Favorite Restaurants

Favorite Restaurants

Reviews of the Best Restaurants, Cafes, and Beach Shacks

High on my list of reasons why I live on Phuket - is the great variety of restaurants, international and Thai, and their very reasonable prices.  After living in six countries and traveling extensively over the last 15-16 years - I've come to enjoy and desire a highly international cuisine.  You'll find Phuket hard to beat - the only place even comparable might be Bali.

Unless otherwise stated, you can assume every restaurant mentioned has a basically international menu - as well as a good selection of Thai favorites.  Everywhere here does take away if you ask.

Two new favorites added to this page recently: The Farang with several locations (great international foods at super bargain prices) and the BBQ Hut in Patong - simply the best BBQ and Mexican food on the island.

Black Cat is one of my favorites - partly because they have great food, a widely varied menu, and the best wiener schnitzel around - and also because they deliver in the area near Laguna Resorts (Cherng Talay, Bang Tao, Surin, and maybe even further.  Essential to delivery - the people who answer the telephone have good basic English skills - or they go get someone who does. 

If you enjoy sitting right on the beach, good quality food, and a great sunset along with dinner - then Lotus is your place.  A photo on the Fantastic Sunsets page comes from here.  The restaurant sits right on Bang Tao Beach - close to the Laguna Resorts complex.

Take your binoculars to this place!  Yacht Haven sits on their own marina and you'll get to look over an assortment of multimillion dollar super yachts, expensive to modest sailboats, a few converted junks, some houseboats and more.  As it faces the mainland on the eastside of the island - you'll also get a view of the bay - and won't get sun-blasted as the sun goes down.  I think the best cheeseburger on the island is here.  My mate loves the fish and chips.

Who doesn't need a fix of Italian food from time to time?  When I need that load of lasagna or pasta - I go to Roma.  In the heart of Patong - along the beach road, it's a good place to go when you want to do the beach walk or a little shopping.  Or, in my case, I just love people watching.  Great food - reasonable prices.

Who doesn't like raw fish?  Okay, generally I don't - but somehow I am a great sushi fan.  Contradiction?  No, not when you try a place like Zen.  They have not only the best priced sushi you'll you'll find anywhere in the world - but also the freshest, best prepared, and of the most consistent quality.

A favorite of the local crowd - and in an area with a growing expatriate population, Surin Bay Inn brings you one of the best breakfasts on the island - whether you prefer American or British style.  They even have a free book exchange - which, with the price of books here - will save you more than the cost of your meal.  That's a bargain!

Beach Shack and the best pizza on the island? You'll be enjoying the sand between your toes as you look over lovely Surin Beach at Twin Brothers.  I can't recommend anything else here - as I haven't tried anything else.  WHY would you when the pizza is light, perfectly cooked, and just outrageously good?

Do you love the feel of barbecued ribs dripping over your fingers as you eat them?  Ribs are the claim to fame for this local favorite - but everything on the menu is excellent.  Don's also has the best pecan pie on the island.  Where else in the world can you get delicious ribs for about US$5?  Only on the southern end of Phuket.

Want to sit on the beach when you eat?  That is often my number one selection criteria.  Phuket has a widely varied and ever changing section of beach restaurants.  The selection has changed a bit as a result of the Dec. '04 tsunami - but here's the place to look for them.  

Pastries, pie, desserts?  Do you love sweets?  The Special Treats page will tell you where I get everything from a light snack to a dessert pig out.  Believe me, it is impossible to diet here.