum
Phuket Town is a surprising treasure trove of things to see and do if you decide to spend a day away from the beach. The old streets add to the many reasons why Phuket is so unique.
Jui Tui Shrine (Kew Ong) is one of the oldest and most important on Phuket Island. It plays a significant role during the famous Phuket Vegetarian Festival, usually held in October and November. The festival dates use the Lunar Calendar, and the festival’s exact dates change every year.
These maps of Phuket Town cover the main areas and streets we have explored over the years. Unlike the beach areas of Phuket, the town is best discovered on foot, and each street has its own character.
The Oasis Thalang (formerly ChimJae Walking Street and Vanich Walking Street) is a new 150-metre-long narrow passage that connects Thalang Road to Dibuk Road in the old Phuket Town. This fun local market is covered and has air-con, making it a convenient place to explore when it gets a little too hot or when it starts raining in Phuket.
Aquaria Phuket is huge and impressive, especially on a rainy day, but is it worth 540-1,000 baht? Here’s what we liked, and tips to make the most of your visit.
Siam Niramit Phuket is a surprising show narrating 700 years of Thailand’s history. The stage is immense, and the choreography involving more than a hundred people is spotless.
Phuket Town is the island’s historic centre, located on the east coast away from the beaches
Chom Chan is an excellent Thai restaurant that serves a great selection of Phuket dishes and local specialities. It’s a cosy small house with a garden almost hidden on the outskirts of Phuket Town and can easily be missed when driving by.
Nom Jeen Phuket is a beautiful and relaxing new local restaurant serving kanom jeen on the outskirt of Phuket Town. There are quite a few kanom jeen shops around the island but this one feels very relaxed and trendy in a casual young fashion, and yet, it’s not expensive!
Central Phuket Floresta sounds like another mall on the island but is just a massive extension of the original Central Festival and the two wings combined cover an immense surface, on 3 and 4 levels.
Mae Tan’s House 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!
Krua Maikhao 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.
Su Va Na is Thailand’s only underwater restaurant, located on the B1 floor of Central Phuket Floresta inside Aquaria Phuket, the country’s largest aquarium. The restaurant opened during Christmas week in 2022 and has quickly established itself as one of Asia’s most distinctive dining destinations.
Enjoying local Thai food in the old Phuket town after a day of exploration is an experience no one should miss. Fortunately, there are plenty of restaurants in Phuket Town to choose from; some are fancy, some are cheap, and some are in amazingly beautiful heritage houses.
Index Living Mall is large furniture and home improvement shopping mall on the outskirt of Phuket Town, just next to the Bangkok Phuket Hospital is and, where many fancy shopping malls are, such as Central Festival. This shop addresses the mid-range market by offering a wide range of furniture at affordable prices.
Phuket cafés and coffee shops keep popping up (and closing) all around Phuket Town, mostly around the old streets of Thalang, Yaowarat and Dibuk. In recent years, Phuket town has become a trendy tourist attraction and a fun photo playground.
Looking for a Heritage Style Hotel in Phuket Town? Phuket is home to some impressive heritage houses and historical sites dating back to its thriving tin mining days in the 1800s. Some of the shophouses and mansions built by Phuket high-society families and merchants a century ago have now been thoughtfully restored and converted into guesthouses, boutique shops and cafes.
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.
Khao Rang Hill has always been a viewpoint at the top of a famous hill in Phuket town. It’s not strikingly beautiful and not very high either, but it’s a pleasant stop. A lot of youngsters go there for a selfie and a romantic moment.
