THERE’S little doubt that a large number of hungry visitors and locals regularly rampage around the airport environs saying to themselves, “Now where can I get a really excellent steak, cooked to perfection, with all the trimmings in this neck of the Phuket woods?”

Certainly many of the visitors who do this are the tourists who choose the Dewa Phuket Resort situated on Nai Yang Beach to the immediate south of the airport as their Phuket holiday residence. Indeed, so close to the runways is the Dewa Resort that also many stop-over visitors transiting through Phuket or about to leave early the next day also stays here.

Not a small proportion of these visitors enjoy the Terrace Grill’s selection of fine imported meats, fresh seafood and abundant complement of salads, vegetables and desserts when they are in residence.

The Terrace Grill sits beguilingly upon its eponymous terrace surrounded by greenery, a stone’s throw from the susurrating waves breaking onto Nai Yang Beach and offers diners a quiet, airy indoor/outdoor space in which to enjoy the wholesome good value fare to be had here.

Our own evening there started with a sundowner drink poolside, in Madame’s case a glass of sparkling 7Cascine Spumante Brut- Pinot-Chardonnay from the Italian Veneto region, which is available by the glass, while I savored a cold glass of Cantine Lenotti Pinot Grigio, one of five whites, five red wines and a rose that are conveniently available by the glass. Bottles of vino start from just 1,450 baht and we subsequently delighted in a Little Yering Pinot Noir from Yarra Valley for that price and very fine it was too!

We enjoyed starters of the Andaman Duo, comprising a delicate serving of grilled scallop on mango chutney and seared tuna loin on tomato salsa fresh from the ocean close by and gratinated asparagus with crabmeat and Hollandaise Sauce.

The focus at Terrace Grill is very much upon the excellent selection of meats from beef, to lamb, to pork and the Chef constantly searches for the best meats available. Imported cuts range from sirloins to T-bones, to tenderloins, to rib eyes and both grass fed and grain fed varieties are on offer. Bores often mount tiresome debates about the relative merits of grass versus grain cudchewing in their bovine dinner fare, but at the end of the day it’s largely a matter of individual taste preference, much like whether you prefer Lady Chatterley to or Lady Ga Ga.

While Madame happily attacked her New Zealand lamb cutlets cooked perfectly medium rare as she had requested, I sought out the lighter fare on the menu and thoroughly enjoyed a Tasmanian salmon steak, with plenty of vegetative complements selected from the “help-yourself” salad bar, plus a baked potato.

We did manage to save a little space for the delicious dessert offerings…in Madame’s case the signature dish of dark chocolate mousse with Thai chili to her liking and I richly enjoyed the baked mango on puff pastry with ginger Grand Marnier.

The Terrace Grill ticks all the right boxes…good food, good wines, reasonable pricing and a beguiling environment. And hey, you are also assured of catching your flight in the morning!

Dewa Phuket 65 Moo 1, Tambon Sakoo Amphur Thalang, Phuket 83110 Thailand Tel: +66 76 372300 Fax: +66 76 372399 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it