8 Best Restaurants in Ao Nang: Thai, Seafood, Night Market

Featured image: kallerna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Quick picks: where to eat tonight

In our editorial assessment, Krua Thara is the best single dinner for seafood and Raan Andaman Ao Nang Halal Food is the best cheap lunch. All prices below are indicative and come from published listings. Restaurants here open and close often, so confirm hours on Google Maps before you go.

8 Best Restaurants in Ao Nang, Picked by Zone

Venues are grouped by style: southern Thai first, then seafood, then the night market and one international pick. Each entry has a best-for line and a skip-if line. Opening hours come from older listings, so treat them as a starting point.

• Raan Andaman Ao Nang Halal Food (southern Thai)
  • Best for: Khao gaeng, the curry-and-rice trays run by Muslim-Thai cooks. It sits on the main road across from Masjid Ao Nang, with plastic chairs on the footpath.
  • A reported order of gaeng Tai pla, a fish-entrail curry, plus a dark-red southern tom yum with fish, rice and a soda came to just over ฿100.
  • Skip if you dislike intense, fermented flavors. Check current status first.
• Boat Noodle Ao Nang (noodles)
  • Best for: beef boat noodles, kuay thiao ruea, in a dark broth. It is on Ao Nang Rd just east of Soi 13, with an open kitchen and dining counter.
  • A larger-than-average bowl was reported at ฿80, plus pad Thai with prawn and hoy tort, an oyster omelette.
  • Skip if you want a long sit-down meal. It suits a quick lunch.
• Family Restaurant (southern Thai)
  • Best for: dishes that are rare in Ao Nang, such as kua kling (spicy southern minced meat) and kung ob wun sen (baked prawns and glass noodles). Look for the side street, Ao Nang Soi 6.
  • Reportedly, straying off the main drag brings lower prices than similar spots.
  • Skip if you only want beachfront views.
• Krua Thara (seafood)
  • Best for: tanks of live seafood at the west end of Nopparat Thara, facing the car park near the pier and national park headquarters. Reported dishes include raw oysters, steamed cockles, whole snapper and squid with garlic and pepper.
  • Try Pak lieang, a leafy green, stir-fried simply with egg and glass noodles.
  • Skip if you hate a no-frills room. Ask the price per kilo first.
• Potjawan Seafood (seafood)
  • Best for: seafood for a bit less cash, on Noppharat Thara Rd just east of Soi 13. Reported dishes include gaeng som pla, a sour orange curry with fish, and kung chae Nam pla, raw prawn in fish sauce.
  • Skip if raw shellfish worries you. Order the curry instead.
• A-One Restaurant (Thai, upscale)
  • Best for: a candlelit Thai dinner with a cocktail bar, at 79/1 Noppharat Thara Rd. Dishes reportedly start around ฿150.
  • A large stir-fry of prawns, mussels, fish and squid in garlic-and-pepper sauce was reported at ฿220.
  • Skip if you want a cheap, fast meal.
• Ao Nang Landmark Night Market (street food)
  • Best for: grazing. Roughly 80–100 stalls serve pad Thai, som tam, skewers and fruit shakes, with most dishes at ฿50–120.
  • It sits across the road from Nopparat Thara Beach and reportedly runs 16:00–23:00, busiest from 18:00.
  • Skip if you want a quiet table. Live music is common.
• Azzurra (Italian)
  • Best for: homemade pasta and antipasti with sea views from across the beach road, at 142/1-2 Ao Nang Rd. It was reported open since 1998.
  • Prices are not cheap, but travelers describe it as worth the splurge.
  • Skip if you came for Thai food.

How Ao Nang eating is laid out

Ao Nang Beach has the tourist strip, with terraces at ฿150–300 a main. Walking east along the main road past Masjid Ao Nang brings you to local curry shops. The beach road continues west to Nopparat Thara Beach and Ao Nang Landmark in Khlong Haeng. Prices drop and kitchens get more Thai the further you move from the middle of the strip. Soi Sunset, the so-called seafood street at the west end of Ao Nang Beach, is reportedly overpriced next to Nopparat Thara. No verified walking distances exist, so trace each leg on a current map. Some visitors take a tuk-tuk to Nopparat Thara; agree the fare before you get in.

Seafood in Ao Nang: strip, Nopparat Thara or night market

Nopparat Thara is where the live-tank seafood houses cluster, and Krua Thara and Potjawan are the two named above. Strip grills put barbecued prawns and crab beside the sea, and they fill up after 18:00. Night market grills are the cheapest way to try seafood in small portions. Arrive at the houses between 17:00 and 19:00, before tour groups land. Fish and crab are priced by weight everywhere, so use the checklist below.

• Ask the price per kilo
  • Do this before anything goes near the kitchen. Reputable places answer without hesitation.
• Watch the weighing
  • Have your fish weighed in front of you and note the number.
• Agree the cooking style
  • Steamed with garlic, fried with fish sauce or grilled each cost differently at some places.
• Add up the total
  • Check the final bill against the weight and rate you were quoted.

Night market eating: which market and how to graze

This guide means the Landmark market across from Nopparat Thara Beach, listed at 16:00–23:00 with stalls peaking from 18:00. An older listing shows a smaller market at the end of Ao Nang Soi 8 open 17:00–22:00, and one visitor found many of its stands closed. Our full guide to the Ao Nang Night Market: Food, Getting There, Tips covers stalls in detail. Graze instead of committing to one meal: pad Thai, som tam, skewers, then roti with banana for dessert. Budget about ฿200 for a very full plate run. For rain, head for the large covered seating area in front of the stage. Heading to Krabi Town instead? See the Krabi Town Night Market (Walking Street): Days, Hours & What to Eat. The wider Krabi night market options are worth comparing too.

Cheap eats vs splurge

Indicative budgets per person, from published price bands. Verify on arrival, since menus change. A ฿100 curry lunch on the main road leaves room for a ฿400+ seafood dinner later in the day.

Breakfast, cafes and international food

Cafe 8.98 is on Ao Nang Rd on the main drag, with a listed 07:00 opening and Spanish omelette, English fry-up and avocado bowls. Blue Bayou, near Potjawan, serves Thai or Western breakfast. For a Thai start, look for morning jok (rice porridge) stalls near the local end of Khlong Haeng, reportedly under ฿60 and finished by 10:00. International picks are worth one short list:

• Italian
  • Azzurra, Ao Nang Rd.
• Steak
  • Diver's Inn, on the main drag, known for imported New Zealand beef.
• Indian
  • Tandoori Nights and Maharaja, both on Ao Nang Rd.

Halal and dietary-friendly picks

Muslim-Thai Khao gaeng shops cluster near Masjid Ao Nang, and Raan Andaman is the named stop. Jame Food Centre, signposted off the main drag, sells Khao mok gai (biryani rice with chicken) among many stalls. Halal options are also reported at the Landmark market. Certification is not confirmed for any venue, so ask staff directly. Vegetarian choices are thin; ask vendors what can be cooked without meat or fish sauce. Kitchens tone down heat by default. Say "Phet" (spicy) if you want local-level spice.

Sunset drinks and dessert

Ao Nang faces west, so beach bars fill from late afternoon. The Last Fisherman Bar sits on the walkway near the southeast end of Ao Nang Beach, and La Luna has a seafront deck at the far eastern corner of Nopparat Thara. Drinks and mains run resort prices, so you are paying for the location. Eat dinner elsewhere. For dessert, try mango sticky rice, best when mango season peaks roughly March to June. Picnic stalls on Nopparat Thara sell coconut ice cream, and a fruit shake there was reported at ฿20.

Cooking class as an alternative

Rather than eating out every night, you can learn the dishes yourself. A Krabi Cooking Class: Ao Nang vs Koh Lanta, Format & Cost covers curries and southern staples. It also gives you a way to order with more confidence afterward.

Practical tips and tourist-trap signs

Peak season runs November to February, so arrive early and expect queues. In the rainy season, from May to October, you can walk into almost anywhere. The Landmark market peaks 18:30–21:00. Payment methods vary by stall and restaurant, so carry cash and ask first. Avoid pushy "hosts" who wave you in from the pavement (see the UK Foreign Office safety advice). A menu with photos of fifty dishes from five cuisines usually signals reheating, not cooking. Short menus and a Thai lunch crowd are the better sign. Walk one or two streets back from the beach for lower prices.