Region: Southern Thailand> Province: Phuket> Location: Phuket Town

Phuket Town

You won't find nearly as many fine dining choices in Phuket Town as you would in nearby Patong, but there are a few places offering great food, friendly service, and reasonable prices -- something unheard of on the beaches. At the top of our list is the open-air Natural Restaurant. The style is like if Antiques Roadshow collided with a treehouse, but the effect is a charmingly casual restaurant where you can feast on high-quality Thai food from only 80B a plate. If you invited a local family out to dinner, this is where they would want to take you. The whole menu is great so we recommend you eat Thai style – order everything that looks good and share. It's a wander from the city centre and taxi drivers might better know it as Tham-ma-shad. Just as good, yet totally different is the intimate and very long-running Ka Jok See -- a hole in the wall joint on Takua Pa Rd delivers outstanding Thai food to a mixed Thai and foreign clientele. Also very good is Lemongrass Thai or, with a more romantic atmosphere, Siam Indigo which does Thai favourites with a gourmet-twist (and correspondingly higher prices).

Salvatore's is run by a bona-fide Italian and rounds off its menu of wood-fired pizzas and pastas with some fine antipastos and tiramisu. The Dibuk Restaurant does fancy French fare and the special is frequently something exotic like crocodile tail or stuffed quail. For either place come in the evening when white table cloths and candlelight give the full effect. Don't forger your credit card. Khana Sutra is Phuket's sole Indian restaurant and the aroma of savoury curries wafts from their open doors at lunch and dinner time. Vegetarian mains are 140B and a chicken or fish curry is 200B.

In the historical district on and around Thalang Road are some coffee shops and restaurants in beautifully restored Chinese-style manor houses. The China Inn Cafe, full of antiques and before-and-after photos of the town, is the most charming of the lot and is open for breakfast, lunch, and early dinners. Only a few doors down but not a part of the tourist scene is the the Wilai Restaurant that's popular with locals. There's a small English menu (30B and up) but they also have a daily selection of ready-made curries -- if they have the pa-nang moo, a mild coconut milk curry with pork, it's a must-try. It's a great spot for a cheap breakfast or lunch but is shut down by 14:00.

Near the Ranong Rd round-about you'll find a cluster of tourist cafes good for a light lunch and coffee. If the yummy croissants and pastries at the French-run Siam Bakery aren't enough to fill you up they also do sandwiches stuffed with chicken, ham, or egg sandwiches on their fresh bread. Also around here is a strange little outdoor food court. Every stall does a different dish -- phad thai, pizza, Chinese noodle soup -- but it's a crapshoot which ones will be open. If you're not spending the night at the On-On at least stop by the On-On Cafe so the next time The Beach is on TV you can say you've been here. Their Thai food is really, really bland but the breakfasts are fine and drinks are nearly as cheap as 7-eleven. A few doors down, The Cook is worthy of mention for their pizzas alone. Topped with durian, green curry, or tom yam goong, this is a meal only possible in Phuket Town. Of course, there's also plain 'ole ham and pineapple (from 150B) and all the regular Thai fare (from 35B). It's family-run and they close on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of each month for a well deserved break.

Most of the large bars and clubs in Phuket Town cater to locals and Asian tourists. The Blue Marina at the Phuket Merlin is popular with university students but the new 9 Richter has stolen the title of the hottest dance club in town. If you're going to party like a Thai the standard is, unless you're drinking beer, to BYOB – you can pick up a bottle of whiskey at any mini-mart and you'll only be charged for the mixers and buckets of ice.

Michael's Pub is the standard watering hole for expats and customers can use their computers and Internet for free. O'Malleys Irish pub, on Montree Rd is trying to make a go of it with 80B happy hour pints and nightly events -- on Tuesdays there's live music, Wednesday is trivia night, and Fridays mean pool tournaments. The pub grub is pretty good, too. The artsy Rockin' Angel is a mellow place for a drink and known for its impromptu jam sessions. In the off-season the music is of the pre-recorded kind and it's often empty.

Always pumping with loud, live music is the Timber Hut on Yaowarat Rd. The crowd is mostly Thai but, since everyone will tell you this is the best place in Phuket Town to party, a fair share of foreign tourists make their way here too. The Timber Hut starts hopping around 21:00 but you'll need to be a lot earlier to get a table.

Restaurant listings:
China Inn Cafe 20 Thalang Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 356 239. Open: Mon-Sat 09:00-18:00.
Dibuk Grill and Bar 42, 69, 93 Dibuk Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 218 425, F: (076) 218 425.
Dibuk Restaurant 69 Dibuk Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 258 148. http://www.dibukrestaurant.com.
Ka Jok See 26 Takua Pa Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 217 903.
Khana Sutra 18-20 Takua Pa Rd, Phuket Town. Daily 11:00 - 14:30; 18:30 - 23:00.
Natural Restaurant, 62/5 Soi Phutorn, Bangkok Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 224 287. Daily: 10:30-23:30.
Phuket View Restaurant, 87/12 Korsimbee Rd (Rang Hill), Phuket Town. T: (076) 216 865. Daily: 11:00-23:30. http://www.phuketindex.com/phuketview.
Salvatores Ristorante Italiano, 15 Ratsada Rd, Phuket Town. T:(076) 225 958. Open Tue-Sun 12:00-14:30; 18:30-23:00; Closed Monday and Sunday daytime. http://www.salvatorestaurant.com.
Siam Indigo 8 Phang Nga Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 256 697. Open Mon-Sat 11:00-late. http://www.siamindigo.com/

Bar listings:
Michael's Bar, 12 Takua Pa Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 256 562. http://www.phuket-town.com/michaels.
O'Malley's Irish Pub & Restaurant, 2/20-21 Montri Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 220 170. Open: Mon-Fri 16:00-01:00 Sat, Sun 13:00-01:00.
Rockin' Angels Jammin' Cafe, 54 Yaowarat Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 210 828. http://www.rockinangels.com
Timber Hut, 118/1 Yaowarat Rd, Phuket Town. T: (076) 211 839.