Telephone: 076 256697

Open: Daily 11.30am-11pm (last orders 10.30)

Address: 8 Phang Nga Road, Phuket City

Style: Asian adventurous, art fusion

Price range: Reasonable vaue. Asian tapas, crab cakes (220 baht) tiger prawn tempura (250 baht) larb tuna (220 baht) caesar salad (210 baht) mango organic salad with crispy duck (190 baht) rack of lamb (490 baht) side orders (80 baht) extensive menu with vegetarian selection cocktails (180 baht) Indian lassi (yoghurt with fresh fruit, 80 baht) Spanish red wine (180 baht a glass)

Specialties: Tuna spicy salad, crab salad, bbq pork.

What Phuketwan says: Just the other night, we saw Phuket City's party people. There were four of them, they'd had a meal and two drinks and it was almost 8.30pm, so they were heading home, to bed most likely. We are joking, of course, but only a little. Next to the reason for the sky being blue, world's biggest mystery is why Phuket City has excellent restaurants yet not even enough night life to justify flicking on a single neon bulb. Most fun-inclined visitors seldom leave Patong, where the food and the prices are much, much harder to digest. It's true, though, that Siam Indigo happens to occupy such a quiet corner of Phuket City that even locals may not realise it has been there, simpering quietly, for years. And they have been missing out on a true delight. Some restaurants try to combine being arty with food and fail. Palette or palate? Nothing is in quite such poor taste as art on the tongue. Indigo Siam succeeds because the food remains what really matters. While the smart ceramic tiled portraits of oriental women add charm and mystery, the kitchen is where a real attempt is being made to create a masterpiece or two. The setting for diners and drinkers alike makes an evening very pleasant, with a garden at the rear where it's possible to watch the chef in action. Indoors, there's a choice of lounge-bar or restaurant. Indigo Siam has a trendy, slightly distressed ambience. The lamb rack came a tad on the rare side and it went back and forth again without debate, returning perfectly medium-rare. Another minor fault less easily corrected, though, was that figurative fly in the soup. Instead of a spoon, the soup came with a small ladle, so we were forced to suck, not sip. But an idiocyncracy like that can be filed under quirks. The creamy broccoli was worth slurping. More people should make the journey to Phuket City for this kind of Indigo treat after dark. The wine list is good and most customers are expats.

How to find it: Having negotiated the fresh market circle, apply the brakes soon after turning right into the one-way that runs past the Southwind Bookshop and the On On Hotel.

Parking: On the street.



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