5 Best Restaurants in Khao Lak, Phuket and the Andaman Coast

Although this sleek café sells delicious baked goods like orange cinnamon rolls and croissants, it's the ice cream, made on-site in a variety of unique and delicious flavors, that really draws the crowd. Try the Tom Yum Kung ice cream for a real taste of Thailand or more traditional with Almond Espresso. 

The chefs at this bamboo-patio restaurant specialize in seafood and fish dishes made according to traditional recipes from the northern hill tribes, like tempura of banana flowers, a sizzling seafood hot plate, or the prawns fried with herbs in a red-whisky sauce. The dessert of sticky rice with coconut cream and ripe mango is just wonderful.

For a remarkably pleasant meal of pizza and pasta taking in the sea views, it's hard to do better than this rustic beach club and restaurant with an open-air design. The seafood is sustainably caught by local fishermen. 

There are plenty of delicious Thai curries to choose from, as well as some French-influenced salads and stir-fries at this casual restaurant. An added bonus are the vegetarian and vegan options, as well as options for diners with other food sensitivities.

A few minutes' tuk-tuk ride north from the busy part of town, Smoh Ruer prepares top-notch food in the local Khao Lak style. Dishes include a spicy wild-boar red curry, perfectly cooked prawns fried in sesame oil on a bed of rice noodles and celery, and the mellow egg-fried morning glory in oyster sauce.