Pensook View Cafe

Terraces under thatch and bamboo stepping down a slope of the hill road above Patong, with a view west down a green valley to Patong Bay, its two headlands and the open Andaman — the kind of view that usually comes with rooftop-bar prices. The food is Southern Thai home cooking, the dishes Thai families order: sour orange curry, chilli dips, whole fried fish, squid and prawns with sator beans. Say how hot you want each dish. Come at the end of the afternoon and watch the sea turn gold.