Places to to Eat in Khao Lak

Food scene in Khao Lak is varied and with the major part of food venues geared toward tourists, prices tend to be on the expensive side. There are several street markets to keep your food budget as low as possible and for those looking for the catch of the day choices are never limited.

Street Food & Markets

Even if Khao Lak is not the best place in Thailand for street food, people on a tight budget or simply looking for tasty and authentic Thai food can still find some decent options if they know where to go.

The oldest and most popular market is located on the main road in Bang Niang, close to the Tsunami Museum. Open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from the early afternoon till 9.00pm, it is the place where you will find all the classic market dishes, such as meat skewers, chicken barbecue, pad thai, lots of fresh fruit and Thai desserts. In addition whole grilled fish can be purchased here at more affordable prices than in beachfront restaurants. The market seems to target western tourists so expect to pay a bit more than in your regular night market, but with THB50 you still can get most of the dishes. Plastic tables and chairs are available at some of the stalls and shops selling sodas or beers are plentiful, too.

A recent addition of less than two years ago, the Build Market is open on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, thus filling the gap when the main food market is closed. A bit out of the way, it is located on the main road in Khuk Khak near the namesake nightclub – The Build. A lot fewer western tourists make their way up there simply because no one seems to be aware of the place. For this reason the market has quickly become the favourite with the local crowd and the general atmosphere is a lot more authentic. The food you’ll find there does not differ much from what the main market has on offer but prices are slightly lower.

Last but not least, here comes our favourite in the budget range – but it is largely a matter of your good luck. There is a proper night market which comes alive randomly and quite rarely at different places along the main road in Bang Niang or Nang Thong. Do not ask us when and where to look for it – we spoke to a couple of local expats and locals, too, and could not get any reliable hint on the matter. It looks like the locals want to keep it really local and genuine just for themselves.

Local Food

There’s definitely no shortage of restaurants in Khao Lak, with the biggest concentration of the venues in Nang Thong and Bang Niang. It is quite useless to give any particular recommendation here as we did try just few of the 200+ options available. Many of the venues look very much alike offering similar menus, service and prices. Out of the restaurants we did try, Smile Thai Food (Nang Thong, near the beach access road) is a good pick. It is a small and simple restaurant with a good selection of both seafood and traditional Thai food at reasonable prices. The Thai owners are extremely welcoming and friendly, and the atmosphere is genuine and relaxing. Prices come within the THB60/120 range for most of the dishes. Please don’t confuse it with The Smile Khao Lak, a high-end restaurant located nearby on the main road. We heard great things about it, but we haven’t been there.

Western Food and Fine Dining

Everywhere along the main road or closer to the beaches there are plenty of choices to dine in a nice setting with a wonderful view, English menus and great seafood which as you would expect is simply as fresh as it can be. But it’s not only seafood; almost all the meat and vegetables are locally grown in farms of Phang Nga province and the talent of some of the best chefs in Thailand will do the rest. Expect to pay almost European prices if you choose to dine at one of these places.

Not surprisingly Khao Lak offers a lot also in terms of Western food than many other destinations in Thailand. Italian, German and Indian restaurants take the lion’s share, but more ethnic cuisines are also available. Pinocchio in Bang Niang and Pizzeria in Nang Thong are the places to go for a great pizza or homemade pasta with a good selection of wines to make it even better.