Sala Bua Restaurant - Phuket

Where Is It?

In the Impiana Cabana Resort on Taweewongse Rd. in Patong. This road is a one-way thoroughfare and to arrive at the Impiana head north 200m past Soi Bangla.

The Impiana has a car park so go a little further past the restaurant sign and turn left into the parking.

Décor

If you walk in from the road you will see a small ‘sala’ or pavilion which leads into the beautifully appointed restaurant. The faux-marble off-white floors work very well with the restaurant’s classic décor. Sala Bua is spacious and breezy with a wooden lattice-like roof, large dark wood tables and subtle lighting.

You can also dine al fresco with a view directly onto Patong Beach. As to be expected, lotus flowers are the order of the day.

Atmosphere

If you can imagine up to 50 diners with pleasantly surprised looks on their faces in a sophisticated, discreetly lit restaurant then you’d be coming close to grasping the atmosphere at Sala Bua. Guests expecting normal hotel restaurant fare are for the most part taken aback in the best possible way when they sample Sala Bua's fare.

An accomplished musical Filipino duo provides a solid audio background and even further in the background, the Andaman Sea supplies Mother Nature’s version of the softest ballad one could conceive. Sala Bua’s urbane tone is complemented by a well-dressed and professional wait staff. Top stuff.

Wine

As to be expected, there is a full wine list at Sala Bua featuring a good balance of Old and New World labels and even a couple of Thai choices. A good indicator of the quality to be had here are the house wines; Hardy’s Semillon Chardonnay and a Billabong Classic.

Food

Sashimi of red snapper, rock lobster salad, tea-smoked Norwegian salmon with a warm cherry tomato and cucumber salad, Thai seafood salad – you name it, you'll find it here and the combination of great ambience, top service and innovative food in a chic eatery is one that is extremely hard to beat.

Service

As mentioned, the service at Sala Bua is leagues ahead of other, less dedicated venues. The wait staff may well have invented the phrase, ‘service with a smile’ as they are the living embodiment of it.

By Sam Wilkinson