Best halal food in Phuket
Including Bang Tao and Laguna, which most guides skip
Halal food is not a niche in Phuket. A large share of the island is Muslim, whole villages are Muslim, and there are mosques in every district — so halal is normal here, not a special request.
Most halal guides send you to Patong and stop. The best everyday eating is in the villages: Rawai, Kamala, and Bang Tao — which sits right next to the Laguna resorts and gets missed almost every time.
CICOT is the body that certifies halal in Thailand. Its green logo at the door is the strongest signal. In the Muslim villages, certification is often not displayed because the whole community eats there.
18 places
Listed in the order we would work through them.
18 places
01Khun Bi Restaurant
Bang Tao's everyday Thai Muslim kitchen. Menu in Thai, point and eat.
A neighbourhood Thai Muslim kitchen in Cherng Talay, five minutes from Laguna and a world away in price. The menu is in Thai only — pointing at what the next table is eating works perfectly, and the staff are used to it.
Bang Tao฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- Thai Muslim kitchen
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Massaman curry with beef
02Bang Tao Beach Seafood
Halal seafood with your feet near the sand, on the village end of the beach.
Beachfront halal seafood at the village end of Bang Tao, where the Muslim community has fished these waters for generations. Come for a late lunch and stay for the sun going down.
Bang Tao฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- In the Muslim community area
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Grilled squid
- 03
Bang Tao Morning Market
Where the village eats breakfast. Rice noodles and curry, no tourists.
Where the village eats breakfast, near Masjid Mukaram, roughly 6 to 10am. Kanom jeen — fresh rice noodles under a ladle of curry — plus khao yam, roti and strong coffee. You will not see other tourists.
Bang Tao฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- In the Muslim village by the mosque
- Booking
- Walk-in, 6-10am
- Order this
- Kanom jeen with fish curry
04Rustic & Blue
Muslim-owned garden café near Laguna. Brunch that would work in London.
A Muslim-owned garden café in Cherng Talay doing brunch properly: eggs, bowls, fresh juices, good matcha. Popular with expats and busy at weekends. The most Western-feeling halal option near Laguna.
Cherng Talay฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned
- Booking
- Walk-in, busy at weekend brunch
- Order this
- Açaí bowl and matcha latte
- 05
Ko Ang Seafood
Muslim-owned, in the fishing village. Pick your fish, salt-crust grilled.
Muslim-owned, in the Rawai fishing village, with the boats visible from the tables. Pick your fish from the display and have it grilled in a salt crust. Open-air and rustic — plastic chairs, not tablecloths.
Rawai฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned in a Muslim village
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Salt-crusted grilled fish
06Rawai Seafood Market
Buy it off the ice, hand it to a stall, they cook it. Cheapest good seafood here.
Not one restaurant but a row of ice tables: buy prawns, crab, squid or whole fish by weight, then hand it to one of the cooking stalls behind for a small cooking fee. Busiest and freshest from about 4 to 6pm when the boats come in. Many stalls are Muslim-run.
Rawai฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned stalls — look for the hijab vendors
- Booking
- Walk-in, busiest 4-6pm
- Order this
- Grilled tiger prawns
- 07
Laem Hin Seafood
Muslim-owned, on the water. Where Phuket families go for a big table.
Muslim-owned and operated, built out over the water on the east coast with Phang Nga Bay in front of it. Big enough for hundreds, which is why Phuket families use it for celebrations. Book if you are a large group.
Phuket Town฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned and operated
- Booking
- Book for a big group
- Order this
- Steamed fish with lime and chilli
08Abdul's Roti
Decades on the same Old Town corner, flipping roti in real ghee.
Abdul has been flipping roti on the same Old Town corner for decades, in real ghee, sweet or savoury. It costs almost nothing and the queue moves fast. Watching the dough get stretched and thrown is part of it.
Phuket Town฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned
- Booking
- Walk-in, queue moves fast
- Order this
- Roti with banana and condensed milk
09Kopitiam by Wilai
Old-school Phuket coffee shop. Mee Hokkien you won't find outside this island.
A traditional Phuket kopitiam — the tin-mining-era coffee shop format — with marble tables and vintage fittings. Mee Hokkien, the thick-broth Phuket noodle you will not find elsewhere in Thailand, is the order. Go before 11am.
Phuket Town฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned
- Booking
- Walk-in, go before 11am
- Order this
- Mee Hokkien
- 10
Bookhemian Café
Halal coffee and coconut cake inside a restored Old Town shophouse.
Specialty coffee and homemade cake in a restored Sino-Portuguese building on the Old Town walking route. Exposed brick, tall windows, bookshelves. The natural mid-afternoon stop between Thalang Road and everything else.
Phuket Town฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Halal café
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Coconut cake
11Tunk Ka Café
Muslim-owned, on top of Rang Hill. You eat looking over the whole east coast.
Muslim-owned, on top of Rang Hill, with the entire eastern coast laid out below. Thai dishes are the strongest part of the menu. Book if you want a table for sunset — it is a special-occasion spot for Phuket's Muslim community.
Phuket Town฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned
- Booking
- Book for a sunset table
- Order this
- Pad kaprao with a fried egg
12Limelight Muslim Food Court
Air-conditioned halal food court. Everyone in the family picks something different.
A food court inside a modern Phuket Town mall where the stalls are Muslim-owned: biryani, noodles, roti, grilled chicken, desserts. Air-conditioned, cheap and easy when everyone in the family wants something different.
Phuket Town฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- Muslim-owned stalls
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Chicken biryani
- 13
Tandoori Flames
A real tandoor in Patong. The dum biryani is the reason people come back.
A real tandoor in Patong, run by an owner from Delhi who has been on the island over fifteen years. The biryani is cooked dum-style, sealed in the pot. Popular with both Indian and Gulf visitors — book at dinner.
Patong฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Halal Indian kitchen
- Booking
- Booking sensible at dinner
- Order this
- Lamb biryani
- 14
Al Baik Arabian Restaurant
Charcoal lamb chops and Gulf-sized portions, with Arabic-speaking staff.
Arabic grills on the main Patong road, with Arabic-speaking staff and portions sized for people who are used to Gulf portions. Lamb chops over charcoal and freshly baked bread are the reasons to go.
Patong฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Arabic halal kitchen
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Mixed grill platter
15Beirut Restaurant
Proper Lebanese meze in Patong, grilled over real charcoal not gas.
Lebanese cooking in Patong: kibbeh, fattoush, halloumi, kofta, and a meze selection worth ordering for the table. Grilled over real charcoal rather than gas. Shisha on the terrace.
Patong฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Lebanese halal kitchen
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Meze platter for two
- 16
Alwan Turkish Restaurant
Turkish-owned, near Kata. Adana kebab off a charcoal mangal.
Turkish-owned and Turkish-run near Kata, with the owner overseeing the kitchen. Adana kebab off a charcoal mangal, pide, lentil soup and proper Turkish tea. Small, family-run, indoor and outdoor seating.
Kata฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Turkish halal kitchen
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Adana kebab
- 17
Naan Indian & Arabic Food
Chicken mandi in Karon, with Arabic-speaking staff and Indian curries too.
Arabic and Indian under one roof in Karon, catering openly to Gulf visitors, with Arabic-speaking staff. Chicken mandi is the bestseller. Convenient if you are staying anywhere in the Kata–Karon strip.
Karon฿ CheapHalalFamily- Halal
- Halal Indian and Arabic kitchen
- Booking
- Walk-in
- Order this
- Chicken mandi
- 18
Navrang Mahal
Karon's smarter halal Indian room. The fish curry uses Andaman catch.
The more upmarket halal Indian option in Karon — tablecloths, attentive service, North and South Indian on the menu. The fish curry uses Andaman catch, which is the thing you cannot get at home.
Karon฿฿ Mid-rangeHalalFamily- Halal
- Halal Indian kitchen
- Booking
- Booking sensible at dinner
- Order this
- Fish curry
Photography on this page is free-licence stock, credited to Miguel Cuenca on Pexels. It shows Thailand, not the specific venues listed.