Patong Shopping Eat & Drink

Shop in Patong

One of Patong's main attractions, besides the nightlife, is shopping. Many small stalls and markets line the streets offering everything from t-shirts and clothing, silk, carvings, souvenirs, shoes, CDs and DVDs. Bargain hard for anything you buy from these stalls, as everything is negotiable in Patong and starting prices are often ridiculously high. Get a local to help you haggle rather than complain about it.

ย�Jungceylon, Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200P (near the northern end of Bangla Road) is Patong's first full-fledged modern air-con shopping mall, complete with 200 shops, integrated hotel, etc. The launch was postponed several times in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. Now open, July 2007

Patong OTOP Shopping Paradise, Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200P (south end). You might be excused for thinking that this has something to do with the "One Tambon, One Product" scheme to promote local industry, but no, turns out this market sells exactly the same copies of branded clothes and mass-produced handicrafts as everybody else. At least there's a fairly wide selection to choose from.

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Restaurant

Patong offers an amazingly cosmopolitan array of eating options, including Arabic, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Scandinavian and pretty much any country that sends tourists here. Prices are, however, generally inflated (at least by Thai standards).

Ali Baba, 2 Thanon Ruamchai, and Ali Baba 2, 206/17 Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200P have two separate menus for two separate cuisines, namely Indian and Arabic; both are pretty good, and both locations offer air-con inside and smoking waterpipes outside. Appetizers 60-100 baht, mains around 200 baht.

Baan Yin Dee Restaurant, 7/5 Muen Ngen Road offers a fusion of European and Thai food in a warm and relaxed atmosphere, with a discreet ambience and outstanding service.

Green House and Balcony Restaurant, Bangla Road. Extensive menu covering Thai and Western food, plus pastries and snacks from the in-house bakery. Terrace seating outside and air-con restaurant inside. A bit pricy though with most everything over 100 baht.

Floyd's Brasserie,ย� at Burasari Resort,Patong Beach:Highly recommendย� Tel + 66(0)7637 0000

Karlsson's Restaurant & Steak House, 108/16 Taweewong Road, Soi Patong Tower is a good choice for imported steaks and Scandinavian specialities. Open 15:00-midnight.

Lim's Restaurant & Bar, Kalim Beach (follow Beach Road out of Patong, turn right at Soi 7 after Kalim Beach, on your right 500m into the soi) is a nice hide-away from the busy streets of Patong, with modern Thai cuisine served daily 18:30-22:30. LIM's also has an adjacent art gallery of modern style.

Sam's Steak House, Holiday Inn Resort, 52 Thaweewong Road serves the finest steaks only from top quality US or Aussie beef, free salad bar with all steak orders. Moderate to high price depending on the kind of food ordered but good value. Daily 18:00-22:15.

The Old Fisherman's, Novotel Phuket Resort (Kalim Beach) has Thai and international food. Reasonable prices for a hotel outlet. Open 18:30-22:30.

The Roma is down one of the little streets along Patong but easy to see you do go past MacDonalds. Good for imported Italian pasta and pizza, has indoor and outdoor seating.

The Yorkshire Inn, Soi Sansabai, has "fabulous" European and British food, and an "amazing" Sunday lunch which is repeated on Wednesday.

99 Seafood Restaurant, Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee, is an open-air restaurant opposite the Royal Paradise Hotel and has excellent seafood selections. The price is also quite affordable and the place is usually busy at night.

La Diva, Thanon Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee, is in a dead-end alley off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee. It is a bit off the beaten path but you can find it right next to an Austrian, a Belgian, and a Mexican restaurant (go figure) at the bend of the alley. You can easily see it by its colorful neon sign. La Diva itself has a Latin theme and plays Latin pop non-stop. However, the menu is all Thai. And the Thai food there is the best I've ever had anywhere. One should not miss the green curry chicken (Gang Kiew Wan Gai) and the king prawn with glass noodles (goong po woon sen).

Oceanview Restaurant, Patong Lodge, 284/1 Prabaramee Road serving various kind of international and Thai food. Reasonable price and good value for money. Open Daily 11:00-24:00.

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Bangla Road by day & night


Patong's nightlife spills out in all directions but the center of the maelstrom is Thanon Bang La and its four sois - Crocodile, Eric, Gonzo and Seadragon, packed with a frenetic mix of pubs, beer bars, and go-go bars. Soi Crocodile is also known as Soi Katoey, a reference to its many transexuals. While many of Patong's establishments are little more than fronts for prostitution, there are also a couple of good nightclubs with dance floors - an unusual sight in Thailand otherwise.

Molly Malone's is a nice place to sit down and have a decent pint or two.The prices are a bit high, but if you need some good pub food and want to sit back and watch the human traffic plus the great music band, this is a good enough pub.

Irish Bar Is another nice and less expensive place also on Beach Road, though not with a view of the beach. One of the only places in Patong to sell Guinness, it also has a Celtic cross made with Guinness cans.

Banana Disco, Thanon Thawiwong (50 m south of Bangla Road) entry 300 baht, including 2 drinks. Small but good DJ.

D Club, Soi Crocodile, Bangla Roadย� recently opened nightclub under joint Thai/Swedish ownership


We do not want to talk about hotel and accommodation, there are so many kind hotels in Patong for you to choose.