Watermark Restaurant - Phuket

Where Is It?

The Boat Lagoon is on Thepkasattri Road flanking Phuket's east coast, just north of Phuket Town – a 30-minute drive from Patong. Turn into the Boat Lagoon just before the PTT gas station. Once inside, simply go straight until the first roundabout and park thereabouts, you'll see a large stainless steel 'W' announcing the restaurant entrance.

Décor

At Watermark the leitmotif is black: chunky black wooden marble-topped tables and chairs, dark stained wooden decking floors, black sofas, dark lattice work with hanging plants… there are some visual counterpoints such as two bright red oil paintings outside the wine room, but mostly the soft lighting alone has the task of lifting the mood.

Things get a little brighter in the bar due to the colourful liquor labels and reflecting surfaces.

Outside in the open-sided dining area, the gleaming white yachts are Thailand's most expensive restaurant background accessory. 

Atmosphere

Watermark is one of Phuket's most stylish venues. The restaurant runs well-attended theme parties the first Friday of every month and has been known to host fashion events.

On a 'normal' night the bar and lounge area (which features WiFi) is the epicentre of the music while the outer-lying dining areas are a lot quieter and more conducive to dinner conversation. Expect a well-dressed clientele knowledgeable in cuisine and wine, comfortable in the opulent surroundings.

As for Watermark parties, anticipate organised madness with the emphasis firmly focussed on fun for up to 250 people. 

Wine

An extensive 78-label list makes up the backbone of the air-conditioned wine room's contents but watermark also offers a rotating 20-label wine promotion list with the choice of wine by the glass or the bottle.

The average price for a decent bottle here is hovering around 2,000 baht with some labels costing over ten times that amount.

Overall, the wine selection leans toward the Italian with occasional New World selections.

Food

Watermark is fundamentally Italian influenced and as a result diners can choose from seven types of pasta with four cream-based sauces, five tomato-based, four seafood-based and five olive-oil sauces. The restaurant offers 17 pizza types.

Having said that, there are Thai and other Southeast Asian influences at work here; a good example being a trio of Vietnamese rice noodle rolls containing rare tuna and seaweed alongside a hot mustard dip, shrimp and green mango.

We sample a paad thai goong that is on the sweet rather than the spicy side, but the essential freshness is all there. 

A Greek salad with rocket leaves, feta cheese, cucumber, mixed salad leaves, oregano and olive oil is hearty, healthy and full of goodness. A popular wine selection – red Chilean Merlot Vina Mont Gras, capably complements all this. Grilled white snapper in pistachio crust with Mediterranean sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and black olives with grilled asparagus also acquits itself well and a good selection of house breads makes sure we're full. Watermark also features a children's menu and a decent dessert list.

Specialities

• Trio of Vietnamese rice noodles rolls
• Crab & avocado salad with cucumber and rocket-yoghurt coulis
• Grilled white snapper in pistachio crust
• Goat's cheese and beetroot ravioli

Service

Some members of the service staff have been with this restaurant for years and some are fairly new, resulting in a slightly up-and-down experience that should even out soon.