10 Best Local Restaurants in Phuket
Phuket Restaurants Serving Real Local Food
The best local restaurants in Phuket are a sample of local eating venues that specialize in Thai and/or Phuket cuisine. These restaurants are where locals go when feel like good, familiar food. Some of these popular eateries do not even bother with any interior décor! Most have simple tables and plastic chairs (if you’re lucky you might have a plastic tablecloth as well as a roll of toilet paper in a container – Thailand’s answer to table napkins.)
As long as the food is delicious, clean and fresh and at reasonable prices, of course, customers will always come. This type of venue is usually run within the same family for generation after generation. Customers are mainly from the same neighborhood or attracted from far by word of mouth. Eating at a local Phuket restaurant on this list can be challenging, especially at lunchtime because many are crowded, but it’s worth it.
1. Phuket floating restaurants
A unique dining experience off the Phuket East Coast
Good for: Food, Photo, Unusual
Phuket’s floating seafood restaurants (krachang) are a great way to dine out and they can be found along the east coast of Phuket. The experience involves a fun, brief long-tail boat ride from Laem Hin Pier to the restaurants.
These restaurants are based on the floating fish farms off Laem Hin and the simple but tasty dishes are cooked by the fishermen’s families using the freshly caught seafood. After your meal, relax by the pier and photograph the stunning scenery. Politely ask the staff if they would show you their houseboat (reuan pae), which is connected to the farm for a unique glimpse of authentic way of life here. Read more
Location: All along the east coast of Phuket, Thailand
Open: Daily from 10 am to 10 pm
Phuket floating restaurants
2. Mor Mudong restaurant
Dining among the mangroves in Chalong
Good for: Food, Unusual
You’ll find the unusual Mor Mudong restaurant right in among the mangroves. Many of the dishes on the menu are typical fiery-hot Phuket food but there are milder options as well. Here, you can sit and enjoy your meal with the mangroves within your reach.
Set up next to a klong, a brackish watery inlet about 100 meters from the sea and in a mangrove swamp, Mor Mu Dong is a warren of bamboo huts where diners can sit on mats and eat off low tables as well as at standard tables and chairs. Be sure to bring your camera to snap some epic vacation photos of this one-of-a-kind scenery and setting.
Location: 9/4 Soi Chalong, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Daily from 10 am to 9 pm
Phone: +66 (0)88 766 1634
Mor Mudong restaurant
3. Bang Pae Seafood restaurant
For when you crave delicious seafood on Phuket East Coast
Good for: Adventure, Couples, Food
Bang Pae Seafood restaurant is one of the island’s all-time favorites and is located not far from Bangpae Waterfall near Thalang. Try their Tom Yam Talay (steamed blue crab, deep-fried tempura shrimp, stir-fried vegetables with cashew nuts and fresh oysters with local herbs. Enjoy these delights at the seaside with a lovely backdrop of mangroves.
Bang Pae Seafood draws locals from the neighborhood as well as visitor that want to experience stellar seafood with a Thai twist. It might be a little bit out of your way, but make the trip and you’ll be rewarded with authentic Thai cuisine and ambiance.
Location: Soi Bang Toei, Pakhlok, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Open: Daily from 10 am to 8 pm
Phone: +66 (0)87 887 5785
Bang Pae Seafood restaurant
4. Khun Jeed’s Rad-Na Yod Pak
A popular noodle eatery in Phuket Town
Good for: Budget, Food
At Khun Jeed’s Rad-Na Yod Pak in Phuket Town, you can enjoy a popular local dish rad-na with pork or seafood. Rad-na is a Thai-style wide rice-noodle dish with meat and vegetables in a gravy-like sauce: Thai fast food, if you want. Other popular items here are pork and chicken satays.
The restaurant is on Phang Nga Road, in the heart of Phuket Town on the same side of the road as the vintage On On Hotel and diagonally opposite the Bangkok and Kasikorn banks. The restaurant is easy to find; just keep your eye out for the restaurant’s bright yellow exterior.
Location: 4,6, 8 Ongsimphai Rd, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Thursday–Tuesday from 10 am to 8 pm (closed on Wednesdays)
Phone: +66 (0)99 149 1939
Khun Jeed’s Rad-Na Yod Pak
5. Lock Tien Food Court
Where to fill your belly with genuine Thai flavors in Phuket Town
Good for: Budget, Food, Unusual
Lock Tien Food Court makes discovering the authentic tastes and cuisine of Phuket easy. Just head to the food stands known by their collective names of ‘Lock Tien’ and ‘Old Siam Theatre’ or just ‘Siam’ on Yaowarat Road in Phuket Old Town. This food court boasts a variety of local dishes that might be hard to find anywhere else.
Sample mee hoon pah chang (fried noodles with pork bone soup), lo bah (deep-fried tripe with fried tofu and spicy sweet-and-sour sauce), mee nam Hokkien (noodles soup with prawn Hokkienese style), por phee (a fresh non-fried spring roll) and oh eaw (an iced dessert made of flour, banana, and a little seaweed).
Location: 173 Yaowarad Rd, Tambon Talat Nuea, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Daily from 9 am to 5 pm
Lock Tien Food Court
6. Mee Ton Poh
Delicious fried noodles in a Phuket Town favorite
Good for: Budget, Food
Mee Ton Poh serves some of Phuket’s best fried noodles in Hokkien style. Yellow egg noodles are stir-fried with vegetables in soy sauce, usually with different choices of meat like pork, chicken, or seafood.
Located near the clock tower traffic circle on Phuket Road, this shop has been run by the same Phuket family for several generations. Place your order and just sit back while your wait for your meal to prepared. Take in the hustle and bustle on the Phuket Road while you enjoy your tasty noodles. Read more
Location: 214, 7-8 Phuket Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Daily from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm
Phone: +66 (0)76 216 293
Mee Ton Poh
7. Kota Khao Man Gai
Budget-friendly fast food in Phuket Town
Good for: Budget, Food
Kota serves mainly khao man gai, one of Thailand’s most popular fast-food dishes. Khao man gai is rice steamed with garlic, with boiled chicken and chicken stock. It’s eaten with fresh vegetables, chicken soup, and a dipping sauce. Budget-conscious travelers can fill their bellies here incredibly cheap as the portions are usually generous and prices low.
The whole front of the restaurant opens to the Soi Surin street, so you can watch the world go by while you savor your meal and a cool drink. Arrive early or prepare to wait for a seat as this popular place fills up quickly at lunch time.
Location: 16-18 Soi Surin Montri, Muang, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Daily from 6.30 am to 5 pm
Phone: +66 (0)76 212 816
Kota Khao Man Gai
8. Keawjai Bakery and Restaurant
A Talat Yai neighborhood favorite
Good for: Couples, Families, Food
Keawjai Bakery is a popular spot for real Thai food. Family-run and opened in 1961, the restaurant is rather small with an air-conditioned space inside and a few more tables just outside. Enjoy a fair selection of Thai and Thai-Chinese food as well as desserts and baked treats.
The menu is simple, featuring basic Thai food and all the lunchtime favorites. Try the chicken fried with garlic (gai tod kratiem), fish with black pepper, or fried rice made with tom yum seafood.
Location: Phangnga Soi 4, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Monday–Saturday from 7 am to 3 pm (closed on Sundays)
Phone: +66 (0)91 462 6292
Keawjai Bakery and Restaurant
9. Kopitiam by Wilai
Affordable Thai staples in Chinatown
Good for: Budget, Families, Food
A meal at Kopitiam by Wilai in Phuket Town’s Chinatown is like a journey into the past. The cuisine is noted for its great tastes, especially the fried chicken with basil leaves. This well-established restaurant is quite affordable and it’s family-friendly. If you want to give your kids the true taste of Thai cuisine, Kopitiam by Wilai is probably one of the best places in Phuket to do so.
You can be seated indoors or snap a table outside and witness the hustle on the Thalang Road. Or order take-away and drive your scooter to King Rama IX Park for an al fresco meal.
Location: 18 Thalang Rd, Tambon Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Monday–Saturday from 11 am to 8 pm (closed on Sundays)
Phone: +66 (0)83 606 9776
Kopitiam by Wilai
10. Tamachart
Phuket Town
Good for: Food
Tamachart Restaurant in Phuket City has got to be the most unusual, out-of-the-ordinary eatery this side of Bangkok. The word tamachart translates into English as ‘natural’ and many people in Phuket use the English word when discussing this oddly fitted out Thai-Chinese eating place.
Tamachart is a veritable crazy house filled to the rafters with old valve radios, sculpted masks, seashell lamps, hanging plants, fish tanks made out of TVs and computer monitors. Try the steamed sea bass in lemon sauce, which comes especially recommended.
Location: 62/5 Phuthon, Bangkok Rd, Talat Nuea, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Open: Daily from 10.30 am to 11 pm
Phone: +66 (0)76 214 037
Tamachart
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