The Beach
For tip-top fine dining try the Regatta restaurant
in Le Royal Phuket Yacht
Club on the northernmost tip of Nai Harn Beach. Mouth watering
international food with fine wine is the order of the day here but
don't expect your wallet to be happy about it.
If you continue under, yes under, the Yacht Club and up the small
coastal road over the hill you'll come to a secluded little beach
called Ao Sane. There is a bungalow operation here that runs a basic
yet atmospheric restaurant serving up Thai and sort-of Western food.
Prices are low and the international clientele as varied as marine
life in the seas around Ao Sane. It's a great sunset dining spot,
as well as a refreshing and breezy breakfast location.
The Village
If you take the road back towards Nai Harn Village there are some
eateries on your left, the best being Los Amigos,
which deals in good Tex Mex food. Heading through Nai Harn Village
you will pass several Italian, Belgium, Japanese and Thai restaurants,
all of which are quite small and geared towards the local expat
population. Of these, Blanc et Bleu is the most
impressive with its weekly specials, live piano music and attractive
white-themed décor.
Banana Corner enjoys a good reputation of being
excellent value for money and Mimi's - on the three-way
corner at the end of the road - is an opulently fitted out largish
Thai restaurant. Continuing east away from the intersection, on
Sai Yuan Rd., there are many cheap noodle stands and Thai restaurants
that cater for locals and young trainees in the nearby Thai Muay
(boxing) school. Rum Jungle - an Australian-Italian
run operation that is receiving favourable mentions - is on your
right and L'Orfeo, a well-thought-out French restaurant,
is on the left.
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Finally, no description of dining out in Nai Harn would be complete
without mentioning Don's Mall, further up this
road. Yes, it's big and neon-lit; yes, it's blatantly and proudly
American and yes, it's a culinary institution. Breakfasts, lunches
and dinners are served up diner-style to the many expat families
who make the pilgrimage from all over Phuket to Don's for its steaks,
barbecued meat, pastas and just about anything that you can dream
up, food-wise. There is parking round the back, a deli selling pies
that always seem to be sold out and a bar to lounge in once your
appetite is satisfied. |
