Telephone: 076 224287, 076 214037

Open: 10.30am-11.30pm daily

Address: 62/5 Soi Phutom, Bangkok Road, Muang, Phuket, 83000.

Style: Thai Treehouse

Price range: Reasonable. Grilled squid (40 baht/100g) stir fried squid with green pepper (120 baht) mixed salad in spicy saice (150 baht) fried soft skin crab with garlic and black pepper (55 baht/100g) pasta mixed salad (90 baht) mixed sashimi (180 baht) spicy green mango salad (80 baht) spring rolls (120 baht) pork satay witrh peanut sauce (120 baht) lemon grass spicy salad (80 baht) fried tiger prawns with garlic and black pepper (90 baht/100g) shrimp with coconut milk curry (150 baht) fried beef with soya sauce (120 baht) baby oyster hot plate (120 baht) braised chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves (80 baht) crispy pork stirfried with broccoli (120 baht) phuket style sour curry soup (120 baht) thai herbs omlette (80 baht) snapper steak (180 baht) tuna sandwich (80 baht) spicy banana flower salad (80 baht) spicy mixed duck salad (120 baht) fluffy fried catfish salad (120 baht) cocktails (150 baht) singha heineken (60/110 baht) red wine (120 baht) juices, sodas (45 baht) whole young coconut (45 baht)

Specialty: Local varieties of Thai food

Natural (Thammachat) is Phuket City's equivalent to being lost in the jungle. Foraging can be fun. Now that there is a bright green sign out the front, this restaurant is much easier to find than some of its tables, which are scattered among the upper reaches of a couple of large trees. No other restaurant on Phuket is as much fun to explore, and that applies to the menu as well. A delightful mix of fresh, distinctive local fare and found objects, Natural was for many years something of a secret. People who had lived on Phuket for ages did not necessarily know about it unless someone who did took them there. Like the hideaway Hong Kong club with no signage out the front, Natural only came to life once you penetrated the outer layer, in this case green bushes and hanging baskets. These days, it's easier to find but it keeps developing new stairways leading to large rooms and smaller treehouse salas. Unlike most Phuket restaurants, the music here is quite deliberately from the '50s and '60s, along with old radios and many of the ornaments that make an evening here as much of an entertainment for the eyes as for the taste buds. Service is always smooth, carried out by staff who clearly enjoy staying fit on stairways. Conversations in a variety of tongues float up. A cat's tail may brush your shin. In the manner of the real Phuket, Natural is free from pretention and care. A must for every visitor.

How to find it: Head for Phuket City's new fresh market down the one-way Ranong Road and swing left into Soi Puthorn when you reach the Jui Tui Cheinese temple. Wind down the one-way until you see the green Natural sign on the left.

Parking: In the street.

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