Phuket’s food scene is the best reason to visit this island. Forget the beaches for a moment. What really draws you here is the blend of southern Thai spices, Chinese Hokkien noodles, Malay-influenced roti, and Peranakan braised pork, all served on plastic tables under neon lights. As we explain in our complete guide to visiting Phuket, the island has a lot to offer, but food discovery should top any list.
This guide covers the dishes you absolutely need to order, the restaurants where locals eat, and how to make the most of Phuket’s night markets without falling into yet another overpriced tourist trap.
Phuket’s Signature Dishes
Phuket has its own cuisine, and that’s something most visitors completely overlook. Southern Thai food is very different from what you may have tasted in Bangkok or Chiang Mai: spicier, more seafood-focused, and shaped by centuries of Chinese and Malay immigration.
The Peranakan (or “Baba”) community left a particularly strong mark; their recipes blend Chinese Hokkien cooking with Malay spices and Thai ingredients. Ordering Pad Thai here is like going to Lyon and asking for fish and chips. The dish exists, but no local eats it.
Moo Hong (Braised Pork Belly)
If you only try one dish in Phuket, make it Moo Hong. It’s the island’s signature dish: pork belly slow-braised in a sweet-savory soy, garlic, and black pepper sauce. Think of a Provencal daube, but Sino-Thai style: the meat should literally melt on your fork. The flavor is quintessentially Peranakan, a Sino-Malay-Thai fusion that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Thailand in this form.
The best versions are found at One Chun and Raya Restaurant in the Old Town, though Nam Yoi arguably beats both. We’ll get to that below.
Mee Hokkien (Phuket Hokkien Noodles)
Thick yellow noodles stir-fried with seafood and pork. There are two styles: a soup version and a dry version served with red chili sauce and broth on the side. Both are excellent, but the dry version with red sauce is more distinctly Phuket.
Mee Ton Poe is the most well-known spot, and rightly so. A bowl of noodles costs 60-80 THB (around 1.50 to 2 EUR), the place is always packed, and some expats come back at least once a week. For the dry version, Ko Yoon Noodle in Phuket Town is the insiders’ pick.
Gaeng Som (Sour and Spicy Curry)
This orange curry defines southern Thai cuisine. It’s made with fish or shrimp, soured with tamarind, and very spicy. Not “tourist-adjusted Thai spicy,” but the kind of hot that makes you sweat through your shirt. For chili lovers, it’s pure bliss.
Order it at One Chun or Nam Yoi. If you’re sensitive to spice, say “mai pet” (not spicy) when ordering, though even the mild version has some kick.
Other Dishes to Try
Khanom Jeen is a morning dish that most tourists never discover. Rice noodles with your choice of curry, which you top yourself with fresh herbs and vegetables laid out on the table. It’s what locals actually eat for breakfast, not the hotel buffet version of Thai food.
Oh Aew is a dessert made from shaved ice, banana starch jelly, and basil seeds, unique to Phuket. You’ll find it at Old Town dessert stands for next to nothing.
Roti with Massaman curry comes from the island’s Muslim community. Aroon Po Chana in the Old Town makes an excellent version.
And for late-night cravings, Khao Tom Haeng (dry boiled rice with crispy pork) at Go Benz is a Phuket institution. Go Benz is a small street restaurant where there’s always a queue. The grilled pork neck has a cult following; one expat calls it “the best grilled pork neck in all of Phuket.” It’s the kind of place where you end up after a night out, sitting on the sidewalk at midnight.
Night Markets: Where to Go and What to Eat
Phuket has several night markets, and they’re not all created equal. The food varies, the crowds vary, and the experience ranges from a relaxed beer with snacks to a dense, sweaty crowd under tarps. Here’s what to expect from each one.
Chillva Night Market
Chillva is the best night market for food. It runs Thursday through Saturday and draws a younger, more local crowd than Naka. The layout uses recycled shipping containers, there’s live music most nights, and the vibe is more laid-back than the big markets.
The boat noodles in the back corner are excellent. Look for the Leng Saap stand, which serves a “volcano” pork spine soup: a huge pile of pork bones in a spicy, sour broth that’s as fun to eat as it is to watch.
For something less adventurous, you’ll find skewers, fried chicken, and sushi balls everywhere. The insect stand sells crickets and silkworms if you’re feeling brave.
The trick at Chillva is the bars set up in shipping containers on the second level. Buy your food downstairs, head up, and eat overlooking the market with a beer or Thai whisky cocktail. It’s much nicer than trying to eat at one of the crowded ground-floor tables.
A good tip: use Chillva as a snacking session for appetizers, then walk to an Old Town restaurant for a proper sit-down meal. Hing Lung Seafood is right next to the market if you want fresh shrimp and stir-fries without going far.
Naka Weekend Market
Naka is the big market. Open Saturday and Sunday evenings, it’s sometimes called the “Chatuchak of Phuket” after the famous Bangkok market. It’s massive, more shopping-focused than food-focused, and gets uncomfortably hot and crowded after 7 PM.
On the food side, look for grilled squid with Nam Jim sauce (a spicy green sauce that accompanies seafood), mango sticky rice, buttered corn, and coconut ice cream served in a coconut shell. There are stands selling crocodile skewers, scorpions, and tarantulas, bought more for the Instagram photo than for actual eating.
Arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 PM. This matters. Food stands have their freshest stock, the tourist buses haven’t arrived yet, and you can actually walk through the aisles. Do your food tour first and shopping after. By 7 PM, the eating area turns into a slow-moving wall of people.
Phuket Indy Night Market
Smaller and more relaxed than Chillva and Naka, the Indy Night Market has fewer food choices but also fewer crowds. If the big market crowds feel exhausting, this is a more peaceful alternative for an easy evening. The food selection is limited, but what’s there is perfectly decent.
Sunday Walking Street in the Old Town
On Sunday evenings, Thalang Road in Phuket Old Town is closed to traffic and fills with food stands and street vendors. This market is worth combining with a stroll past the neighborhood’s Sino-Portuguese houses. It’s smaller than Naka or Chillva, but the setting is significantly more beautiful.
The food stands are more locally oriented than at the big markets, and you can easily slip into one of the nearby Old Town restaurants if you want to sit down for a proper meal after browsing.
What to Eat at Phuket’s Night Markets
Some items appear at every market. Banana roti (a crispy fried crepe drizzled with condensed milk), Moo Ping skewers (marinated grilled pork), Kanom Krok (small coconut pancakes, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside), and mango sticky rice are everywhere. Fresh fruit smoothie and cut fruit stands are perfect for cooling down. Ice cream rolls are fun to watch being made, even if the result is just ice cream at the end of the day.
The Old Town: Phuket’s Best Neighborhood for Eating
Phuket Town is one of the best neighborhoods to stay for food lovers, and the Old Town district within it holds most of the island’s best restaurants. The neighborhood is filled with Sino-Portuguese buildings, many of which have been converted into restaurants.
The Big Three: Raya, One Chun, and Tu Kab Khao
These three restaurants come up in every discussion about where to eat in Phuket, and all three are excellent. They differ more in atmosphere than in quality.
Raya Restaurant is the oldest and most established. It occupies a beautiful Sino-Portuguese building and is famous for its crab curry. It’s pricier and more formal than the other two, and reservations are recommended for dinner.
One Chun is the slight favorite among those who’ve tried all three. The menu is broader, the food quality is consistently on point, and the atmosphere is more relaxed. A telling sign: the dining room is usually filled with Thai families, not just tourists. The Moo Hong and crab curry are both must-orders here.
Tu Kab Khao is the most photogenic of the three. The interior is polished and the vibe is more upscale, but the food is still real southern Thai cuisine. It’s the ideal spot if you want a pleasant dining setting without sacrificing flavors. Expect to pay 150 to 300+ THB per dish (around 4 to 8 EUR) at each of these three restaurants.
Nam Yoi
This is the restaurant that Phuket residents will recommend to you. It’s less polished than the Big Three, the menu is more focused, and the food ranks among the best southern Thai on the island. One expat summed it up: “It’s not even a debate, Nam Yoi serves some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life.” The Moo Hong and Gaeng Som are both exceptional here. The place is also less touristy, so you won’t need a reservation.
Other Old Town Spots
Lock Tien is an old-school canteen with multiple stands serving fresh spring rolls, satay, noodles, and other local dishes. Great for sampling several specialties at low prices in a single meal. Kopitiam by Wilai is a cafe-restaurant for lunch with well-prepared local food. Chom Chan is less overrun by tourists than the Big Three and receives praise for its setting and service.
For dessert, Torry’s Ice Cream is housed in a Sino-Portuguese building and offers local flavors, including “Bi Co Moi” (black sticky rice with coconut milk). It’s much better than you might expect.
Seafood: Rawai and Beyond
Phuket is an island, so the seafood is excellent. But where you eat it makes all the difference. Beachfront restaurants in Patong will charge you five times the Rawai price for the same fish. To find out which beach to choose, check our dedicated guide.
Rawai Seafood Market
This is the seafood experience that comes up most often when talking about food in Phuket. The concept is simple: on one side of the street, vendors display live seafood (shrimp, crabs, fish, squid, lobsters). You pick what you like, negotiate the price, then cross the street to hand your catch to a restaurant that will cook it for you.
Cooking fees are fixed at around 100 THB per kilogram (about 2.50 EUR), regardless of which restaurant you choose. The price of the raw seafood, however, is not fixed: you need to bargain.
Mook Manee is consistently mentioned as the best restaurant for cooking your catch. They’ll ask how you want each item prepared: grilled, steamed, fried, or curried. Khun Pha is another reliable option. The experience is touristy, sure, but it’s enjoyable and the results are worth it.
A few tips: never accept the first price quoted for raw seafood, and be specific about your choices. Point at the exact shrimp or crabs you want. Make sure they’re weighed in front of you. Vendors here are used to negotiating, and it’s part of the experience.
Kan Eang @ Pier
In the Chalong area, Kan Eang has been open for over 50 years. It’s a safe bet for a seafood dinner with sea views. The produce is fresh, the atmosphere is smart-casual, and you can’t really go wrong here. It’s not cheap, but the value for money is fair.
Laem Hin Seafood
On the east coast, Laem Hin is a completely different experience. You take a free longtail boat to floating restaurants called “krachang.” The crab is excellent and the atmosphere is more relaxed and local than Rawai. No bargaining required. If you want very fresh seafood without the market negotiation ritual, this is a good alternative.
Mor Mu Dong
Set in the mangroves, Mor Mu Dong is a rustic spot known for unusual local dishes like stuffed fish and spicy salads. The setting does half the work: you eat surrounded by mangrove trees, right at the water’s edge. It sees few tourists and the detour is well worth it.
Eating in Patong (and How to Find Real Food There)
Patong is the hardest place on the island to find real Thai food. The road along the beach and the Bangla Road area are lined with restaurants serving the same overpriced Pad Thai and hybrid Thai-Western menus. But there are exceptions.
Kaab Gluay is one of the few restaurants in Patong where you can still get real Thai food at reasonable prices. Briley Chicken Rice does a good Khao Man Gai (Hainanese-style chicken and rice), a simple and cheap meal. P.S. Restaurant, at the end of Bangla Road, is a decent option for Thai food after a night out.
The fresh market across from Jungceylon shopping center has local food to go, but you need to be there before noon. After 12 PM, the best dishes are already gone.
The general rule in Patong: get away from the beach. Head up Nanai Road and look for small family-run restaurants. The further inland you go, the lower the prices and the better the food.
Here’s a quick way to spot if a restaurant is worth your time, wherever you are in Phuket: neon lighting, plastic chairs, a battered condiment rack on the table, and either no English menu or a very short one. If the place serves both pizza and Pad Thai on the same laminated menu, keep walking.
Another clue: check if Grab or FoodPanda delivery drivers are waiting outside. If they are, the place is popular with locals.
Fine Dining and Upscale Options
Phuket also has fine dining that goes well beyond the usual hotel restaurants. Blue Elephant is the upscale Thai option, housed in a colonial-era building. The crab curry is expensive but excellent.
Toh-Daeng at Baan Ar-Jor has earned a Michelin distinction and serves refined versions of traditional Phuket recipes in a heritage house. Tu Kab Khao, mentioned earlier, bridges the gap between fine dining and southern Thai gastronomy. Savoey Seafood is a good option for crab and lobster in a polished setting, with reasonable prices for this level of quality.
For fine dining, expect 500+ THB per dish (around 13 EUR and up). Reservations are strongly recommended at all these establishments.
Vegetarian and Special Diet Options
Eating vegetarian in Phuket takes some effort. Fish sauce goes into nearly everything in Thai cooking, and strict veganism is difficult outside of dedicated restaurants.
Look for the “Jae” symbol: a yellow flag with a red Thai character that looks like the number 17. It signals Buddhist vegan food stands.
Ruamjai Vegan on Ranong Road in the Old Town is a no-frills buffet serving cheap vegan food in a purely local style. Indian restaurants in Patong and the Old Town are a reliable option for vegetarians, as there’s a well-established Indian community on the island.
At night markets, you can eat well with fruit smoothies, cut fruit, grilled corn, banana roti, and Pad Thai (ask for “mai sai nam pla” to skip the fish sauce). At restaurants, saying “gin jae” (I eat vegetarian) will be more effective than trying to list ingredients to avoid one by one.
If you visit Phuket in September or October, you might catch the Vegetarian Festival. For about nine days, much of the Old Town transforms into a massive vegetarian street food market, and many regular restaurants offer special vegetarian menus. This festival is a Phuket tradition tied to the island’s Chinese community.
Cooking Classes
If you’d like to learn to make these dishes yourself, cooking classes are among the best activities in Phuket. Several providers in the Old Town area offer half-day classes that typically start with a visit to a local market, where you buy your own ingredients, before heading back to the kitchen to get hands-on.
You usually choose several dishes from a selection, and classes cover southern Thai specialties like Massaman curry and Tom Kha Gai. It’s a great way to spend a morning, especially if the weather isn’t right for the beach, and you leave with recipes you can recreate at home.
Tips for Eating on a Budget
You can eat very well in Phuket for very little money, as long as you know where to go. For a detailed budget for your trip, check our practical guide.
Street food costs 60 to 80 THB per dish (1.50 to 2 EUR). Local restaurants with plastic chairs and no air conditioning charge 100 to 150 THB (2.50 to 4 EUR). Even the well-known Old Town restaurants like One Chun come in at 150 to 300 THB per dish (4 to 8 EUR), which is still very affordable by any European standard.
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The Super Cheap Market area has bags of ready-to-go curry at rock-bottom prices. It’s where locals shop and the place is absolutely not designed for tourists, but if you’re comfortable with pointing and hoping for the best, the food is excellent and cheap.
The most budget-friendly strategy is to snack at the night markets for appetizers (expect 100 to 200 THB for several small bites, or 2.50 to 5 EUR), then have your main meal at a local restaurant. Avoid any restaurant located directly on a beach or in a tourist area of Patong. The same dish that costs 80 THB at a street stall in Phuket Town will cost 250 to 400 THB at a beachside restaurant, and the beach version is usually worse.
The further you move from the west coast beaches toward the interior, the more affordable the food gets. Phuket Town, Chalong, and Kathu all have quality food at low prices. You don’t need to rent a car or scooter to reach these areas; a Grab taxi from Patong to Phuket Old Town takes about 25 minutes and costs around 300 to 400 THB (8 to 10 EUR).
One last tip: eat where the locals eat, which means Phuket Old Town. If you make the trip even for just one dinner, you’ll eat better than during an entire week at beachside restaurants. Check our complete Phuket guide to learn more about getting around the island and planning your days.
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