Telephone: 076 333030

Open: 7am to 11pm

Address: 100 Karon Road, Karon, Phuket, 83100

Style: European/Thai

Price range: Very reasonable. The menu is broad and we found the following specials: Cheese Burger with French Fries 99 baht (Monday and Tuesdays) Grilled Pork Chop with Fried Potatoes, Pepper Sauce and Mixed Salad 99 baht (Wednesdays and Thursdays) Grilled Chicken Breast with Fried Potatoes, Pepper Sauce and Mixed Salad 99 baht (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays). Pineapple juice (50 baht) Italian wine (100 baht per glass, half-litre 200 baht).

Specialty: Tiger prawns. Good fresh food. Have a meal and you're entitled to swim in the pool, too.

What the manager/chef says: ''The bar is set around the open kitchen. Have a drink in the bar and follow the cook preparing your food.''

Friends told us about Kata Villa so, when a visitor from Hong Hong arrived for a holiday, we agreed to meet there for lunch. In Karon. Yes, that's the one big mystery: why a restaurant called Kata Villa should actually be in Karon. Not very far into Karon, it's true, but Karon nevertheless. Still, we can now say without a shadow of doubt that this has to be the best Kata restaurant in Karon. It's a cheerful, open space, about 20 metres across the beach road from Karon beach, and you'd have difficulty imagining that the rival restaurants around could beat it for taste and prices. We had a hankering for Danish meatballs and they hit the spot. It was an excellent lunch - our friend picked up the tab. What better value can there be than to have somebody else pay?

How to find it: Head for the southern end of Karon beach and you'll find Kata Villa at the base of the hill that takes the beach road up and over to Kata. There's accommodation, too.

Parking: There's a side road nearby, between Kata Villa and the Karon sports stadium.

Phuketwan restaurant reviewers pay for their meals. If someone else does, we tell you so

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