Phuket Cafe
Phuket Cafe is now a longtime favorite spot of mine to both eat in and order takeout. They have a charming indoor spot with open kitchen and chef’s counter seating available on NW 23rd Place along with an adorable converted train caboose for semi-outdoor seating during nicer weather.
Phuket Cafe was also my very first experience dining at an establishment owned by the Portland restaurant group founded by Earl Ninsom that operates Eem, Paadee, Hat Yai, and more. I had no idea just what kind of gluten free food heaven was in store for me on that first visit, shortly after I moved to Portland in 2022.
The menu at Phuket Cafe is nearly entirely gluten free and all options are clearly marked so it’s easy and stress-free to find suitable dishes. They have quite a few smaller shareables as well, which I love as I get to sample so many things with every visit.
Some staples I’ve had over the years are the whole fried fish salad - crispy, nutty and delicious, the warm, comforting massaman curry, and the gai tod fried chicken.
The gai tod I’ve probably ordered most frequently since, as I’ve stated before, fried chicken is what I’ve missed the most since having to cut out gluten. This is served light and crispy with a very addictive sweet and sour chili sauce.
Also recently tried a dish with massive blistered and charred prawns accompanied by a sweet, umami filled peanut curry sauce. These were outstanding, but do note that they were served unshelled. The shells are fully edible, but if that’s not your thing, expect to make a mess equivalent to a crawdad boil eating this.
Phuket Cafe is truly one of my favorite dining experiences as it’s intimate and fun watching all the food prepared right in front of you, everything tastes amazing, and lastly, they serve up some pretty mean cocktails to accompany your meal!
One last note, this space also is the home of Langbaan, which has a constantly changing prix fixe menu of smaller bites. Highly recommend this experience as well, though you do generally need to book well in advance.
