Any Reasonably Priced Places To Eat Left In Phuket?

[woodyleonhard]

Try Tawan bar/restaurant Kata central ( soi opposite 711)...the best burgers and Thai AND western food good prices and great quality..And inexpensive beers!!!...Okay so he's a mate...but..

Brings up an interesting question, which is on-topic.

What about the best burgers in Phuket? I've seen discussions on Thaivisa about it, but they're pretty dated. Phuket Gazette ran an article with three recommendations last week, but I'm not real fond of two of them (haven't tried the third). Of course, I may have gone on an "off" day.

Are there any really good hamburgers in Phuket? Say, as good as Fuddruckers in the US?

A few years ago, the beef in Thailand just didn't, uh, cut the mustard. But it's much better now. It should be possible to build an outstanding burger without costing an arm and two legs. Has anybody done it?

[LivinLOS]

Didnt we just have a burger debate thread ??

Gone the way of the dodo now but the old Faulty burger at Faulty towers was a truly a monster..

[ilyelol]

Try Tawan bar/restaurant Kata central ( soi opposite 711)...the best burgers and Thai AND western food good prices and great quality..And inexpensive beers!!!...Okay so he's a mate...but..

Brings up an interesting question, which is on-topic.

What about the best burgers in Phuket? I've seen discussions on Thaivisa about it, but they're pretty dated. Phuket Gazette ran an article with three recommendations last week, but I'm not real fond of two of them (haven't tried the third). Of course, I may have gone on an "off" day.

Are there any really good hamburgers in Phuket? Say, as good as Fuddruckers in the US?

A few years ago, the beef in Thailand just didn't, uh, cut the mustard. But it's much better now. It should be possible to build an outstanding burger without costing an arm and two legs. Has anybody done it?

super burger is pretty decent

Milky hut in phuket town has a decent 95 or 110 baht thai burger.

[Valentine]

Yesterday I had the salad only at Sizzler for Baht 179. Pretty good value considering it included baked potato, toasted cheese bread, unlimited salads, good soups, & pasta.

I have said this before in the burger debate that IMO Sizzler do a really good substantial beef burger.

Edited October 14, 2010 by Valentine

[pmgthailand]

Yesterday I had the salad only at Sizzler for Baht 179. Pretty good value considering it included baked potato, toasted cheese bread, unlimited salads, good soups, & pasta.

I have said this before in the burger debate that IMO Sizzler do a really good substantial beef burger.

I have only been to Sizzler once and the food was good, but what surprised me was that the bill was quite reasonable, I really thought that it would have been more.I must go back there. Edited October 14, 2010 by pmgthailand

[katabeachbum]

Yesterday I had the salad only at Sizzler for Baht 179. Pretty good value considering it included baked potato, toasted cheese bread, unlimited salads, good soups, & pasta.

I have said this before in the burger debate that IMO Sizzler do a really good substantial beef burger.

I have only been to Sizzler once and the food was good, but what surprised me was that the bill was quite reasonable, I really thought that it would have been more.I must go back there.

179 baht usually gets you a pork sirloin steak with pepper sause, in addition to baked potatoe or french fries, bread, and unlimited sallad, soupe and dessert buffet

wednesday night is a spesial menu

sundays crowded with locals

[Crutch]

Yes, Sizzler has decent prices-- particularly their Wednesday Night menu, and the salad bar alone, both of which are under 200 baht.

However-- their burgers are extortionately priced. NOBODY in Thailand should be charging 300+ baht for a burger! It's highway robbery.

Also, it must be said that they are quite rude to single diners: they will actively lie about the availability of tables, in order to keep the tables open for larger groups.

Woody, there's a place that just opened next to Boat Lagoon. It's called "surf and turf" and is easily spotted from the road because of its bright yellow awning and large Canadian manning a burger brill on the porch.

These people charge about 165 baht for a burger with Australian beef, and are VERY conscious of what goes into the burger. Without doubt, as you order the burger, the chef will list the ingredients and options and ask you what you want/don't want in your burger, then come back afterward and ask how it could be improved.

OP, in Cherng Talay there are a few inexpensive places. Here are two of my favorites:

Woody has already mentioned his own place, the Sandwich Shoppe between Cherng Talay and Laguna, where you'd pay about 150 to 200 baht for a meal, depending on what you drink. You have to learn the menu, there, as some things are (sorry, Woody!) pricey. A cookie for US$150, for example, seems like an awful lot to pay. On the other hand, there's "Woody's Sunday Breakfast" for 100 baht: 2 eggs any style, 2 strips of bacon of sausage, and toast with butter and jam. For 25 baht more, you can subsitute a bagel, a healthier choice, for the toast. The lemonade is expensive: 79 baht for a glass with ice. On the other hand, the veggie bagel sandwich (lots of fresh veg and cheese and sauce in it) is only 99 baht.

(In the interests of full disclosure, it should be known that Woody's one of my best friends.)

A little south of main street Cherng Talay is the Lotus-Tesco shopping center. Across the street from it is "Coffee@Home", which is like a lower-budget Woody's Sandwich Shoppe. They have several dishes and drinks for 50 baht:

An "American breakfast": two eggs any style, one piece of toast with butter and jam, a hot dog, and either a strip of bacon or a slice of grilled ham.

A smoothie and a shake are both 50 baht. They're not as large nor as thick nor as ingredient-rich as Woody's, but for 50 baht...!

They have Internet-- also like WOody's, but slower. (Notice a theme here? It's like they study Woody's, and see how they can do it a little cheaper, a little less fancy.)

A Ham and Cheese sandwich (with sliced tomato on the side, all very tasty) is also 50 baht.

It should be noted that Coffee@home's hours are a little unpredictable: closed Sundays, open other days 8 to 6, and open only one evening until 8pm.

Another place-- I may get criticized for this-- is The Pizza Company, in the Lotus Tesco shopping center. I know, so much of their menu is overpriced, and not particularly healthy. However, there are three notable plusses that outweigh those criticisms, imho.

1) There are menu items that're filling without being expensive: pasta and rice+veg/rice+meat dishes between 80 and 120 baht, Dairy Queen "half the fat of regular icecream" pints for 50 baht; big, big refill Pepsis for 50 baht, Italian cheese rolls for 60 baht, and so on.

2) The staff is really quite kind and attentive. One wouldn't expect that in a chain store-- I would have expected sullen minimum wage teenagers sleepwalking-- but they remember me, remember what I like, make conversation... all the things that are lacking in so many restaurants' wait staff in Thailand. (Must be a cultural thing...?)

3) The bathrooms, though shared with the rest of the shopping center, are right next door, immaculate, and spacious. As my username ("Crutch") implies, I've got a bit of a handicap, and I have to say that the handicapped bathroom in Cherng Talay's Lotus Tesco is soooo nice, I almost want to move in or rip it out and bring it home.

A mixed-bag surprise in Cherng Talay is "The Burnt Taco", next to "Coffee@Home". It's a Mexican food place, and looks exactly like a fast-food place (McDonalds, KFC, etc.) with counter, plastic menu board above the cash register, and so on. But...the prices are quite a bit higher than a fast food place, and the chef and ingredients are... wow. The 120 baht breakfast burrito is the only menu item I feel safe recommending for budget diners. Don't be shy, though... come, and talk to the chef. He *looks* like a mad surfer foreigner teenager, complete with mohawk haircut and head-to-foot tattoos, and you'd sort of expect that he's some sort of ho-hum minimum wage chef, but BOY, you'd be wrong. He's one of those rare chefs who deeply, deeply cares about the food, almost as high art. The enchiladas and other dishes have ingredient lists that may rich 20 items, including total surprises like PUMPKIN SEEDS and COCOA! Get him talking about his culinary adventures as he wandered through Mexico, learning his art. (Yes, it's fair to call it "art", at that level.)

In my happiest dreams, I imagine that Mom Tri's Boathouse Grill fires the d***ed grammar school cafeteria worker they currently employ as "chef", and hires this Mexican Restaurant dude to do whatever menu he feels like doing. The Boathouse's menu would go up a thousand percent in style, content, and being worth their hefty pricetag.

By far, though, my favorite restaurant in Phuket is the budget Italian past and icecream place called "Da Sandros", on Chaofa East road in Chalong, across the street from Land and Houses & next to Chalong Gym. A small person might be satisfied with a single 120-baht pasta dish there; larger folks will want two, or to double the size of the original dish for an additional 50% cost (so a 120 baht dish would double in size and cost 180 baht). The fresh pasta here is soooo good, I compare it to the last good pasta I had, fifteen years ago, at the Italian embassy in Papua New Guinea. The first time I heard of the place, separate friends both recommended it in a single week.

It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

Avoid the spaghetti, unless you "understand how it's supposed to be, in Italy", or ask to have it American/ tourist style. "Italian" style is hard (al dente), and heavily spiced with black pepper.

Instead, try the tortelloni (stuff like ravioli), meat lasagna, or the gnocci (soft, small potato balls). Or, if you're VERy hungry and brought a friend, share the lamb shank. Or, if you're a fish lover and brought enough money, I've heard that their tuna carpaccio (300 baht-- ouch) is amazing.

The wine's a bit expensive, as is the icecream if you buy it by the scoop (40 baht a scoop-- ouch) but if you buy it by the pint/half-kilo, the icecream is only 200 baht and SOOOOO D***ED DELICIOUS!!!! (Avoid the lemon, though-- their lemon is so tart that it'll make your face implode until your ears clap in the middle where your mouth usedta be. Seriously, the lemon is like getting mauled by a muay thai camp that wrapped its gloves in lemons. Stick to the strawberry, the mild apple (best combined with raspberry, which is too powerful), the mango in season, etc.

[ilyelol]

The burger place near boat lagoon, can you explain exactly where that is? i drive past there to goto the royal phuket marina almost everyday and have never seen a yellow sign

[Benjie]

The Mexican place is called the burned tortilla, I've now stopped going as they raised their (already expensive) prices and the portions just about halved in size at the same time.

Has anyone mentioned Sunset Restaurant next to Black Cat, pretty good prices although they recently raised their prices as well.

[HDRIDER]

By far, though, my favorite restaurant in Phuket is the budget Italian past and icecream place called "Da Sandros", on Chaofa East road in Chalong, across the street from Land and Houses & next to Chalong Gym. A small person might be satisfied with a single 120-baht pasta dish there; larger folks will want two, or to double the size of the original dish for an additional 50% cost (so a 120 baht dish would double in size and cost 180 baht). The fresh pasta here is soooo good, I compare it to the last good pasta I had, fifteen years ago, at the Italian embassy in Papua New Guinea. The first time I heard of the place, separate friends both recommended it in a single week.

've heard that their tuna carpaccio (300 baht-- ouch) is amazing.

Here we see how different we are, i think that place sucks and will not return, we waited for a very long time and when we got what we ordered it was very dead and very cold, 4 people and nobody will return, also i do avoid a Italian place where i cant get a Pizza, only place i will go where i cant get pizza is the small Italian one in Phuket town, cant remember the name, but thats me. 2 of us got the tuna carpaccio, non of us was very impressed, this is around 1 year ago so maybe its better now but i think there is to many nice restaurants so i dont need to return..

[ScubaBuddha]

...some things are pricey. A cookie for US$150, for example, seems like an awful lot to pay.

Agreed! How big is this cookie!?

[LivinLOS]

The Mexican place is called the burned tortilla, I've now stopped going as they raised their (already expensive) prices and the portions just about halved in size at the same time.

Might be pricy, but its dam_n good..

The Thai / Hawaiian youngish owner was there and seemed a really nice guy, but was sweating the lack of customers and hoping for high season, lets hope he makes it. Sweet mango salsa, burnt tomato and peppers sauce, just loads of great tastes there.

[chiang mai]

The Vietnamese run stall in the Jungceylon food court, a mean massaman curry with rice for Baht 60.

The Thai restaurant in the small mall containing Home Pro and Villa in Chalong, excellent semi-westernised Thai food, not at all expensive.

Sandwiches at TOPS in Central Mall, frequently discounted and if so, good value and quite good.

[steelepulse]

>>It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

That's not Mama Noi reincarnated under a different name is it? She's set up and sold 3 restaurants that I know of, 2 in Kata/Karon, and Nona Noi in Rawai which was bought by a Thai family which couldn't speak English nor Italian, and soon closed after dropping their 2 million baht for the name, goodwill and "franchise".

[Benjie]

The Mexican place is called the burned tortilla, I've now stopped going as they raised their (already expensive) prices and the portions just about halved in size at the same time.

Might be pricy, but its dam_n good..

The Thai / Hawaiian youngish owner was there and seemed a really nice guy, but was sweating the lack of customers and hoping for high season, lets hope he makes it. Sweet mango salsa, burnt tomato and peppers sauce, just loads of great tastes there.

Yeah but US $10 for a smallish chimichanga using only locally sourced ingredients is quite expensive.

[KarenBravo]

>>It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

That's not Mama Noi reincarnated under a different name is it? She's set up and sold 3 restaurants that I know of, 2 in Kata/Karon, and Nona Noi in Rawai which was bought by a Thai family which couldn't speak English nor Italian, and soon closed after dropping their 2 million baht for the name, goodwill and "franchise".

Wasn't her first restaurant almost next to Karon Post Office almost opposite the PTT station?

[steelepulse]

>>It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

That's not Mama Noi reincarnated under a different name is it? She's set up and sold 3 restaurants that I know of, 2 in Kata/Karon, and Nona Noi in Rawai which was bought by a Thai family which couldn't speak English nor Italian, and soon closed after dropping their 2 million baht for the name, goodwill and "franchise".

Wasn't her first restaurant almost next to Karon Post Office almost opposite the PTT station?

Yes it was. She sold and then the people that bought it went out of business within a year. She had a great following at that first location and that's what prompted her to do it again. Every time I went in with my wife to any of her "new" restaurants the first thing she talked about was having my wife buy her rented shophouse and business for 2 million. I had to laugh every time but at the same time admire her business savvy.

[iSabai]

Couple weeks back a German friend brought me to a small place on Nanai Rd. Patong called Saxony. Was quite good and reasonable price for farang food.

I had the schnitzel (breaded pork chops) with fried potatoes and a side of salad. It was ฿170 or ฿180 if I remember. My friend had goulash and noodles which looked really good, think it was around the same price.

Most of the farang dishes seemed to be around the ฿140 to ฿200 range from what I remember of the menu. They also had Thai food, and was around the ฿90 to ฿100 range. I don't know much about German food, but the girl told me they get lots of regular customers (was quite a few people that night) so I'd guess the food was authentic enough. I thought it was good, and filling as well. There's not many tables though, seats maybe 15 or 20 people, so seems a bit crowded, but comfortable.

Anyway, with one beer each, our bin came to around ฿500, with the tip, for the two of us.

Was well worth it I thought, and I'd go back again next time I get an aharn farang craving.

[Crutch]

...some things are pricey. A cookie for US$150, for example, seems like an awful lot to pay.

Agreed! How big is this cookie!?

Yeeeow, did I not type the decimal point? I meant to say "a buck fifty"-- about 50 baht. The cookies (there are 6 kinds) are about the size of the palm of your hand, and slightly less thick. So, not monster-sized, but bigger than the usual storebought cookies and the inexplicably small ones sold at Subway.

[Crutch]

The burger place near boat lagoon, can you explain exactly where that is? i drive past there to goto the royal phuket marina almost everyday and have never seen a yellow sign

Look for a yellow awning, not a yellow sign. It's about 50 meters before the entrance to Boat Lagoon, if you're coming from the "chicks with sticks" monument.

You've probably not noticed it because a) it's only been open around 2 weeks, and it's only open from noon 'til 9pm.

The yellow awning has a dark black massive grill under it, and a pair of Christmas garlands hanging off one corner. The silk-screening on their window says "surf and turf"-- not the most imaginative of names.

It's owned by the same folks who own Chili's the Thai/English restaurant on the other side of the road, across from the Moslem kids' school, a hundred meters closer to the Heroines monument.

I was shocked that the Phuket Gazette article abotu "best burgers in Phuket" ignored that place, but listed the Italian restaurant inside Boat Lagoon. The Italian restaurant is... ITALIAN. Burgers sure ain't their specialty-- and it's not a cheap place, and the writer chose to ignore the inconvenience suffered by every motorbike-driver who tries to enter Boat Lagoon: NO MOTORBIKES ALLOWED.

I can't tell you how much that rule irks me! Even with crutches and obvious scars up and down my legs, the Boat Lagoon gate security insist that if I want to get in, I've gotta walk/hobble/crawl/call a friend with a car. May the fleas of a thousand camels find refuge in their tent!

Edited October 16, 2010 by Crutch

[Crutch]

>>It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

That's not Mama Noi reincarnated under a different name is it? She's set up and sold 3 restaurants that I know of, 2 in Kata/Karon, and Nona Noi in Rawai which was bought by a Thai family which couldn't speak English nor Italian, and soon closed after dropping their 2 million baht for the name, goodwill and "franchise".

I sure don't think so. Let's see if the details match up:

She was married to an Italian. She and her son speak Thai, English, and Italian. Her son just finished college in New Zealand; the restaurant (da 'Sandros) is named after him (Alessandro). The icecream (gelato, really-- a bit softer than regular icecream) she makes is also sold directly to hotels.

Is this Mama Noi ?

It seems doubtful to me, since she's spent 13 recent years in Italy. When would she have had the time to set up and sell the 3 restaurants you mentioned, unless your experience in Phuket goes decades back?

[ilyelol]

Thx , ill give surf and turf a try.

Hopefully it's good and i can avoid going to subways at tesco where idiots can't back their cars without hitting my parked car.

[HDRIDER]

Sunday burger in Wine Connection, cheese, bacon, Ozzie Beef, fried potatoes, lots of bread......260Baht, Nice burger

[FarangBuddha]

I hear what you are saying, good quality but I just won't pay that much for a sandwich in Thailand.

Why should good sandwich (Western quality bread, meat, and fillers) cost less to make in Thailand than "back home"? If anything, it most likely should cost more...the meat often has to be imported and the bread bought in small quantities from local bakers (again maybe using imported ingredients). Sure rents and labour may be cheaper in Thailand but this doesn't always make up for the cost of the imported imputs.

[LiveSteam]

I hear what you are saying, good quality but I just won't pay that much for a sandwich in Thailand.

Why should good sandwich (Western quality bread, meat, and fillers) cost less to make in Thailand than "back home"? If anything, it most likely should cost more...the meat often has to be imported and the bread bought in small quantities from local bakers (again maybe using imported ingredients). Sure rents and labour may be cheaper in Thailand but this doesn't always make up for the cost of the imported imputs.

[sukhumvitlegend]

But at least you have the choice.. I am baffled how normal salary Thais are getting by.

Theres a (very busy) noodle stall by us.. 2 plain gwie tiow noodle soups and 2 ice teas. 120 baht.. A bowl of that soup isnt a meal, its a snack.. And at close to 2.50 GBP for a couple of snacks you just wonder how Thais on 8 maybe 12k a month get by. Another local Thai place for Thais, most of the 'simple' dishes are 80 - 120 baht, plus the rice, etc etc. This isnt a cooked fish or something just regular dishes.

Its easy for us, we can just scratch our heads and pay it.. But Thai salaries must be making it real tough.

Well Said

[madmitch]

>>It's run by a 50-something Thai woman who's the chef, and her twenty-something son who's the manager. They both lived in Italy for 13 years, and she has been running Italian restaurants for 20 years.

That's not Mama Noi reincarnated under a different name is it? She's set up and sold 3 restaurants that I know of, 2 in Kata/Karon, and Nona Noi in Rawai which was bought by a Thai family which couldn't speak English nor Italian, and soon closed after dropping their 2 million baht for the name, goodwill and "franchise".

Wasn't her first restaurant almost next to Karon Post Office almost opposite the PTT station?

Yes it was. She sold and then the people that bought it went out of business within a year. She had a great following at that first location and that's what prompted her to do it again. Every time I went in with my wife to any of her "new" restaurants the first thing she talked about was having my wife buy her rented shophouse and business for 2 million. I had to laugh every time but at the same time admire her business savvy.

The Mama Noi in Karon, close to Siam Commercial Bank, still does very good business and is still reasonable value despite the prices just edging up a little every year. Their Thai curries are good and the pasta dishes are fine without being exactly cordon bleu. Banana shakes really good and sandwiches with home made baguettes at 65 baht are also good value, particularly when compared with other prices on this thread, though choice is limited.

[Crutch]

FarangBuddha said, "Sure rents and labour may be cheaper in Thailand but this doesn't always make up for the cost of the imported inputs."

Sure, flying Australian beef into Thailand must cost quite a bit, but reevaluate the labour costs. A Thai bluecollar laborer-- restaurant worker, truck driver, bakery worker-- seldom earns more than 15,000 baht per month. In a Western country, those labour costs are typically 6x larger, with workers' comp, pension plan, possibly health insurance, etc.

It's inexplicable that restaurateurs (and real estate salesmen, etc.) aiming at the foreigner-customer, mistake "golden crust" for "made from gold, the precious metal" and charge accordingly. There is so seldom the sense that the profit-taking businesses in Thailand will simplly split the difference between a fair price for Thailand and the "back home" London/New York/Tokyo price! Tourists come to this third-world country expecting bargain prices. Instead, they get smacked with back-home prices and wish never to return to the Land of Guilty Smiles.

[TaoNow]

Crutch (a newbie) said "Tourists come to this third-world country expecting bargain prices."

Crutch: "3rd world" refers to a Cold War designation of alignment with communist, capitalist or non-aligned countries.

If, however, you mean to suggest that Thailand (and Phuket in particular) is undeveloped relative to other countries and provinces in the world -- you haven't been around much.

Back to Brixton with ya.

[LivinLOS]

If, however, you mean to suggest that Thailand (and Phuket in particular) is undeveloped relative to other countries and provinces in the world -- you haven't been around much.

I agree that Phuket has the veneer of modernity.. It appears developed..

But that is broken when people can come from other areas of Thailand, which lets face it are still 'developing world' and provide a labor pool.. Its also broken when the national politics (of a developing nation) are controlling the developed location, be that corruption, law, training, education, etc...

Phuket is more developed but that isnt enough to pull 'Thailand' forward and out of developing nation status.

Edited October 19, 2010 by LivinLOS