Basque Tapas With an Old Town View
Pintxo is a Spanish tapas restaurant on the second floor of the VELA Phuket Old Town building, on the corner of Yaowarat Road and Phang Nga Road in Phuket Town. In case you were wondering, Pintxo is pronounced Peen-Cho, and is the Basque word for a tapa, the small sharing plate. The food is Basque-style tapas made for sharing, and it is run by French chef Sébastien Segurola, who also runs Cava Bien Marché on Dibuk Road. The restaurant has an open terrace that looks down over the old town rooftops and streets. It opened in February 2026 and is one of the newest places to eat in the old town.
I came here for a slow lunch on the terrace, and it quickly became one of my favourite spots in Phuket Town for a meal with a view.
A Terrace Above Yaowarat Road
Most of the old town is seen from street level, with all the traffic and the crowds. Pintxo gives you the opposite. From the terrace on the second floor, you look down on the old Sino-Portuguese shophouses, the clay tile roofs and the rainbow flags strung across the road. It is a calm place to sit with a glass of wine and watch the town go by. In the late afternoon, the light comes in low across the buildings, and it is a lovely time to be up there with a camera.
Tapas by a Basque Chef
The chef behind Pintxo is Sébastien Segurola. If the name sounds familiar, it is because he also runs Cava Bien Marché, the popular French restaurant a few streets away on Dibuk Road. Sébastien comes from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a small town in the Basque part of France, so this kind of food is close to home for him. The word “pintxo” is the Basque name for a tapa, the small plate you find in bars across San Sebastián and the Basque Country. Most of the menu is built around fresh ingredients, simple cooking, and a lot of garlic, olive oil and sea salt.
What to Order
The kitchen makes a lot of things from scratch, including the ciabatta bread and the cheese plates. The octopus is the dish people talk about most, cooked with a light smoky char from the pan. Other things worth trying are the Manchego cheese, the marinated anchovies (boquerones) and the Spanish tortilla. I had a piece of seared fish on a soft potato purée, and it was excellent. Simple, fresh and full of flavour.
Breakfast and Eggs, Served All Day
Pintxo also has a breakfast and eggs menu that runs all day, which is handy if you are out walking early or just want eggs in the afternoon. Here are some of the dishes and prices to give you an idea:
- Breakfast Toast: 190 THB
- Spanish Tortilla Breakfast: 240 THB
- Mediterranean Basque Salad: 240 THB
- Seafood Scrambled Eggs: 295 THB
- Pintxo Seafood Toast: 295 THB
- Txistorra and Eggs: 320 THB
- Premium Angus Beef and Eggs: 620 THB
The Set Menus
Pintxo is best known for its set menus. They are good value, the food is excellent, and the terrace location is hard to beat. Each set brings out several small Spanish plates, so you get to try a lot in one sitting. All set prices include VAT, and a small service charge is added.
Lunch Set, 690 THB (five courses, served every day from 12 pm to 2 pm)
- Octopus vinaigrette
- Tomatoes, tuna and salad with green olives
- Chicken thigh in Basque piperade sauce
- Mussels in escabeche
- Catalan cream for dessert
Seafood Set, 670 THB
- Mussels in escabeche
- Prawn cocktail (gambas)
- Salted fish croquetas, three pieces
- Plancha squid
Meat Lover Set, 790 THB
- Angus beef brisket, grilled and braised
- Txistorra sausage with tomatoes and mild gindilla peppers
- Ibérico ham croquetas, three pieces
- Kurobuta pork balls with orange
Dinner Set, 870 THB (five courses, with a choice of beef or pork for the main)
- Warm potatoes with garlic, parsley, cheese and aioli
- Mushrooms, tomatoes and Serrano ham
- Tomatoes, tuna and salad
- Angus beef brisket or Kurobuta pork balls for the main
- Chocolate pot for dessert
I went for one of the sets on the terrace, and it was excellent food at a fair price, in a spot that is hard to match anywhere else in the old town.
Why Go
Pintxo is a good choice when you want to slow down in the middle of the day in Phuket Town. You get real Spanish tapas from a chef who knows the food, a terrace with one of the best views in the old town, and a kitchen that stays open from lunch into the evening. For a long, lazy lunch or a drink at sunset, it is one of the nicer new places in the area.
Pintxo Phuket Info
Location: Phuket Town – Vela Phuket
Address: No. 20, Room B07, 2nd floor, VELA, Yaowarad Rd, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000
Hours: 12 am – 11 pm
Phone: 083 526 3883
Instagram: Click here
Pintxo Phuket Map
Your Phuket Town Travel Guide
