Top 10 Best Local Restaurants in Phuket

Phuket’s floating seafood restaurants can be found along the east coast. The restaurants keep fish, crabs, prawns and other seafood in floating wood-and-net enclosures. Some of the fishes found there might surprise you: Leopard sharks, Blowfishes, Moray Eels or even Mantis Shrimps. Try those huge Thai Oysters, served wit chili, garlic, lime and herbs.  Some seafood can be expensive (Mantis Shrimps!) so check prices before ordering.
Tel: Bang Ied Restaurant: +66 [0] 89-7265435 and Kru Wit’s : + 66 [0] 81-0880533.
Open: For lunch and dinner
Location: To get to either of these, take a three-minute longtail boat ride from Laem Hin Pier, which is just north of Phuket City. The ride is free. Parking your car will cost 20 Baht.

Mor Mudong is right in among the mangroves. Many of the dishes are typical fiery-hot Phuket food but there are milder dishes on the menu. What’s fascinating about this place is its location and atmosphere. Here, you can sit and enjoy your meal with the mangroves alongside, within your reach. The restaurant has several open-sided huts for group dining as well as smaller huts for more intimate groups.
Open: Every day except the 15th of the month 
Location: To get there, turn into Soi Palai off Chaofah Nai Road (route 4021) – there are large signs for the Phuket Zoo – go past the zoo then turn left about a hundred metres before the sea. Go right to the end of this road and you’ll find the restaurant. 
Tel: + 66 (0) 76-282302

Bangpae is one of the island’s all-time favourites and is located not far from Bangpae Waterfall near Thalang. Try their Tom Yam Talay (hot-and-sour Thai seafood soup), steamed blue crab, deep-fried tempura shrimp, stir-fried vegetables with cashew nuts and fresh oysters with local herbs. This seaside restaurant has a lovely backdrop of mangroves.
Open: Daily from 10:00 – 20:00 
Location: About 9 kms from the Heroines' Monument towards Ao Por Pier and only a few hundred metres past Bangpae Waterfall and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project intersection. The restaurant is on the right-hand side of the road. Look for the big red sign. 
Tel: +66 (0) 87-8875785

Rad-na or kwit-teow 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. At Khun Jeed’s Rad-Na Yod Pak, you can enjoy the popular rad-na dish with pork or seafood. Other popular items are pork and chicken satays.

Open: Daily from 09:00 – 20:30, closed on the 25th of the month. If the 25th falls on a weekend the closing day is moved to the following Monday
Location: Phang Nga Road, under the Mung Pheng Hotel, not far from On On Hotel

Discover the authentic tastes of Phuket Old Town at ‘Siam’ on Yaowarat Road (renamed Lock Tien in 2010). This simple food court is made up of a few different food stands selling dishes such as Mee Hoon Pah Chang (fried noodles with pork bone soup), Lo Bah (deep-fried tripe with fried tofu and spicy sweet-and-sour sauce), Oh Tao (oysters fried with flour, eggs, and taro roots), Po Pia (a fresh non-fried spring roll) and Oh Eaw (an iced dessert made of flour, banana, and red beans.) They serve some of the best satay in town too.
Open: For lunch until early afternoon when supplies run out. 
Location: At the traffic lights between Dibuk and Yaowarat Road. 

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. The place might not look inviting, it might be hot and crowded, but this is definitely the 'Real Phuket'. Check out their great satays.
Open: Monday to Saturday for lunch
Location: On Phuket Road, facing both the Metropole Hotel and the clock tower at the traffic circle.

Ko Ta serves mainly khao man gai (Thai chicken rice); 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. Prices start from about 35 baht, which is unbelievable for such an outstanding dish. Best avoided if your cholesterol count is high. 

Open: 08:00 until stocks run out around late afternoon
Location: Near the Metropole Hotel, towards Robinson store, on Tilok Utis 1 Road

A family run restaurant opened in 1961, Keawjai is a popular spot for real Thai food. The restaurant is rather small with an air-con space inside and a few more tables just outside the door. Among their popular dishes are including khao pad gai (fried rice with chicken), tom yum seafood (hot-and-sour Thai seafood soup), Rad-Na Goong (big rice noodles and vegetables with shrimp in a gravy-like sauce) and stir-fried mixed vegetables. They also have a good variety of homemade baked goods.
Open: For breakfast and lunch, between Monday – Saturday  
Location: Near the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Phang Nga Road and about a seven to 10-minute walk from Phuket Town Bus Station.

Popular with locals and visitors, this small restaurant has long list of ready-made curries/dishes. The must-try menu includes fried basil leaves and chili with pork/shrimp, tom yum goong (spicy Thai soup with shrimp), tom kha kai ((hot sweet soup with chicken and coconut milk) and pa nang moo (coconut curry with pork). Part of their small English menu includes toast, eggs, ham and sausage. Stop by for breakfast or lunch when in the area. Dishes are cheap, starting from just 30 baht.
Open: Monday – Saturday from 07:00 – 14:00
Location: Next to Nguan Choon Tong Herb Shop, a few doors away from China Inn on Thalang Road.

Tamachart Restaurant in Phuket City has got to be the most unusual, out-of-the-ordinary eatery this side of Bangkok. It’s been going for more than 15 years now and is a tremendously popular spot. 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.
Open: Daily from 11:00 -23:30
Location: On Soi Phutorn in Phuket City. This is the soi that branches off Ranong Road where Phuket’s fresh day market is located. Read More...