The best restaurant in Nai Thon Beach.
There aren’t that many sit down restaurants in Nai Thon Beach, so if you’re staying in the area for a while, it’s worth a trip to Shameena Restaurant. This homestyle Thai restaurant serves tantalizing food in ample serving sizes. The design of the place and the chef’s attention to the food feels more like your Thai friend is cooking you dinner instead of a formal business.
Ambience & Amenities
Shameena Restaurant is an intimate space that feels unmistakably Thai. Vases of fake frangipani adorn the tables that are draped with colourful elephant printed cloths. There’s lots of tatami in here, being used as placemats and also covering the walls. Shortly after ordering, a small bowl of complimentary salted peanuts will be brought to your table.
The chef and I assume the owner of Shameena seems friendly. She came out and asked if the food was to our liking and also spent a good long time chatting with a regular when the restaurant quieted down.
The washroom at Shameena Restaurant is downstairs. There is a room with a sitting toilet and toilet paper. Next to it is a communal sink with soap and paper towels.
Menu
The menu at Shameena Restaurant is a bit water stained and seems small with only thirty items. However, I feel like the menu is limited to the dishes that the chef is confident in cooking and that everything will be tasty. The cuisine is strictly Thai, and there are lots of opportunities for seafood if you’re craving it.
Click on menu pictures to enlarge
The drinks menu has a short listing of cocktails and spirits. The beer options are limited to Chang and Singha in 33cl bottles. Water costs 30 Baht for a bottle.
Food
The Apple Juice (90 Baht) looks very pretty but this is the furthest thing from fresh juice. Judging from the overly sweet taste, this is from a carton that you could pick up at the grocery store.
The pineapple fried rice is named Fried Rice Vegetables in Pineapple with Seafood (290 Baht) and is overflowing with ingredients. Three big prawns with their heads still attached balance on top of a mountain of rice. There weren’t that many pieces of pineapple, but they were big chunks. Random, large slices of vegetables like tomatoes, carrots and broccoli were buried throughout. Lots of toasted cashews throughout the dish provided a constant, satisfying crunch. The rice itself was very flavourful and I kept eating even though I was starting to get uncomfortably stuffed.
The Squids Crispy Fried Green Curry Sauce & Salad (290 Baht) was an incredibly generous portion of food. I’m not sure where the “salad” that was supposed to come with dish went. Both the squid and the curry were dinner-sized portions on their own, but to have both and a hefty bowl of rice is a huge meal. The squid rings were deliciously crunchy on the outside with soft rubbery flesh inside. These were especially tasty when dipped into the green curry. The curry was rich with coconut flavour and contained big helpings of various veggies and pineapple. It was not spicy at all, but we did ask for “less spicy.” Moreover, the chef probably made it even tamer once they saw it was a white person ordering.
Saturday Worthy?
The number of eateries in Nai Thon Beach is very limited, but Shameena Restaurant is justifiably at the top of the list. The food is deliciously home-cooked and the portions will definitely fill you up for a good price. Shameena Restaurant is the top choice if you want to eat somewhere other than your resort.
Price for 2 Pax: 760 Baht
Fried Rice Vegetables in Pineapple with Seafood: 290 Baht
Squids Crispy Fried Green Curry Sauce & Salad: 290 Baht
Apple Juice: 90 Baht
Chang Beer: 90 Baht
Shameena Restaurant
Address: ภก.4018, Sakhu, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Opening Hours: Daily, 3pm – 10pm
Alcohol Served: Yes
