Five Phuket restaurants fired by open flames and smoke

The steakhouse at Anantara Layan Phuket puts dry-aged beef, a Josper charcoal oven and a serious wine cellar at the centre of the experience.

At Age, it all starts with the meat. Carefully aged cuts are sent into a Josper charcoal oven, where fierce heat gives them a deep smoky crust while keeping the centre exactly where it should be. It is one of Phuket's strongest steakhouse propositions, helped along by Italian chef Nicola Pandolfo Testino and sommelier Tong-Teehphob Prognsantia, who matches each cut with bottles from a 350-label wine cellar.

The room is as considered as the cooking, from the steampunk-style wine openers to the glow of the Josper at the kitchen's heart. Starters range from signature Angus beef tartare and duck carpaccio to polished seafood plates, but the dry-aged selection is the reason to book: Australian ngus tomahawk, prime rib and tenderloin, all treated with the kind of restraint that lets the beef do the talking.
Anantara Layan Phuket Resort, 168 Moo 6 Soi Layan Beach 4, Choeng Thale, Thalang, Phuket, +66 76 317 200. Open daily 6.30-10.30pm.

A lively Boat Avenue restaurant and bar built around a wood-fired grill, easygoing international plates, cocktails and music.

Good food, good drinks and a good night out all sit comfortably under one roof at Mrs B Bar & Table. Set in the heart of Boat Avenue, it has the kind of warm, open-air energy that works whether you are settling in with a cocktail and a DJ set or pulling up a seat near the wood-fired grill to watch the kitchen get to work.

The menu leans into smoke without overcomplicating things. Start with smoked beetroot with pistachio and goat's cheese, or kiwi onion dip folded through silky cream cheese, then move on to Australian lamb kofta with mint yoghurt and warm pitta. For something more indulgent, the beef wellington wraps tenderloin in puff pastry and cooks it to order – old-school comfort, given a Phuket night-out setting.
Boat Avenue, 19/1 Moo 1 Lagoon Road, Choeng Thale, Thalang, Phuket, +66 93 586 9828. Open daily 6pm-midnight; lunch Tue-Sat midday-6pm.

A hillside rooftop grill with premium cuts, Andaman Sea views and one of Patong's best sunset seats.

High above Patong at Avista Hideaway Patong Resort & Spa Phuket – MGallery Collection, Sizzle Rooftop makes the most of its hillside perch. The panoramic takes in the Andaman Sea and the surrounding jungle canopy, turning especially lovely as the sun drops. Happily, the grill does more than lean on the view.
Chef de Cuisine Alvaro De La Puerta builds the menu around quality produce and precise heat. Begin with Japanese-Peruvian hamachi tiradito lifted by citrus, chilled crab salad gazpacho or burrata panzanella with ripe tomatoes, then head for the signatures. Australian wagyu tenderloin and Okayama black bean tenderloin arrive with a smoky sear and a properly yielding centre. The sunset comes free; the steak earns its place on the bill.
Avista Hideaway Patong Resort & Spa Phuket – MGallery Collection, 39/9 Muen-Ngern Road, Patong Beach, Kathu, Phuket, +66 95 834 0453. Open daily 6-11pm.

Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort turns a searing iron plate, flame and top-quality seafood into dinner with a front–row seat.

At Mizu, dinner comes with choreography. The teppanyaki format puts the chef, the iron griddle and the ingredients directly in front of you, turning each course into a small performance of sizzle, steam and flame. It is polished rather than gimmicky, with technique doing most of the entertaining.
The meal opens with Hokkaido scallops served with cucumber, ikura and yuzu, before moving to Phuket sea bass with edamame, mushroom and wakame, folded in banana leaf to hold in fragrance and moisture. The finish is a Phuket pineapple dessert with house-made vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce – light, sunny and just theatrical enough to keep the show going until the last spoonful.
Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort, 16/12 Moo 6, Kamala, Kathu, Phuket, +66 76 231 234. Open daily midday-3pm and 6-10pm.

An open-air smoke-and-fire grill restaurant at The Slate Phuket, where serious cooking meets a design story rooted in the island's tin-mining past.

Rivet & Rebar has plenty to say before the food arrives. The industrial-style setting draws on Phuket's tin-mining history, from the name and decor to the leather-bound menus, giving the restaurant a sense of place that feels far more specific than the usual resort grill. As with sibling restaurant Black Ginger, the design is part of the experience rather than background dressing.
The kitchen works with open-fire grilling and smoking, pulling depth and char from the ingredients without burying them. Wagyu ribeye, Angus tenderloin and picanha all make strong cases, but the slow-cooked tomahawk is the headline act: low and slow until the meat relaxes and the smoke settles in.
Seafood holds its own too. Fish ceviche with leche de tigre brings bright acidity, while semi-cured salmon gets extra depth from achorizo crumbs, a neat bridge between the freshness of the sea and the darker pull of the grill.
The Slate Phuket, 116 Moo 1, Nai Yang Beach, Sakoo, Thalang, Phuket, +66 76 327 006. Open daily 6-11pm.