When Mr A and I stayed at Amanpuri in August 2021 we mostly ate inside the resort, for reasons of food quality and convenience.   But one evening, on the recommendation of one of Amanpuri’s managers, we made a 10 minute car journey to the Porto Phuket development, for a French meal at Little Paris.  As soon as we arrived we saw that this was a popular and lively joint, though the neon lights made it look more like a bar than a bistro.

We deiced to go very French with our orders, by sharing a dozen snails, then having pan fried foie gras and then steak tartare.  The snails were larger than I’m used to and they still had a very earthy flavour which dominated the garlic butter. 6/10

Our foie gras was quite good, served with a sweet pineapple chutney, but untoasted dry brioche wasn’t the best accompaniment. 7/10

The Charolais steak tartare was the best dish, though it was presented (as shown above) with its key ingredients around the plate, so we had to mix them together ourselves.  The lean chopped steak had an egg yolk on top, and then we had shallots, capers, gherkins, chives, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce to mix together, plus we had some ‘rustic’ fries on the side.

The end result was very tasty and a pleasure to eat. 8.5/10

Service was very good, with plenty of staff on hand, including the French owner.  One thing to note though was that cards were not accepted for payment; it was cash only. But luckily there’s an ATM almost opposite the restaurant, so I was able to get enough cash to save my embarrassment!

We had a very good evening at Little Paris, as we were able to join one of Amanpuri’s staff with his friends for a ‘social’ after our meal.  Little Paris has a good selection of wines and Champagnes, but those weren’t officially available during our visit, because of Covid restrictions.

Overall 7/10. Whilst the food and ambience isn’t what one would expect in a bistro in London or Paris, it was nonetheless really welcome to find good, genuinely French food on Phuket.