Explore Thai food in Phuket with guides to local restaurants, street food, and authentic dishes. Discover where to eat classic and regional Thai cuisine on the island.
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.
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.
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.
Somtam Puma 2 Kathu is another hidden local restaurant we always enjoy in Kathu. The food is excellent and truly local, the team is great, it’s cheap, and the surroundings are fun. You can sit at normal tables, or one of those ‘salas’ most tourists find rather uncomfortable.
Smile Bar is a very popular beachfront restaurant and bars with a great location on Kamala Beach, just across the beach and the sea. The place has been renovated and is brighter and more welcoming with a brighter white design and two lines of immense coconut trees in front, the perfect setting for your Instagram photos.
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.
Boat Bar and Restaurant is a long-established venue with a golden location, right by the beautiful beach of Kamala Beach.
Vegetarian House is a fantastic place to experience authentic vegetarian Thai food in Phuket, and it is conveniently located on the roadside of Chaofa Road, in Chalong. The large yellow banner and flags, indicating vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Thailand, are clearly visible from afar.
The Good View is a superb restaurant serving good Thai food on the beach of Nai Yang at a good price. A perfect place for a holiday lunch and to relax at the end of the day with a cold drink, waiting for the sunset! The team is friendly and always very welcoming, day or night.
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.
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.
Tasak Seafood is a modest but excellent local restaurant serving inexpensive seafood in a beautiful seaside location in Paklok.
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.
Krua Ohm is a small and modest local Thai restaurant in Kathu with a mention on the famous Michelin Guide for two consecutive years.
Suay Cherngtalay is a popular and excellent restaurant serving modern Thai cuisine with a creative touch by chef Noi Tammasak (Suay means beautiful in Thai). The restaurant is very inviting, divided into two areas.
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.
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.
Jongjit Kitchen 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.
