Joanna James
To visitors of Phuket in Bangkok, indulging in the city's famed seafood is a rite of passage. Here are Phuket's top five eateries with seafood delicacies guaranteed to set your taste buds alight!
Kang Ean Pier is a speciality seafood restaurant serving Japanese and Western fine dining dishes centred on the fruit of the sea. The restaurant is one of Phuket's foremost attractions and one of the city's oldest restaurants. With seafood sourced directly from the Andaman Sea and prepared to perfection to your plate, the restaurant is Phuket's shining beacon of exemplary, praise-worthy seafood. Family-friendly with fantastic views of the Chalong Bay and an array of crustaceans for your selection, the eatery is right at the top of the list for any traveller to Bangkok and is considered more than just a restaurant. It is a destination thronged by Bangkok natives and tourists alike, since its inception three decades ago.
The Sea Hag Restaurant stands out as the pit stop every visitor to the beach must make. It is located along Patong Beach, around a half hour drive from tourist-thronged locales and properties in the area such as Anantara Layan Phuket Resort. Equipped with a bevvy of humongous tiger prawns, an extravagant list of Australian wines and a convivial dining ambience, the Sea Hag is not your average Phuket beach restaurant. Stylish and intimate with cuisine prepared with panache and commitment, the Sea Hag has carved a niche of its own with seafood dishes that are inimitable and service that above par.
Baan Rim Pa is a dining destination that prides itself on the immaculate preparation of authentic royal Thai food. The restaurant boasts of sumptuous dishes reminiscent of those found in Thailand's Grand Palace. From spiced soups to speciality salads, green and yellow curries with meat and seafood delicacies unique to royalty, the eatery is an experience that has had to have, when in Phuket. Located in a two-storey teak building, perched upon a cliff that affords guests mesmerising, panoramic views of Patong Bay, Baan Rim Pa is perfect for any intimate occasion with its cosily ambient atmosphere and regal, culinary masterpieces.
Le Versace is acclaimed as Patong's highest restaurant and open-air lounge bar. With a spellbinding panoramic view across Phuket and the Andaman Sea, the restaurant is a favourite for visitors to the town enamoured by the glitz and glamour they are availed. From stylistic interiors that are nothing short of extravagant to original Versace decor, effervescent chandeliers and a perfectly curated menu with a selection of French style, seafood-oriented dishes to choose from, the restaurant's offerings are nothing short of exquisite. A stand-out dish here is Le Versace's French fish soup with cognac that is a favourite among diners.
Phuket's floating restaurants are found along the East coast of Phuket. A trip to them entails sailing a long-tail boat from Laem Hin Pier to the restaurants and are available every day of the year. The unique dining concept was introduced to Phuket around two decades ago and has since faced tremendous demand. Restaurants purchase fresh seafood from fishermen and rear them, with fish, crabs and prawns kept in floating wood and net enclosures where guests simply have to walk between said enclosures and have the seafood of their choosing prepared for them. From classic dishes such as deep fried soft-shell crab, fiery "tom yam kung" and fried shrimp in tamarind sauce, diners at the floating restaurants are spoilt for choice and in store for an unrivalled gastronomical escapade.
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