Some people say that Pinocchio serves up the best pizzas in Phuket. We aren’t going to argue with that as the pizzas are mighty fine – and at 195 baht a pop you can’t really complain. The pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven and all the usual suspects are available for toppings. Pinocchio also has a range of in Swiss specialties and fondues on the menu.

This Phuket restaurant has a natural kind of chic about it. The bar area was painted by a local artist and it looks interesting enough. If you aren’t keen on pizza, the pasta dishes are also decent. The Swiss chef definitely knows his way around the kitchen.

Other areas of the menu worth exploring include the 195-baht hot plates of shrimp, squid and mussels, as well as the beef tenderloin, which costs 425 a shot.

This Phuket restaurant is located right on the beachfront in Kamala, with great views out over the sea and the hills in the background. Rockfish has a fine menu to sample from.

The Australian beef burger is a firm favourite at just 260 baht, while for something a little more exotic, check out the grilled fillet of tama fish on a bed of jasmine rice, complete with pineapple, apple, mango, tomato, cucumber, sultana, cashew, coconut and sweet chili served with red curry sauce for 550 baht. It’s as much of a mouthful to say as it is to eat.

Rockfish is a relaxed venue that stands out from other Phuket restaurants. Definitely worth a look.

Los Amigos is open pretty much every day from about 11 am. It’s a reliable place to grab Mexican food in Phuket, although the food itself is nothing out of the ordinary. For a few hundred baht you can have a filling meal and a cold beer in the relatively peaceful setting.

The food is certainly not up to par with the likes of Coyote (we found a hair in our chili), but it’s certainly not bad and there is enough variety on the menu to keep most people entertained. The salsa, however, is heavy on the cilantro, which might well be your idea of hell on earth.

The chili isn’t all that spicy, but it does taste pretty good. If you’re in the area and fancy a spot of Mexican, this is surely the place to go, but don’t expect anything too mindblowing.

The Family is an interesting restaurant in Phuket. From the outside, this Rawai Restaurant looks rather dingy and plain, but it’s the food that’s the real star here. The Family serves up “Mediterranean Fast Food”, including everything you’d also find in a British kebab shop, such as falafel, humous, tashina, pita, eggplant salad and a whole lot more besides.

You can take away your food or else eat in the restaurant. The ambience isn’t particularly exciting, although there’s usually some blues playing on the TV screens. If you’re really hungry, the Mediterranean Platter is 350 baht and you get a whole lot of food. Although it’s mostly bread and sauces, it’s a filling meal, complete with pork, fries, salad and egg.

Other dishes include pizza and a few Western favorites. The Family is certainly not the most exciting restaurant in Phuket, but it’s simple and offers a decent meal if you’re in a rush.

Norbu’s steakhouse is an interesting restaurant in Rawai. The décor is certainly unique, with chandeliers and odd colors throughout, making this restaurant feel more like an Parisian mansion than a Phuket steakhouse.

Run by a husband-and-wife team, Norbu’s steakhouse is a dining experience you’ll love. You’ll feel like royalty during your time here. Popular on weekends, Norbu’s steakhouse is full of surprises. Check out the duck l’orange for a dish with real bite. Other taster dishes include ravioli and coquilles.

The steaks, while not being quite as grand as at Rivet Grill, definitely hit the spot. The wine list comprises 14 respectable labels. Norbu’s steakhouse in Rawai is a really eclectic establishment that has to be seen to be believed.

Norbu’s is one of the better steakhouses in Phuket and it stands up as one of the most interesting Phuket restaurants. It has a certain charm from which you can’t escape.

Mando Steakhouse is plush-looking eatery on the beach road in Rawai. Mando also has a small lounge bar next door.

This Phuket restaurant has a decent location next to the beach, albeit with a busy road in between. The menu is all in English and phonetic Thai, so it’s aimed at foreigners, which is reflected in the price of the Thai food.

Most dishes are 130 baht. The massaman gai tastes more like penang gai, but it’s definitely edible. The Thai food is actually pretty good, although the spices are toned down for Western tastes.

Being a steakhouse, there is a range of steaks to choose from, starting at about 500 baht. You can definitely have a pleasant meal at this Rawai restaurant. Beer comes in at about 80 baht a bottle. The restaurant is located next to the Rawai Beach Resort. Not worth making a trip especially for, but if you’re in the area, the food is decent.

Ad: Viset Road, by the entrance to Sai Yuan Road, Rawai. Tel: 081-7871184.
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Drunken Monkey in Rawai is one of our favorite restaurants in South Phuket because it’s one of the only places that knows how to cook a decent sausage and mash. If you’re in Phuket and you fancy a spot of English pub food, Drunken Money in Rawai is the perfect place to start.

We think the food is a little better than at the Green Man, also in Rawai, but we’ll leave you to decide.

Drunken Monkey is a great little restaurant in Phuket offering dishes including fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, and a variety of steaks. The food is all homemade. It sometimes feels somehow wrong to eat British pub food while in Phuket when surrounded by all this great Thai food, but there are so many restaurants in Phuket that there’s no harm in picking and choosing every now and then.

This Rawai restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.

Being an island and all, Phuket has an abundance of seafood restaurants. Kan Eang @ Pier is a seafood restaurant in Chalong that has a big reputation to live up to. People rave about Kan Eang @ Pier and, to be fair, the food is rather good. Expensive, but good.

The oysters aren’t as great as at Natural Restaurant, but as far as seafood restaurants in Phuket go, Kan Eang is up there among the best. Fresh fish, lobster, prawns and a everything else in between.

We particularly recommend the grouper with sweet, sour and chili sauce. The setting at Kan Eang @ Pier is chilled, being right next to Chalong Pier. The restaurant has outdoor and indoor seating, but it’s outdoors by the sea where you will want to be, unless it’s raining. The staff are friendly enough and you can be assured of a great meal if you eat out at Kan Eang @ Pier.

Recommended if you don’t mind paying a little over the odds.

There have been mixed reviews of Don’s Café over the years, but one thing is for certain: the guy makes a killer steak sauce. Don has built up a solid reputation for his Rawai restaurant, making it one of the more popular restaurants in Phuket among expats.

Most expats, after moving to Phuket, end up at Don’s Café within a few days to sample his spare ribs and famous barbecue. Don, a former NASA engineer, is usually milling about taking care of guests at his restaurant.

Don’s is perhaps one of the most famous expat restaurant in Phuket, certainly in Rawai. Don’s features a good range of Western dishes, Mexican food, pizzas, steaks and Swedish food.

It’s all about the smoked barbecue ribs, however, marinated in Don’s famous sauce, the recipe of which is a well-kept secret that very few people know.

On Sunday Don serves up a traditional English roast dinner.

Although the Green Man has perhaps let its reputation slip in recent years, it’s still a top pub restaurant in Phuket that warrants attention. The Green Man in Rawai is a Tudor-style pub, which means that it looks totally out of the ordinary in Phuket. They really did do an excellent job with the décor and look of this pub restaurant.

The food is reasonable English pub food, with sausages, roast dinner and other English favorites. If you’re looking for English pub food in Phuket, you won’t find much better than the Green Man.

As a place to drink, it’s also rather popular, attracting a large number of the island’s expat population. There certainly aren’t too many restaurants in Rawai serving pickled eggs. They sometimes host comedy stage shows by a local group of local performing artists.