Phuket restaurants serve all kinds of cuisine but finding real Thai food can be a little challenging. The large majority of the restaurants in the island’s tourist areas, such as Patong Beach, Kata or Karon, have been adjusting their tastes to accommodate first-timers. You probably would never see Thai people eating in those places, and it’s usually a sign. Real Thai food is often found in more modest areas of Phuket, and we list some great Local Thai Restaurants here. Phuket Seafood is also famous, and you should try the real thing without paying a fortune by checking out our Best Local Seafood Restaurants list.
Talung Thai at Paresa Resort stands out for its immense open clifftop terrace and sunset views over the Andaman Sea, not far from Kamala Beach. We’ve been back a few times, most recently after it earned a spot in the Michelin Guide for Phuket.
Raya Restaurant is a unique restaurant combining all the right ingredients to make it a perfect local experience. They serve great food in a superb setting in an old Thai house kept just the way it has always been, with no excessive renovation but well maintained.
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 floating between Phuket Island’s east coast and Maphrao Island.
Panwa House is a white Sino Portuguese restaurant surrounded by palm trees, right on the secluded beach of the Cape Panwa Hotel on the east coast of Phuket.
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.
If you stay in Phuket for a while or if, like us, you happen to live here, there comes a time when you feel like something different for dinner, something good and fun. This is usually the day we choose to go to a ‘Mookata’ or a ‘Yakiniku’ in Phuket Town.
Chaiyo Seafood is a simple little restaurant close to Phuket town if you feel like a nice seafood lunch by the mangrove, without getting far from the city. Nicely built in a comfortable setting, Chaiyo Seafood keeps its livestock directly in the mangrove stream. Seafood can’t get much fresher than this.
Exotic Thai fruits in Phuket range from the well-known pineapple or even watermelon to the most surprising ones like the weird-looking Dragon Fruit, the huge pungent Durian or the enormous Jackfruit.
Pan Yaah Seaview Restaurant on Patong Beach is a little gem you should reward yourself with if you choose to spend your holidays in Patong Beach, in a romantic place with a sea view, good food, not overly touristic.
La Gritta Phuket is an Italian restaurant at Amari Phuket Resort, ranking high on our Most Romantic Restaurants in Phuket. It has a unique view of the entire Patong bay and is a perfect place for a romantic evening with a view. Food is excellent, service is smooth and efficient, and mostly it’s all about the uniquely romantic atmosphere.
Eating fried insects in Phuket and Thailand seems to be the ‘ultimate cultural challenge’ for most visitors. How many of you tried these crunchy snacks from street carts? A few. How many actually liked them?
Blue Elephant Phuket is a high-end Thai restaurant built in a renovated Thai house set in an immense garden in Old Phuket Town. Pracha Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion is a fantastic old mansion that used to be a governor’s house, but was abandoned for a long time.
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.
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.
Tunk Ka Cafe is one of our favourite restaurants in Phuket Town, a long-established hillside place beautifully built on top of Khao Rang Hill, with striking panoramic views of Phuket city. Tunk Ka Cafe is a romantic place, with three separate terraces framed with large trees, and a nice breeze flowing through always keeps the place cool.
Natural Restaurant Phuket looks at first a bit confusing. Locally known as ‘Tamachart Restaurant’ it has been a long-time favourite for many Thai and expats.
Savoey Seafood Restaurant might not be the best seafood restaurant in Phuket, but if you don’t want to or can’t drive outside Patong beach and don’t feel like dining in a food court, it’s a good place for a seafood dinner.
What Phuket Phuket Specialities should you try, and where to find them? We already shared our Best Local Restaurants and Best Classic Thai Dishes, so here are 10 really local specialities dishes, or their popular Phuket variation.
Big Chicken Restaurant (Thung Thong Restaurant) is one of our three favourite venues in Kathu. If you drove past the Phuket Country Club in the past twenty years, you certainly saw that massive chicken statue on the side of the road.
Phuket Uptown Restaurant is not exactly what we would call a ‘local restaurant’, it’s just a little too clean and too westernized to be considered so and a good third of the customers are usually farangs (foreigners). But the food is good, the prices are right and the staff is always friendly.
