Phuket has quite a few out-of-the-way dining spots. We all love a secret, especially a 'secret' restaurant, and to be rewarded with a slap-up meal after uncovering one can be one of life’s better pleasures. Being hilly and fairly large, Phuket Island has its fair share of hidden restaurants and it’s a lot of fun to discover them.

Here are some of the best on the island; restaurants ranging from simple but tasty family-run setups to international standard fine-dining locations. So why not get to know Phuket better and visit the lesser-known but just as beautiful corners of the island for a culinary treat?

    • Food

    Ao Sane is a small scenic boulder-strewn beach just north-west of Nai Harn Beach in the south of Phuket. Believe it or not, to get to Ao Sane you’ll have to drive under The Nai Harn Hotel, then carry on over the brow of the hill while admiring the truly gorgeous views over Nai Harn Bay.

    It’s best to park at the top and walk down to the beach and restaurant. The Thai and international food here at this family-run restaurant are surprisingly good and the ambience very laid back, with many expat-old timers as well as guests staying at the nearby bungalows being among its regular patrons.

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    Location: Karon, Muang, Phuket 83100, Thailand

    Open: Daily from 8.30am to 9pm

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    Kin Dee

    Kin Dee
    • Food

    ‘Kin Dee’ means ‘eat well’ in Thai and this is a fitting name for this out-of-the-way breezy restaurant up by Phuket’s Sarasin Bridge. Serving genuine Thai food in a beautiful bucolic setting, Kin Dee is a family-run restaurant with an ex 5-star chef and her sisters at the helm in the kitchen. For a certain minimum spend, Kin Dee often offers free transport back to your hotel if it's situated locally.

    Head to Phuket’s most northern point – the Sarasin Bridge – then take a U-turn just before the Police Checkpoint. Then turn left down the next lane past after the green supermarket. Kin Dee is 150 metres on the right-hand side of the road.

    Location: 71/6 Moo 5, Thepkrasattree Road, Mai Khao, Thalang, Phuket 83110, Thailand

    Open: Daily from 10.30am to 10pm

    Phone: +66 (0)76 328 293

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    Laem Ka Noi Seafood

    Laem Ka Noi Seafood
    • Food

    Laem Ka Noi Seafood is a restaurant that can be a challenge to find, but well worth the effort if you really want to feel exclusive. Laem Ka Noi serves all manner of fresh seafood, mostly prepared the Thai way. 

    To get to the restaurant, head down towards Rawai and on the right-hand side of the road, a sign on the left says ‘Ka Noi’. Turn down here and follow the road to the end. It’s quite a spectacular ride and one that should be taken slowly. The restaurant has a small car park right at the bottom but it’s really best to park a little above it because the gradient is very steep. Best at high tide as the adjacent beach is muddy and rocky.

    Open: Daily from 10.30am to 8pm

    Phone: +66 (0)87 284 2283

    Map
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    Le Celtique

    Le Celtique
    • Food

    Le Celtique is an out-of-the-way French restaurant in Rawai. Its no-nonsense approach to traditional French, Italian and Thai dishes and efficient and friendly service make it worth a visit. Le Celtique could at first be mistaken for a mini-museum as its décor, consisting of Buddha images, wall friezes, wooden statues and Celtic whorls, is so distinctive that there quite simply is nothing else like it in Phuket. 

    Le Celtique is well signposted. If coming from Chalong, turn down Soi Saiyuan off Vichit Road at the 7-Eleven and right at Le Celtique signage. Follow the road for a kilometre and turn right up the hill at the second restaurant sign.

    Location: 80/90 Soi Huay Nam Toe, Chalong, Muang, Phuket 83100, Thailand

    Open: Daily from 4pm to 11.30pm

    Phone: +66 (0)76 613 098

    Map
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    Sabai Corner

    Sabai Corner
    • Food

    ‘Sabai’ means ‘happy’ in Thai and never was a place so aptly named as this bar/restaurant in a ‘secret’ location, right in the jungle between Nai Harn and Kata. Facing north, you’ll see Kata Noi, Kata Yai, and Karon beaches along with Pu Island and the back of the iconic Big Buddha. Look out to sea and the horizon is the limit. This ‘wow’ factor at Sabai Corner is turned to the absolute max, and that’s before you’ve even taken a seat. 

    Food-wise, Sabai Corner is no fine-dining location but it does knock out fairly decent wood-fired pizzas from its brick oven, plus it serves a whole gamut of Thai dishes. To get there, simply take a turn down the road next to the ‘Three Beaches’ viewpoint in the hills above Kata Noi Beach. It’s about a kilometre down on the left-hand side.

    Location: Karon, Muang, Phuket 83100, Thailand

    Open: Daily from 10am 9.30pm

    Phone: +66 (0)89 875 5525

    Map