6 Places to Eat in Ao Nang (Krabi, Thailand)

Ao Nang is an idyllic beach destination in the Krabi province of Thailand that provides the ideal balance between convenience and lifestyle. Other than water activities, there are lots of good food here too! Treading the streets, I discovered a tidy sprawl of street vendors, casual cocktail bars and upscale restaurants. Below is a list of six great places to eat in Krabi. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to leave them in the comments section below. Thanks for reading! Also read: 10 Things to Do in Krabi

1. The Hilltop

The Hilltop is an upbeat restaurant that serves a wide variety of Thai food and grilled seafood. It is located on the steep slope behind Ao Nang Beach. Since the restaurant is situated so high up, it provides a splendid vantage point to catch the sunset. The restaurant exudes a nice upbeat vibe with its live music and stylish cocktail bar.

This a great place to indulge in Thai food! The menu has seven full pages of Thai food choice and we spent a long time trying to decide which items to order (check out the menus below to see the full list of items). Finally, we decided to go for the classic Thai dishes: Spicy Mixed Seafood Soup (clear) and Stir-fried Pork with Basil Leaves. We also ordered two sides to go along: Deep-fried Spring Rolls and Deep-fried Squid with Garlic and Pepper.

Stir-fried Pork with Basil Leaves

Spicy Mixed Seafood Soup

All the dishes tasted great. Our favourite was the Spicy Mixed Seafood Soup, which is essentially the “tom yam soup” that Singaporeans love! This feisty bowl of spicy soup had a good balance of texture and flavour and was served with generous amounts of fresh seafood. However, if you order this dish, make sure you have a glass of water at hand because the soup is pretty spicy!

Overall, we enjoyed our dinner at The Hilltop. However, we found the service to be a little inconsistent – some of the staff seemed indifferent and a few of the dishes took quite long to serve. Nevertheless, it was still a great experience and the quality of the food made up for this minor blemish. If you are staying in the Ao Nang Beach area, the restaurant provides free shuttle service between your hotel and the restaurant.

Location: Moo 4 Ao Nang, Mueang Krabi District, Krabi 81000, Thailand

The Hilltop Menu (click on pictures to enlarge)

2. Lae Lay Grill

Lae Lay Grill is an upscale restaurant that serves a selection of Thai cuisine and grilled seafood. It is located on the same slope as ‘The Hilltop’ restaurant, behind Ao Nang Beach. The restaurant exudes an air of elegance with the dark wood furnishings and exquisite ornamental lamps. The best place to dine is on the second floor balcony area, where you can indulge in delicious seafood while reveling in the beautiful sunset of Krabi. After it gets dark, the soft lighting and tea candles on the tables provide an ideal setting for an intimate dinner.

Andaman Platter

We ordered the Andaman Platter, which is a tantalizing combination of squids, crabs, king prawns, mussels, and fish. There are five different sauces to go along. Seafood aficionados will love this dish! We dived into the delicious and fresh seafood immediately once it was served. We especially enjoyed the succulent prawns, which tasted so juicy and savoury that we simply ate them without any sauces.

Great view from Lae Lay Grill!

Lae Lay Grill provides free shuttle service between your hotel (Ao Nang Beach area) and the restaurant

The staffs were all prompt and courteous, and we never had any problems getting their attention. If you are staying in the Ao Nang Beach area, the restaurant provides free shuttle service between your hotel and the restaurant. Great service! Do check out this classy restaurant if you are in Krabi. It’s the perfect place for a romantic dinner, a girls night out, or chilling out with good friends over good food and champagne.

Location: 89 Moo 3, Ao Nang, Krabi 81000, Thailand.

Lae Lay Grill Menu (click to enlarge)

3. Blue Mango

Looking for a casual place to dine after a tiring day of activities in Krabi? Check out Blue Mango, a food joint that serves an impressive variety of international cuisines: from American to Thai to Italian and even Swedish! There is also a decent selection of alcoholics drinks, ranging from wines to beers to cocktails. The restaurant is located on the beachfront of Ao Nang beach. It exudes a comfortable and relaxing vibe with its open-space concept. This was our first meal in Krabi so we decided to play it safe by ordering a few standard Thai dishes. We did not want to risk spoiling our first meal here! Luckily, we were not disappointed as our dishes were all up to mark. We had the Tom Yam Goong Soup, the Pad Thai with Chicken, and the Masaman Curry.

Pad Thai with Chicken (wrapped in omelette)

The Pad Thai with Chicken was a highlight for us. The fried noodles were served wrapped within an omelette, creating a culinary combination that was both interesting and delicious in taste. The prawns used were succulent and fresh. As mentioned earlier, there is a large variety of other food as well. Check out the menu below to see the full list of items.

Location: 161/1 Moo 2, Ao Nang, Amphur Muang, Krabi 81000, Thailand

Blue Mango Menu (click to enlarge)

4. Aning Restaurant

Aning Restaurant, located beside Ao Nang Beach Resort

Aning Restaurant is a large casual restaurant that serves a decent variety of Italian food, Thai food, and grilled seafood. It is located on the beachfront of Ao Nang Beach, right beside Ao Nang Beach Resort. We enjoyed dining here because there were several large televisions screening sports telecasts. We ordered the Soft Shell Crab Deep Fried with Garlic and Pepper, the Seafood Pizza, and Fried Rice with Chicken.

Seafood Pizza

Great place to chill out!

Our favourite was the Seafood Pizza. The generous spread of seafood over the thin and crisp pizza crust made for the perfect dish to go with a bottle of ice-cold beer. We spent the afternoon here just chilling out and admiring the beautiful emerald-green sea of Ao Nang beach.

Location: Moo 2, 4203 Road, Ao Nang Beach, Mueang Krabi District, Krabi 81000, Thailand

Aning Restaurant Menu (click on pictures to enlarge)

5. Krabi Town Walking Street

Krabi Town Walking Street

Krabi Town Walking Street
Krabi Town Walking Street (aka Thanon Khon Dern) is a vibrant night market located behind Vogue Department Store in Krabi Town. It only opens from Friday to Sunday, between 6pm to 9.30pm. This is a wonderful place to get a deeper insight into Thai local culture. You can sample local food, watch street performances, and shop for souvenirs and memorabilia. We had a fantastic time here!

Street vendor selling chocolate banana pancake

Chocolate Banana Pancake!

Make sure you try the delicious Chocolate Banana Pancakes! The luscious melted chocolate spread across the warm banana slices complimented the soft and crispy pancake perfectly, giving a rich sweetness that had us swooning from the first bite. Other favourites include the takoyaki balls (Octopus Balls), Thai-style duck rice, as well as the signature Pad Thai.

Directions to Krabi TownThere are a few ways to visit Krabi Town from the Ao Nang Beach area. Krabi Town Walking Street is located beside the Vogue Department Store.

1. Take a tuk-tuk taxi. This should take about twenty minutes and will cost about 300B one-way.

2. Use the local mode of transport, which are white-coloured public buses known as songthaew. This should take about forty-five minutes and will cost about 60B one-way. You can wait at the bus stop in Ao Nang – it will have a huge sign “Ao Nang- Krabi Town”, or you can flag it down along the road.

3. Rent a bike! This will cost around 300B per day. However, I would not recommend this method unless you are very familiar with the traffic conditions in Krabi.

4. Check if your hotel/resort provides transportation to Krabi Town.

6. Seafood Street

Seafood Street at Ao Nang Beach

As with all beach destinations, the seafood in Krabi is top-notch. A popular place to indulge in affordable seafood while admiring the seaview is Seafood Street. Two popular restaurants here are Ban Lay Thai Kitchen and The Longtail Boat. Both restaurants are built over water so it’s a great place to revel in the beautiful sunset while enjoying your seafood feast. However, the tables fill up very quickly so it is best that you make reservations beforehand.

Location: Seafood Street is located at the northern corner of Ao Nang Beach Road.

Krabi Video Travelogue

And that’s a wrap! We hope you found the above list useful. We have also created a short travelogue of our trip. In the video, you will find footage of all the six places above. We were salivating as we looked back on all the delicious food we ate in Ao Nang (Krabi). I’m sure you will love the video!

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Ao Nang (Krabi) Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?