Diavolo Restaurant - Phuket

Where Is It?

Millionaires’ Mile is located just south of Kamala Beach and is home to some of Phuket’s most expensive properties and resorts.

If coming from Patong take the first left as you arrive at the bottom of the hill that leads into Kamala. Pass Cape Sienna and keep on going for a couple of kilometres. Paresa is on the right-hand side of the road on the top of a bluff overlooking the sea.

Décor

Diavolo is centred around a red-and-gold colour theme with plenty of richly hued wooden parquet flooring and matching walls.

The restaurant spills out onto a large terrace with decking and spectacular 270-degree views out over the Andaman Sea and a huge banyan tree domineering to the side. It’s all simply done but the overall effect is strong and pleasing to the senses.

Atmosphere

First off, the restaurant has excellent and well-thought-out background music and that’s half the battle won for a good atmosphere. Another big advantage is that it is perched atop a cliffside that looks down to the sea crashing on granite rocks hundreds of feet below.

The excellent wait staff adds to the carefree atmosphere here and the restaurant complements and is complemented by the peaceful ambiance of Paresa Resort. It seems somewhat logical that the word ‘paresa’ translates as ‘heaven of all heavens’ as the Diavolo, at least in this case, doesn’t get all the best melodies – he serves the food up instead.

Wine

The extensive wine list at Diavolo is housed in a walk-in, glass-sided wine ‘cellar’ and the almost 70 labels come from all over the world with good selections from Chile, France, Italy, Australia and New Zealand amongst other sources.

House reds start from a reasonable 150 baht for a generous glass of Australian Silver Gum Chardonnay and escalate to a more taxing 350 baht for a glass of Chianti, Ruffino 2007. You’ll find pretty much everything you need here, from a basic bottle of red to an exotic Champagne and a good range of cocktails.

Food

Diavolo rustles up good-quality Italian dishes and, if you’re so inclined, you could even order a couple of Thai side dishes. We don’t, and enjoy a rocket salad with gorgonzola cheese and Italian sausage, bruschette miste and good, fresh house bread.

The special of the day is swordfish topped with bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and lemon zest with olive oil on a bed of zucchini, capsicums, onions, eggplant, garlic, tomato, raisins and pine nuts and is very Med, very tasty.

A signature Diavolo pizza is next and consists of mozzarella cheese, pork sausage with tomato sauce. The Italian culinary repertoire at Diavolo is certainly extensive and doesn’t miss a thing and with an Italian chef behind these creations their authenticity is unquestionable.

Service

Diavolo has a happy crew with good English-language skills. The wait staff certainly matches the high standards of this restaurant.

Location: In Paresa Resort, Nakalay Road (Millionaires’ Mile) Kamala
Tel: 076 302 000