At night there is a charming night market close to the promenade next to the piers. Food is good and cheap, with Muslim influences. From time to time the town organizes shows on a small stage next to the market.
An even better market can be found on Maharat Soi Lane 10 in the centre of town. This market has plenty of fresh fruit and lots of authentic cooked food. Only a few places have menus, otherwise point and enjoy. This market does not sell alcohol. There is also the new 'Walking Street' night market, between Vogue Department store and ViengThong Hotel, Fri-Sun, 5-10pm which sells food and general items such as clothes and handicrafts etc, and there is a largish seating area.
Not to be missed is the covered morning market the biggest in South Thailand on Maharaj Soi 9 behind the Shell station. For early birds only. After 8am all the action is subsiding. Exactly at that time you can watch a show of national pride: the national anthem is playing and almost everyone comes to a standstill for a minute. The best place to get all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetable, khao njao sticky rice, PatongKhoo, ChaRaawn sweetened Thai-Tea or fresh hot soymilk. The section of fresh fish and meat sellers is for hardened stomachs only.
There are several Italian restaurants of varying degrees of authenticity. Viva has Italian management.
Since August 2010 Tamarind restaurant in ChaoFaa road is a good option too with amazingly good Pizza from 150-190TB, thin and crispy,
The Sin-O-Cha bakery next to Vogue department store does meals and is a good place for breakfast or to have coffee and cake. At night the pavement pancake stall outside the bakery is always packed with locals, the pancakes are larger than those at other stalls.
RuenMai restaurant, about 2km from the center on Marharat road, has very nice atmosphere and very good local dishes from 100 TB. open every day but closing between 3 and 5pm.
You can get great western and thai breakfast and maybe even the best coffee at Relax Coffee near the pier.
Arun is a good breakfast place too (same roadside as Relax, more colourful atmosphere here, just what they call Cappuccino doesn't deserve this name, better go for the fresh Thai-coffee version: a large, very strong coffee. closed during low season.
The Writer was there during low season and there were very few restaurants open at all! The floating restaurant was open as well as a couple near the tourist area towards the pier, but in the town very little at all. The floating restaurant does brilliant seafood at a reasonable price as well as provides mosquito coils to keep these pests away from your legs.
