12 Best Restaurants in Phuket: Local, Seafood & Fine Dining (2026)

Featured image: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Quick Picks: Best Restaurants in Phuket by Situation

Start with this table. Budget tiers use ฿, ฿฿ and ฿฿฿ as rough editorial bands, not quoted prices. Booking notes follow what local guides report, so confirm with the venue.

How to Choose a Restaurant in Phuket

Pick your base first, because distance decides most dinners. Local guides say the best local food sits away from the main beaches. That means a ride from Kata, Karon or Bang Tao, so check the current Grab or taxi fare before you commit. Phuket Town and the east coast suit a lunch trip better than a late return. Rainy season runs May to October, so allow extra time on wet roads. For a broader overview of dishes, see our Phuket food guide. Next, decide between local and tourist-priced rooms. Plastic chairs, fans and Thai-only menus usually signal the local kind. Last, decide on seafood or not. Several picks below serve no seafood at all.

12 Best Restaurants in Phuket, Grouped by Style

Our picks lean on published local guides and a 2023 editorial listing, not our own meals. Hours below come from those sources and need a current check.

• One Chun, Phuket Town (southern Thai)
  • Our pick for a first southern Thai dinner. A local guide describes a Sino-Portuguese shophouse with crab curry and stir-fried pork belly.
  • That guide lists 10 am to 10 pm daily and advises booking ahead for evenings.
• Ton Mayom, Phuket Town (southern Thai)
  • A family kitchen on Thep Krasattri Rd that guides link to Michelin attention. Expect real spice.
  • One guide lists 9 am to 8 pm with Wednesday closed, so plan around it.
• Krua Praya, east of Phuket Town (southern Thai)
  • An open-air garden restaurant near the Heroines Monument on the airport road. Guides name Moo Hong and dried curry with crispy pork.
  • One guide lists 11 am to 10 pm, closed Tuesday. Check its award status on the Michelin site.
• Kluay Mai Thai, Chalong (home-style southern)
  • A house-like kitchen on Chao Fah Tawan Tok Rd with a short, herb-heavy menu. We'd choose it for food over setting.
  • A local guide lists 11 am to 7 pm, so go for lunch or an early dinner.
• Mor Mu Dong, Chalong (southern Thai, seafood)
  • Wooden stilt huts in a mangrove area, known for deep-fried stuffed mackerel. Go when you want a long, slow meal.
  • One guide lists 10 am to 9:30 pm.
• Laem Hin Seafood, east coast (seafood)
  • A long-running seafood name on the east coast. Jamie's Phuket Blog rates its food highest among east-coast seafood spots.
  • Phuket101 lists 10 am to 10 pm.
• Kruvit Raft, Laem Hin Pier (seafood)
  • Wooden rafts facing Coconut Island, reached by a short longtail boat. A guide says the shuttle from the pier is free, so confirm that.
  • Both guides list 10 am to 10 pm. Aim for high tide for the view.
• Kan Eang 2, Chalong (seafood)
  • A big open-air room near Chalong Pier. It suits families after a boat trip or a visit to Wat Chalong.
  • One guide lists 10 am to 10 pm and calls prices a bit high, so ask before you order.
• Bang Pae Seafood, near Bang Pae waterfall (seafood)
  • A quiet open-air deck on a mangrove bay. We'd pair it with a waterfall visit.
  • One guide lists 10 am to 8:30 pm and says weekends fill with locals.
• Pru, Cherngtalay (fine dining)
  • A Michelin-recognised tasting-menu restaurant on the grounds of Trisara, according to a 2023 listing. Check its current status and reservation process.
  • That listing showed the Experience Menu at ฿6,900, so expect changes.
• Royd, Dibuk Rd, Phuket Town (modern southern Thai)
  • A shophouse restaurant that reworks southern dishes such as gaeng som. Choose it if you want local flavours in a tasting format.
  • A 2023 listing showed the Treasure of the South menu at ฿2,990.
• Samut, Rawai (Thai coastal tasting menu)
  • A coastal Thai tasting menu near Nai Harn, built around Phuket seafood. It is a good fit for Rawai-based travelers.
  • A 2023 listing showed an eight-course menu at ฿3,590. Check the current price.

Best Seafood Restaurants in Phuket

Skip the seafood displays on the main beaches. Local guides steer readers to the east-coast piers and rafts instead. Laem Hin and Kruvit Raft sit near Laem Hin Pier, and both are listed from 10 am to 10 pm. Bang Pae Seafood closes earlier, at 8:30 pm. Always ask for the price per weight before the kitchen weighs your fish. Our Phuket seafood guide covers more piers and ordering tips.

Best Fine Dining and Michelin-Recognised Restaurants in Phuket

Fine dining here means a booked table and a tasting menu. Beyond Pru, Royd and Samut, a 2023 listing also names hom at Kamala Beach and L'Arôme by the Sea in Patong. It lists Jampa as a grill-led option linked to Pru's team. Prices in that listing run from ฿2,990 to ฿6,900 for set menus. Treat them as 2023 figures. Confirm award status on the MICHELIN Guide Thailand page. Then confirm hours and booking on each restaurant's own site.

Best Restaurants by Area

Match the area to your base. Each sub-guide goes deeper than this pillar.

• Kata
  • Start with our Kata restaurant picks.
  • For a second opinion, see this Kata eating guide.
• Karon
  • Use our Karon restaurant guide for beachside options.
• Rawai
  • Samut sits in Rawai, and our Rawai restaurant guide covers casual picks nearby.
• Bang Tao
  • Our Bang Tao dining guide covers the north-west coast.
• Phuket Town
  • One Chun, Ton Mayom and Royd all sit here, so it is the densest base for local food. We have no separate Phuket Town guide yet.

Best for Non-Seafood Eaters, Vegetarians and Budget Travelers

Southern Thai food is not all seafood. One Chun, Ton Mayom and Kluay Mai Thai lean on curries, pork belly and chilli dips. Noodle shops are the cheapest way to eat, and guides say they appear on nearly every street. Vegetarians should read our Phuket vegan guide. Fish sauce and shrimp paste are common in southern Thai cooking, so ask before you order.

Cafés, Cooking Classes and Food Experiences

Between meals, our Phuket cafés guide covers coffee stops. A class helps you decode the menus you meet in Phuket Town. See our Phuket cooking class guide for options.

Mistakes to Avoid When Eating in Phuket

Skip beachfront tourist traps when you can reach the east coast or Phuket Town. Do not assume every place takes cards or has an English menu. Guides report Thai-only menus at some local kitchens, so keep a translation app ready. Book ahead for One Chun in the evening and for any tasting menu. Ask for the price per weight before you order seafood. Check closure days too, since Ton Mayom and Krua Praya each close one day a week according to local guides.

What to Expect at Phuket Restaurants

Phuket’s best meals can feel very different from one another. Local shophouses may have plastic chairs, fans and Thai-only menus. Keep a translation app handy, and expect a wait at busy lunch or dinner periods. One Chun’s locally reported 10 am to 10 pm hours make it a practical Phuket Town dinner choice, although evening booking is still wise.

East-coast seafood restaurants are often open-air and built for groups. Kruvit Raft is reached from Laem Hin Pier by a short boat ride. Local guides list it from 10 am to 10 pm, but confirm the boat arrangement before leaving your beach base. Ask how seafood is priced before the kitchen weighs it.

Fine-dining rooms require the most planning. Pru, Royd and Samut use tasting-menu formats rather than a casual walk-in approach. A 2023 listing put set menus between ฿2,990 and ฿6,900. Treat those figures as a guide only, then confirm the current menu, dietary options and reservation policy directly with the restaurant.