Patong feeds you Thai food whether you asked for it or not, and for the first few days that is exactly accurate. However, you might get tired of local Thai food but there is an optional for multiple choices of food.
This is the part of a Phuket holiday where a mall earns its place. Jungceylon, directly opposite Bangla Road and about five minutes’ walk from the beach, has its restaurants close enough together that a group can look at.
Where the restaurants actually are
The restaurants are spread across three of the mall’s four zones. The Garden Zone has the longest run of sit-down restaurants, most of them on the ground floor and most with their own front door. The Jungle Zone has a second cluster on its ground floor, smaller but denser. The Bay Zone, the open-air plaza side near the drop-off, is the casual and fast-food end. The Botanica Zone is coffee, doughnuts, and ice cream rather than meals.
Thai Food
Nara Thai Cuisine is on the ground floor of The Jungle Zone, open daily from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
Over in The Garden Zone, Thai Food Factory and MAMA Thai Asian Food are the more casual Thai options.
One thing worth knowing anywhere in Thailand: spice is negotiable and nobody minds being asked. Mai phet means not spicy, phet nit noi means a little spicy. Say it when you order Thai spicy food, and you know that you would not be able to tolerate the spiciness.
Japanese
- Okuna Sushi The Jungle Zone, ground floor
- Machida Shoten The Jungle Zone, ground floor, open daily from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
- Wabi Sabi Japanese Restaurant The Garden Zone, ground floor
- Yayoi The Garden Zone, ground floor
- Shabu Shi The Bay Zone, ground floor
Chinese and Korean
Din Tai Fung is the Chinese anchor, on the ground floor of The Jungle Zone, the dumpling house that started in Taipei and now has branches across Asia.
For Korean, Sukishi Korean Charcoal Grill is one floor up in The Jungle Zone, and it is the grill-at-the-table option. BONCHON, the Korean fried chicken chain, is in The Bay Zone on the ground floor.
European
Paname Brasserie is in The Jungle Zone on the ground floor, and it is open later than most of the mall, 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM, with last orders at 10:30 PM.
In The Garden Zone, La Casa and The Irish Times Pub are a few doors apart on the ground floor. Wine Connection is on the same stretch, and sells bottles to take away as well as offering them in the restaurant.
Steak
Both of the mall’s steak restaurants are on the ground floor of The Garden Zone, and both are open long after the shops close.
- El Gaucho open daily from 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM
- Churrasco Phuket Steakhouse open daily from 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM
If you are eating late, these two and Paname Brasserie are the ones to keep in mind. The mall itself closes at 10:00 PM.
Indian, Mexican and roti
Three more, all on the ground floor of The Garden Zone and all within sight of each other. Spice House. Taco Bell is beside it. Abidin roti & ice cream rolls is the small roti made in front of you and ice cream rolled on a cold plate, which is a better end to a meal than it sounds and is cheap enough to buy twice.
Dessert list
Swensen’s has two branches, one on the ground floor of The Jungle Zone and one on the ground floor of The Botanica Zone. Mister Donut is in The Garden Zone. Issy Gelato is in The Bay Zone, and Häagen-Dazs is on the ground floor of The Jungle Zone.
Any of them works as the reward you promised at the start of the afternoon in Jungceylon, Phuket.