Vegan Guide to Phuket

Published June 2018

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand, located in the Andaman Sea and is expected to welcome in excess of 35 million tourists during 2018. From luxury hotels to hostels and airbnb rooms there really is something for everyone but despite the huge tourist numbers it’s still possible to escape the crowds. Vegan travel in Phuket is easy with multiple options for plant based dining. Our Vegan Guide to Phuket highlights some of our favourites but there are many, many more to choose from. We’ll be sure to add to this vegan guide after the next time we visit!

Yo Green Vegan & Vegetarian

Yo Green Vegan & Vegetarian
198/9 Soi Rat Uthit 200
Patong
Phuket 83150

Opening Times: 9am-midnight every day

Having moved from Bangla Road and now in a new location, Yo Green Vegan & Vegetarian offers an escape from the tourist crowds. The mainly vegan menu has a few dishes with egg and cheese but these are mainly Western style; the majority of the Thai food was fully vegan. We enjoyed vegan chicken and cashew nuts which was 130 THB and a Penang curry with sliced meat and veg costing 150 THB, the portions were small but the taste was good. Treat the opening hours as a guide only; we went twice when they were due to be open and they were closed. Annoying.

Mae Orathai Vegetarian

Mae Orathai Vegetarian
Soi Nanai 38/50
Patong
Phuket

Opening Times: 6am-5pm every day

Mae Orathai Vegetarian is a typical Thai vegan buffet so best to get there in the morning when everything is fresh. There was an extensive selection and we enjoyed a plate of mixed curries, mock meat, vegetables and rice for just 100 THB For those of you wishing to buy something for the next stage of your vegan travel adventures you can buy many items including vegan sausages to take away.

Ella Bistro

Ella Bistro
100/19-20 Soi Permpongpattana
Patong
Phuket

Opening Times: 7am-11pm every day

Just off the main beach road (look out for the sign) is Ella Bistro which has a number of vegan options including a tasty vegan burger served in a soft, sesame seed bun with triple cooked chips for 280 THB. The burger is made with chick pea, red bean, mushroom, rolled oats and a selection of vegetables and was a welcome change to Thai food for those who crave soemthing different… There was also a blueberry pancake with maple syrup as a vegan breakfast option for 180 THB and they offer B&B above the restaurant for anyone looking for soemwhere to stay.

Sole Mio

Sole Mio
Patong Beach
Phuket

Opening Times: 8am-11pm every day

There are a few veggie options on the menu and (some) staff members understood what it means to be vegan; the spicy yellow curry with tofu and veg costing 180THB was OK but the highlight was the location, right on the (busy) beach with a great view of the beautiful sunset.

Sai Than Boon

Sai Than Boon
117/1 Patak Rd
Kata
Phuket 83100

Opening Times: 10am – 8pm every day

A 10 minute walk up the hill from Kata Beach is Sai Than Boon which is a local style ‘jay’ restaurant with a super friendly owner and an extensive vegan à la carte menu and buffet. We loved our food especially the fried ‘egg’ that we had on top of our rice and curry!

Charm Thai Restaurant

Charm Thai Restaurant
Holiday Inn Resort Phuket
Thawewong Rd
Patong
Phuket 83150

Opening Times: 11am – 11pm every day

The food here is authentic and tasty. Apologies for the lack of photos but after a long day we were too hungry and ate everything before thinking about taking pictures. The prices are very reasonable considering you are at an international standard beach resort and there’s an extensive veggie menu, making Charm Thai a very good option in Patong.

Hesan Vegetarian

Hesan Vegetarian
207 Ranong Rd
Phuket Old Town

Opening Times: 7.30am – 6pm every day

One of our favourite jay (vegan) restaurants in Thailand, Hesan Vegetarian has a huge buffet selection and is super busy every day due to the proximity to Sui Bong Toon Shrine. The vegan curries, soups, mock meats and veg dishes served with white or brown rice keep the crowds coming so there’s a lively atmosphere of friendly locals. Hesan Restaurant really comes alive during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival when they serve over 1000 customers each day!

The LifeCo Phuket

The LifeCo Phuket
75 2 Tambon Talang
Thalang District
Chang Wat
Phuket 83000

This luxury wellness resort has an all vegan, raw food menu which healthy and nutritious as well as delicious. Try the ‘eggless’ salad served with dehydrated crackers, definitely our top choice. Situated in a peaceful village not far from the airport, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that you’re in Phuket whilst dining overlooking the resort pool. We never stayed here but enjoyed a delicious meal the night before our flight home. Highly recommended.

Baba Poolclub

Baba Poolclub
Sri Panwa
88 Sakdidej Rd
Cape Panwa
Phuket 83000

Sri Panwa is a stunning luxury resort located on Cape Panwa with a price tag to match; think uber luxury multi-room villas with private pools and you’ve got the idea. For a slice of luxury why not head to Baba Poolclub for lunch or dinner and experience the first rate service and choose from the dedicated vegan and vegetarian menu?

Here is our detailed revew of Baba Poolclub.

Vegan Shopping in Phuket

Ruam Jay Vegetarian Mart

Ruam Jay Vegetarian Mart
33 Soi Phutorn
Phuket Old Town
Phuket

Opening Times: 9am – 7pm every day

Lots of dried TVP products, dried noodles and sauces which are perfect if you have a kitchen, we also bought vegan sausages and some ‘meat’ to sprinkle on top of our soups and noodles.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival but if vegan travel is your thing and you love vegan Thai food then we would say you must visit at least once in your life. The festival takes place around September each year with exact dates set around the lunar calender and is celebrated all over Thailand but the festivities (and vegan food) in Phuket are bigger, better and crazier. Expect supermarkets and 7-11 stores to be stocked with vegan food and pop-up restaurants and street food carts everywhere serving vegan food in all shapes and sizes; for more info and pictures you can read our blog post called ‘Shocking Pictures from the Phuket Vegetarian Festival‘.

If you are a little squeamish please rest assured that you can avoid seeing things that may put you off your vegan food, but if like us you want to experience every element of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival head to the temples early in the morning to watch the preparations and follow the processions through town. Mind blowing.

Mango Sticky Rice

This accidentally vegan dish is available all over Thailand as a staple part of the local diet, when mango season is in full flow expect to find the price fall and the taste get even better, mmm.

Khanom Krok

We love Khanom Krok and search them our wherever we are; tiny rice flour and coconut pancakes that are sweet, salty, delcious and accidentally vegan. We can’t get enough of them and you will probably feel the same after you try them. We’ve eaten them and written about them many times including in this post called ‘Khanom Krok Addiction, My Sweet Medicine‘.

Vegan Ice Cream

As vegans we are often satisfied (and happy) when we find vegan sorbet and sometimes if we are lucky we get to enjoy vegan coconut ice cream but it is not often that you find vegan soft serve ice cream! Imagine our excitement when we found this strawberry and chocolate creamy delciousness whilst wandering the streets of Phuket Old Town during the vegetarian festival…

Vegan Tempura

Mmm vegan fried food. This crispy and freshly fried giant oyster mushroom tempura with a sweet and spicy chilli sauce was a great vegan street food snack!

Air Asia Vegan Food

Air Asia has a vegan meal that can be pre-ordered on some of its routes (the Bangkok to Phuket route being one of them). The vegan tofu and rice is a great way to start (or end) your vegan travel adventure to Phuket and that’s why we’ve included it in our Vegan Guide to Phuket.

Other Vegan Guides to Phuket

Check out this blog post on the Vegan Travel website, and of course Happy Cow is your friend as a travelling vegan so here’s their Phuket page. For anyone wishing to buy vegan food and supplies then check out Good Karma Online Store, their website shows a good range of products and they can deliver to your hotel. Please let us know of any other vegan articles or guides to Phuket and we’ll happily add them here…