Reviewing Phuket Cafe: Delicious and traditional Thai food in Portland. 

Tucked a few blocks off the main thoroughfare of Portland’s 23rd Avenue is a gem of a Thai restaurant, Phuket Cafe. There is a shaded outdoor eating area out front as well as tables and bar seating inside. The lush, leaf-patterned wallpaper, live plants, and paintings hung all around the inside immediately signal that this restaurant provides an experience as much as a meal.   

As soon as I entered, I was helped by friendly staff to a table, and my mouth was already watering from seeing the dishes at other tables. Phuket Cafe boasts a rotating menu of traditional Thai dishes that you will not find at many other Thai restaurants as well as a unique and creative cocktail menu. To taste more of the menu, my mother and I decided to split small plates instead of each ordering one thing.  

I started with a refreshing cocktail made from watermelon juice and rimmed with spicy tajin. It was an amazing summer drink, both refreshing and flavorful.

Our first dish was the oysters in the half shell served with crispy fried shallots, nahm jim sauce, and lime. The crunch from the shallots with the spice of the nahm jim and tartness from the lime was incredible. The oysters themselves were firm and sweet, which is how I like them best.

Our next courses were a striped bass ceviche with crushed peanut brittle sitting on a bed of fennel and Mee Grob Lon Tao Huu Yee, a pork and fermented tofu relish with crispy rice noodles that served as a cracker. The presentation of these dishes was stunning and so were the textures and flavors. 

After that, we had the Miang Plaa Jaramed, a whole fried pompano fish topped with herbs, peanuts, and a sweet and spicy Miang Kum dressing. On the side, there were whole salad leaves for wrapping up pieces of the fried fish into one-bite wraps. This was my favorite dish of the whole evening. It was my first time eating pompano, which was flaky and soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. The lettuce wrap with a piece of fish topped with some peanuts and sauce was an fantastic bite.  

Our waitress at Phuket Cafe informed us that the whole fish, including bones and fins, was edible. After the meat was gone, I tried a bit of the fried fish bones and it was delicious. It reminded me of the crunch from eating the smallest segment of a fried chicken wing. I really appreciate using as much of the animal as possible and was delighted it tasted so good. I hope that if you try this dish, you will try this part of it too.

Our last dish was strawberry and coconut shave ice for dessert. The shave ice was given the deluxe treatment. The mound of fluffy ice was covered in coconut cream, toasted coconut shavings, and strawberry sauce. Underneath it all was a wonderful coconut panna cotta. 

This was the first memorable meal I’ve had in years. Phuket Cafe hits it out of the park on all levels and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It is a bit on the expensive side, but that fits with the level of skill and quality of ingredients used to make some truly special food.