Phuket’s beaches are all well and good, but there’s more to explore in and around the historic quarter of the island’s namesake capital, where a crop of new restaurants and other venues are flourishing.

Photographs by Christopher Wise

*Left to right:* The back-alley entrance to Shan, a “hidden” coffee shop in the heart of Phuket Old Town; ES! is a must-stop boutique for Thai-designed beachwear and accessories.

Outside my window, the banter of Burmese workers and the rattle of motorcycles with makeshift sidecars are part of the early-morning soundtrack of Phuket Old Town’s wholesale fresh market. Busy with rotating shifts, from vegetables in the evening to fruits in the morning, the market’s bustle is something that I’ve come to appreciate since moving here in 2022. It’s reflective of the reinvigoration of Phuket’s compact provincial capital, and in particular the city’s historic core, whose rows of Sino-Portuguese shophouses were built by prosperous tin merchants in the 19th century.

A longtime resident of Bangkok, I stayed in Phuket after an overseas trip during Covid-19, taking advantage of the government’s “sandbox” scheme that gave visitors the option of an island-wide quarantine rather than two weeks locked up in a Bangkok hotel. My chosen resort was at Kata Beach, which, like most of the pandemic-stricken coastline, was virtually deserted at the time. Yet life in Phuket Town carried on relatively unscathed.

The island’s commercial hub has always been an exception to the palm-fringed postcard image of the rest of Phuket. It boasts a profusion of charms, from its heritage architecture to an eclectic culinary collage that blends the flavors of southern Thai fare, distinctive Phuket recipes, and Peranakan influences. But what the town had always lacked was a place to get a good drink, a well-executed Western/European meal, shops that didn’t just sell tourist tat, and establishments driven by personal passion rather than tourist-focused commercialism.

Thankfully, that has changed over the past few years. These days, there’s more caffeine available than even Chiang Mai’s espresso-and-chill coffee culture. (The other booming business is marijuana dispensaries, which have flooded Thailand since the de facto legalization of cannabis last year.) Within 500 meters of my house, I have at least half a dozen coffee shops to choose from, my favorite being Shan. The brainchild of local brand-design lecturer Katakorn Jaijena and billed as a “secret” café with a back-alley entrance (though you can also get to it through the recently opened noodle shop out front), it’s an industrial-cool space with raw-concrete floors and walls and a small trove of vintage knickknacks. The coffee is top-notch, and the scene is as relaxed as can be most days, with just a few folks tapping away on laptops.

The Charm Dining Gallery is an aptly named spot for old-school Phuket dishes served in a lovingly refurbished Peranakan home.

One of the city’s oldest streets, Dibuk Road is flanked by old shophouses that host a mix of galleries, hardware stores, auto-parts shops, and eateries. A standout among the latter is The Charm Dining Gallery. Contrasting with Shan’s rough edges, this pristine heritage space occupies a century-old Peranakan residence full of vintage furnishings and family portraits. It has also preserved many cherished family recipes; any of the dishes labeled “Grandma’s Recipe” offer subtle, perfectly seasoned flavors that I’ve never found at any other Phuket restaurant.

The glass-fronted HEH is something else entirely. Chef Nattaphon “Oat” Othanawathakij honed his skills in Melbourne, and his contemporary Australian approach runs through the seafood-centric menu: dishes such as charcoal-grilled calamari are presented minimally with just a bed of sauce, accompanied by delectable sides like butternut squash with whipped garlic or iceberg salad with crème fraîche dressing. There’s also a selection of bao buns or tacos—perfect for the solo diner to pair with the quirky wine list.

Another Thai-run kitchen playing with a mix of flavors is Tusky. Relocated to calmer digs from its previous spot on Patong Beach, the neon-lit izakaya-meets–cocktail bar is helmed by Phuket-born Chatin Dienel, who has brought skills acquired at various Michelin-rated kitchens in London back home and applied them to crunchy-tender roast pork belly, wagyu skewers, and a daily-changing sashimi selection. The floor staff are especially solicitous, offering suggestions from the excellent cocktail list and passing out shots befitting Tusky’s slight nightclub-y vibe.

*Left to right:* Tiger prawn tacos with smoked corn salsa and housemade Thousand Island dressing at HEH; inside the same restaurant.

A dining alcove at cocktail bar–cum-izakaya Tusky; bonbons on display at the local chocolate shop and factory Paradai. — *Left to right:* A dining alcove at cocktail bar–cum-*izakaya* Tusky; bonbons on display at the local chocolate shop and factory Paradai.

While the burst of creativity that has reinvigorated the town’s dining scene hasn’t quite spilled over into the retail arena, one beacon of curated cool can be found near the Suriyadej roundabout. ES! is the multibrand boutique of Wisa Thongtan, a Phuket native and founder of resort-wear brand Salty. With an eye for well-designed women’s wear at reasonable prices, she has stocked the shop with nearly 30 summery Thai labels like Marchmay and Wood and Mountain.

Also resolutely Thai in flavor is craft chocolatier Paradai. The bonbons, bars, and ice creams (including a delicious single-origin Phuket soft serve) here feature handcrafted chocolate made from cacao beans sourced from across Thailand; the chocolate factory is at the rear of the shop. Founder “Fook” Thanomkiat, whose childhood home in Phuket had a backyard full of cacao trees, tells me his aim is to highlight both local beans and local flavors like tom yum and som chun, a rare Thai dessert. For something more conventional, there’s Paradai’s Chanthaburi 70% dark chocolate bar, which won gold at the 2022 International Chocolate Awards.

When Mayu “Poo” Charyapitukkul returned home in 2010 after a 13-year stint in e-finance in New York City, she opened a string of guesthouses in town. Her latest project is Punte Phuket Local Street Food, a showcase of the island’s classic dishes and the vendors who make them. Built in a minimalist Sino- Portuguese style, the airy food court stocks all sorts of local treats. My favorite is mee hoon, a small bowl of thin rice noodles stir-fried with soy sauce, black soy, and pork stock with a side bowl of long-simmered pork ribs in a peppery broth.

The last time I visited Punte, I sat in the breezy courtyard after my meal and began to plot out the rest of the afternoon. Hardware shop and then evening cocktail? Shop the fresh market for greens after snacking on a tom yum bonbon from Paradai? What I love about my options here is the way the old and prosaic sit side-by-side with the completely new and personal—and it’s possible, regardless of my route, that I might just stumble upon yet another Phuket Town passion project along the way.

*Left to right:* Punte Phuket Local Street Food collects a number of street-food vendors under one roof; fish-stock soup with grouper, sesame oil, and ginger at The Charm Dining Gallery.

This article originally appeared in the October/November 2023 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Talk of the Town”).

An Insider’s Guide to Phuket Town

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