The Black Cat, Cherngtalay, Thalang, Phuket

I recently visited under cover (masquerading as a tourist) the Black Cat located near the police station at Cherngtalay Road, Thalang, Phuket. This restaurant / bar is a success story for sure. Established some 17 years ago to the day! 


It is very rare for any bar/restaurant to trade successfully for that long anywhere in the world, but with it's French owner it is particularly rare in Thailand.

I have visited the Black Cat a number of times in the past year and I can now report with some certainty, that you are unlikely to be disappointed.

It is not an upmarket modern air-conditioned establishment, it has been created in the traditional thai style, a mix of bamboo seating and wooden tables, but it works. 

The last night I was there it was virtually full, with people waiting at the bar for tables.

The food once again is a welcome mix of Thai and European. I can say with certainty the Thai food is excellent and given the area that the Black Cat is situated, close to the prestigious Laguna residential developments, good value for money.

I would caution you to try the wine before you buy a bottle. Most of the wine in Thailand that is imported, is not as you would expect. The Black Cat I believe has some reasonable house wines from France.


The cheese board, salads and steaks seem to be popular.

The owner Philipe has certainty acquired and retained a fantastic group of staff. 

There are many of them and all without exception speak English and some French also. 



One small problem I personally have is they allow smoking inside the restaurant at the bar. Thailand along with most european countries do not permit smoking inside eating places. I think the Black Cat escapes this rule, based upon it is open to the outdoors (no walls). In any event I would urge the management to re-consider this. There is nothing worse than having to endure people smoking close to you, if you choose to eat and/or sit at the bar. The over-head fans simply exasperate the problem. Perhaps a smoking area away from the bar?

The two senior Thai barmen/waiters/managers are superb. If you have a problem, talk to them, they will do their best to fix it I am sure.

But without a shadow of a doubt the Black Cat is a winner. It provides a choice of large screen TV entertainment, but not loud. It also offers a very popular take-away service/delivery, that the local residents and even nearby hotel guests take advantage of. They also provide a free local shuttle service for those guests who would prefer not to drive.

The bar man "odd" even purchased a bottle of my favourite tipple, that they did not have in their well stocked bar. I would add this was before I revealed my true identity as MrTripAdvisor, on my last visit.

Smoking aside, I would say this is the perfect model of a foreign / thai mix business.

blackcatphuket.com

The Black Cat deserves all the success it enjoys, which appears to have been built on hard-work and a great husband and wife partnership. Good luck in 2013 !!



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