Nam Yoi Restaurant – Best For Spicy Southern Thai Food in Phuket!

Nam Yoi is a fantastic restaurant in Phuket Town that serves Southern Thai Food.

I’m going to tell you immediately, it’s my favorite restaurant in Phuket. Well, at least among my top five.

Especially if you love the spicy, vibrant taste of real southern Thai food, Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) is a must-eat when you’re in Phuket.

Here’s what you can expect…

Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) – Phuket, Thailand

The restaurant is located in Phuket Town, towards the north of town on the side of Monkey Hill (so although you’re in town, you feel like you’re in the jungle).

There is a small, yet sufficient parking lot. Step inside and you’ll be greeted by a series of low canopy style roofing, with an open air dining room, that includes wooden tables, and tables draped in batik.

The menu is loaded with southern Thai food classics – all sorts of curries, stir fried dishes, fried seafood, and a few specific Phuket dishes.

Luckily, it’s the type of menu and restaurant where you can’t make a bad decision.

Ok, let’s get into all the food.

Splitgill mushroom curry (แกงเห็ดแครง)

I always love splitgill mushrooms in Southern Thailand. They have a deep flavor, and a texture that seriously feels like shredded meat.

The split gill mushroom curry at Nam Yoi was outstanding to say the least, and I think it was a southern Thai gaeng khua. The curry paste was vibrant, and spicy, the coconut cream was thick and rich, and there was a mixture of both splitgill mushrooms and shrimp. Highly recommended.

Melinjo leaves with egg (ผักเหมียงผัดไข่)

Melinjo leaves stir fried with egg (bai miang (or bai liang) pad kai ผักเหมียงผัดไข่) is a classic dish.

And I’m not afraid to admit, I end up ordering it for almost every meal when I’m in Southern Thailand. It’s just good, especially when it’s cooked right.

Here at Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) it’s very good, dry, smoky, and not goopy or oyster saucy.

Moo hong (หมูฮ้อง)

One of the specific Phuket dishes I was talking about that you can order at Nam Yoi is Moo hong (หมูฮ้อง).

Moo hong (หมูฮ้อง) is especially famous at Raya Restaurant, and it’s one of the ultimate Thai Chinese braised pork belly dishes that you’ll only find in Phuket.

This version was seasoned well and melt in your mouth tender – but the sauce wasn’t quite as rich or thick as other versions, so it was a little bit of a different style, not as stand out to me.

I would stick with the spicier curries, but you can order this if you need a non-spicy dish.

Fried sandfish with turmeric (ปลาทรายทอดขมิ้น)

Another dish we tried is their sandfish marinated in turmeric and garlic and deep fried (ปลาทรายทอดขมิ้น). They were crispy and light, as sandfish are, but I prefer the version in Southern Thailand where they really heap up the deep fried garlic and turmeric (here’s a recipe).

Stink beans with shrimp (ผัดเผ็ดกุ้งสะตอ)

Another Southern Thai food that’s not to be missed at Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) is their stink beans and shrimp, stir fried curry (pad phed ผัดเผ็ด) – you might know by now about my obsession with stink beans.

Ask for it extra spicy (phed mak), and they won’t let you down. Packed full of spice, balanced with shrimp paste umami, and stink beans that had just the right crunch and crispness.

It’s one of my personal favorite dishes in Thailand, and they do it well.

Chicken khua kling (ไก่คั่วกลิ้ง)

I also ordered the khua kling with minced chicken (ไก่คั่วกลิ้ง), a Southern Thai slow dry fried curry. It’s essentially minced meat stir fried with curry paste, minus the liquid, so all that curry paste is coated onto each morsel of meat.

They also added in extra chopped chilies, green peppercorns, and a handful of finely shaved kaffir lime leaves.

Another OUTSTANDING and spicy dish at Nam Yoi.

Total price

For this meal, all of the dishes pictured above, and also a minced pork omelet for my son (not pictured), and our total bill came to 1,185 THB for everything.

However, on another evening, we ate at Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย), and I wanted to share with you a few more worthy dishes:

Fried fish with soy sauce (ปลาทอดซีอิ๊ว)

Can’t remember what fish this was – I don’t think it was king mackerel like it often is. Anyway, it was delicious, flaky, moist, crispy, and salty.

Fried eggplant (มะเขือยาวทอดเครื่อง)

If you love eggplant, one of the dishes that’s commonly available at local Phuket food restaurants is fried eggplant with curry paste (makua yao tod kreung มะเขือยาวทอดเครื่อง). You taste the flavor of the curry paste, the dry chilies, the shrimp paste, and all that flavor is absorbed into the oozy eggplant.

It’s good here, but not as good as the crispy version at Mor Moo Dong.

Shrimp paste chili dip (นำ้พริกกุ้งสด)

A foundational dish in any Southern Thai food meal is a chili dip (nam prik นำ้พริก).

We tried their shrimp paste chili dip with fresh shrimp (nam prik goong sod นำ้พริกกุ้งสด), it’s a dish my Mother in law makes frequently. It’s shrimp on top of shrimp, and it’s so good with vegetables and rice.

Sour curry with coconut shoots (แกงส้มยอดมะพร้าว)

Wow, that’s a lot of food, but finally, sour curry with coconut shoots (gaeng som yord maprao แกงส้มยอดมะพร้าว), and I think it was barramundi (pla kapong) fish.

Again, a dish you’ll find at every Southern Thai food restaurant in Thailand, and another personal favorite dish of mine.

While gaeng som is typically sweeter in Phuket, the version at Nam Yoi (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) wasn’t too sweet, but spicy and sour, and richly packed with turmeric.

In conclusion, you’re going to love Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) for real deal Southern Thai food in a laid back atmosphere. For most of the dishes, the flavors are bold, spicy, and make use of local Phuket ingredients.

Again, for me, it’s one of the best restaurants in Phuket.

Nam Yoi Restaurant (ร้านอาหารน้ำย้อย) – Phuket Town, Thailand

Address: 63, 250 Rumpattana Rd, Ratsada, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000 (Phuket Town, on the edge of Monkey Hill, Google Maps)
Open hours: Tuesday – Saturday (closed Monday and Sunday) from 10:30 am – 8:30 pm
Prices: Majority of dishes are in the 100 – 200 THB range, but larger seafood dishes can cost more, possibly a little more expensive than other similar restaurants, but in my opinion better quality too.