Patong Seafood Court embodies all that is good about Patong’s culinary scene. Dining out in Patong is a diverse experience and almost every cultural cuisine is represented, from Ireland to Iran, from America to Austria, from Thailand to Taiwan and from Sweden to Switzerland – it’s all here. But what sets Patong Seafood Court apart is that it doggedly retains one singular theme: Seafood. So it’s not the best place for those with a penchant for pizza with their red snapper – it’s 100% The Real Thing.

Made up of several adjacent open-air and enclosed restaurants as you pass you’ll smell the exotic aroma of the freshest fish and seafood lying in ice-filled display ‘boats’ along the sidewalk and further inside, large glass tanks and black buckets containing live fish, lobsters, oysters, and crabs bubble and teem.

There is no difference between the prices of seafood at these restaurants. Simply choose between 99 Seafood; Cocoa-nut Restaurant; Dang No 8, and Sakkorn. English-speaking touts will approach as you pass by and there are colourful, easy-to-read photo menus on display.

This is a far cry from fine dining and it all may look a little rough with plastic chairs, and basic crockery and cutlery but one thing is certain – the seafood on display and served up here is top-of-the-range fresh. Diagonally opposite Patong Seafood Court is another recommended seafood restaurant that gets mad busy – Mr. Good’s Seafood.