Thai food is some of the best in the world, and Krabi also has the opportunity to sample unbeatable food at its best at extremely reasonable prices. The best food in Krabi is in the city of Krabi but also elsewhere and especially in Nappharat Thara next to Ao Nang, there is excellent value for money Thai food.
However, Krabi is an international holiday destination, where you can eat only Western dishes and other dishes, especially from other parts of Asia. The level of food varies and the best dishes are Thai food. The restaurants are very open and food is also well served in the street stalls, market halls, night markets and other places.
Best areas for a restaurant or other place to eat
It is possible to eat good food almost everywhere in Krabi, and the price-quality ratio of the food is good in most places. Restaurants are best found by concentration, but in resorts like Ao Nang, the core is not the best place to dine.
The best thing, both there and in many other places, is to eat where the locals thrive, and the various street food stalls and locally popular restaurants are always better than the actual restaurants. For festive occasions and long dinners, however, the restaurants are the best, and there are most good restaurants in Krabi town.
The city of Krabi
Krabi Town is a place to visit for many different reasons, and one of the reasons is to dine there better than normal and at a better price-quality ratio. There you can see all the ways to serve food in Thailand, and you can dine with the locals or in the perfect tourist group where steaks and burgers are eaten.
Most restaurants are in the vicinity of the market hall, where you can eat all the meals of the day. The market hall itself is at its best from the early afternoon until around 7pm to 8pm, but it is by no means a place where everyone would like to dine. It serves most typical Thai dishes such as Pad Thai, and in the evenings it is possible to eat rice and two servings for 50 baht.
The street past the market hall (Soi 10), which is between Joenranta and the main street (Maharaj Road / Maharat Road), has several good places to eat. Located on the corner, May & Mark’s is a place mentioned in many travel guides, with beer being one of the city’s most affordable and serving a variety of cuisines. It is quite a western place in terms of its offerings, and there the prices are higher than in the restaurants favored by the locals. Adjacent to it, Halal Food is an upscale restaurant with lots of Chinese cuisine as well as vegetarian dishes, and is one of the best value restaurants in the city center. Almost opposite it, but around the corner of Maharat Road, there are stalls from which you can occasionally get food from morning to night.Around the corner of Maharat Road is a place where you can eat a variety of dishes in many stalls, such as banana bars (roti) and typical Thai noodle and rice dishes.
Soi 10 is a notable place for western food, and there are several western places, especially between the market hall and Joenranta, including a couple of restaurants serving Italian cuisine. There are also breakfast spots on this stretch, and there are also stalls near the corner of Maharat Road where you can get cheap and quick local breakfasts. Lots of restaurants, many of which are western and also pricey, are on the side street (Phruksa Uthit Road). There are plenty of good restaurants right at the beginning of the street with the Walking Street Night Market on the weekends, and there are many restaurants around it that are still open at other times. Some have open-air terraces and offer everything from pizza to Asian dishes.
Rantakatu (Uttarakit Road) is a chapter in itself, and it and its nearby streets have a huge number of different places to eat. It is also known in many places by the river as “Pak Nam” and is the best place in Krabi to walk and explore the city’s offerings. There are good places to eat, especially near the corner of Soi 10, and if you start from the left, towards the so-called city park, will very soon receive Poo Dam, which is a real fish food friend’s restaurant. Its Pisces are visible and provide whole grilled fish and a variety of fish dishes, as well as other dishes. A big beer costs 80 baht, which is a great price in Krabi. The fish dishes in the restaurants are perhaps more expensive than many other dishes, but compared to European prices and also quality, the prices are excellent.
There are numerous other restaurants next to Poo Dam, such as pizzerias with wood-fired ovens, and the promenade is a great place to go for a walk, eat and drink, especially in the evenings. Along the street there are attractive terraces specifically in front of the city park, which in the evening, after the reduction of traffic, are excellent even for a festive meal or just a liquid evening.
If you want to explore the possibilities, almost all the restaurants in Krabi town have been presented on TripAdvisor.
Ao Nang
One of the most difficult places to find good and cheap Thai food in the area is Ao Nang, where it is easy to find a western place to eat. However, there are a wide variety of possibilities, and finding an Indian or Korean restaurant, for example, is easy.
The good thing about Ao Nang is that prices and menus are usually very visible and the price level gets on carts quickly, but there are also places where prices are avoided until the last. If there are photos of tempting meals outside the restaurant, but there is no price next to them, the food is expensive.
Many restaurants have some sort of dropper or other similar supply presenter, and while they are rarely aggressive or unnecessarily active in any way, it is quite difficult to navigate the menu in peace. It is best to look in advance at Ao Nang’s headquarters for a few pleasing restaurants and it is worth avoiding a rough search for a restaurant when hunger is already badly surprised.
Better-than-normal restaurants in Ao Nang can be found here and there, and if you want to make sure the experience is good and that the price-quality ratio is right, you need to do some research. One well-liked restaurant serving typical Thai dishes right on the road directly to Krabi, about 1.5 km from the beach, is D&E’s Jungle. Another good restaurant for local cuisine is Bussaba. Another, also interesting restaurant is the Ton Ma Yom.
If you want to locate more better-than-normal restaurants, you should walk to Noppharat Thara, where there are plenty of good places to eat Thai food, especially around the side streets (soi) 13 and 16. Ao Nangista Restaurant can also be viewed on TripAdvisor.
Noppharat Thara
Noppharat Thara is commonly referred to in Ao Nang and as if it were just one part of it in many travel guides, booking systems and also on TripAdvisor, but there are several kilometers from Ao Nang’s main locations to the best places in Noppharat Thara. Noppharat Thara is a much less commercial and quieter place than Ao Nang, and it is also easier to find value-for-money restaurants. However, one problem with Noppharat Thara is that it is known in different places and sometimes also in the same places with different names, but the most common forms are “Noppharat Thara”, “Nappharat Thara” and “Nappharatthara”.
The busiest places in Noppharat Thara are by the Haeng River, where Ao Nang starts, and this is the most tourist-friendly place in Noppharat Thara. If you like a better meal than usual, there is, for example, Punjab Palace a high-quality Indian restaurant that is also suitable for vegetarians. There are numerous other restaurants next to it, and this is a place you can go to who doesn’t know what they’d like so much and it doesn’t even matter.
If you want the best value for money, you should walk along the promenade towards the harbor and the promontory with the best beaches in the area. Thai restaurants in particular, where area workers dine, are especially at Soi 13, where you can eat a good Pad Thai or other local portion of 50 to 100 baht.
Near the harbor, near Soi 16, there are a few restaurants and also a rather clichéd shop, and this is an area where you can come hungry or get some drink or beach equipment. If you want a good-value meal or drink, including affordable juices and smoothies, Khrua Chuan Chim has an excellent covered terrace where you can eat and drink at an affordable price.