Duke Orsino from William Shakespeare?s Twelfth Night said, ?If music be the food of love, play on.? Clearly he knew the potent magic that a combination of fine dining and art could generate in the hearts and minds of those experiencing such alchemy, as do several of Phuket?s more ?fashionable? eateries.

Perhaps it?s no surprise that a tropical island which offers such abundant sensory stimulation should play host to restaurants that double as creative spaces designed to present fine food complemented by fine art. Phuket is host to many creative artists working in a multitude of media and so the opportunity of pairing fine dining with locally-produced creative works for the delight of well-healed and sophisticated visitors and residents seems to be tailor made.

Art on Kata Beach
Mom Tri?s Boathouse is a haven of all things tasteful nestled at the southernmost end of Kata Beach. That?s unsurprising as Mom Tri?s was created and is owned by the doyen of Thai architects, designers and artists, Mom Luang Tridhosyuth Devakul.

It is a favourite with visitors from around the globe and appears on numerous lists of the world?s best small hotels and restaurants and has been distinguished with Wine Spectator Awards since 1995.

Since the 1990?s the Boathouse has established a reputation for hosting innovative art events from exhibitions and displays of local paintings and artworks by local artists, through to writers? nights and photography competitions. The events are often inaugurated with fashionable parties attended by local creative luminaries and many of the works shown end up being purchased by discerning visitors to Phuket.

Creativity in Kalim
Many of the great restaurants that are enjoyed by well-connected and savvy visitors and residents in Phuket actually remain discreet and hardly advertise. Their fame spreads largely by word mouth among the creative cognoscenti. One such restaurant is Lim's in Kalim (www.limsphuket.com) and a visit there immediately underscores why it enjoys such distinction.

This hillside restaurant encompasses everything a class act should, including ultra-fresh food, expertly prepared select ingredients, great background music and a sense of occasion in unusual and tasteful surroundings.

In addition Lim's owner Khun Kop, is an accomplished artist and his abstract paintings hang on the buffed concrete walls. It?s fair to say that the restaurant itself is something of a canvas for Kop's creativity and imagination with its vivid throw cushions and sofa covers giving the whole an eclectic appeal.

Lim?s exudes effortless style and is frequented by diners and party-goers in the know, as Zurich-born co-owner Daniel Bosshard has his finger firmly on Phuket's social pulse. For al fresco dining, there?s lush tropical foliage with a comfortable wall-hugging sofa, a large mirror and ample lighting.

The food is 'modern Thai' and is deliciously fresh, skillfully presented and the perfect complement to the stimulating art on display.

Food in a Factory
John Underwood?s Art Factory on the bypass road is a beguiling and eccentric art space featuring an amazing array of works from this Australian artist. In 2008, John opened a restaurant right in the middle of the happy creative throng, so that diners are able to enjoy excellent Thai food, produced from an open kitchen, while surrounded by the artists at work.

John?s eclecticism embraces all sorts of junky and ?found? items melded and welded into bizarre artifacts, some practical and many merely whimsical. Chairs come in a variety of shapes and colours and there are ?distressed? - looking tables. One has a top made from an old tin Coca-Cola sign, and another has a top made from strips of another Coke sign, woven together.

Above the dining tables hangs an extraordinary chandelier like a writhing art deco octopus, very much an Underwood original. Outside the open-sided restaurant are bizarre and amusing statues made from junk metal and old bits of wood.

Just about everything you can see around the restaurant is made from bits of something else ? John?s ethos embraces a mission to re-use, rehabilitate and recycle whenever he can.

At the back of the restaurant is a glass wall which allows you to see the working factory floor beyond, in which cascades of sparks fly from grinders and flashes flare from the welders. Everywhere someone seems to be filing, cutting or assembling mosaics or artworks that when finished, will grace a luxury resort or a beautiful holiday home.

One dramatic Phuket resort where you can see John?s work produced in collaboration with the famous Asia-based designer Bill Bensley is the Indigo Pearl Resort at Nai Yang Beach. Other resort dining spaces that feature his work include the JW Marriott, Dewa Resort and the M?venpick in Karon.

Alfresco Art Events
In addition to these established art and food spaces, Phuket also sees regular impromptu events that combine al fresco fine dining and creativity. Recent examples have been the Evason Six Senses Resort in Rawai that staged a fabulous outdoor lunch in which local artists painted and strolling musicians serenaded the guests as they were feted by the resort?s chefs and sommeliers. And the central courtyard and boardwalk at the Royal Phuket Marina is becoming established as a home to pairings of superb outdoor dinners and musical performances from jazz to opera.

There?s little doubt that love of fine food and of fine art are natural bedfellows and Phuket provides any number of opportunities to indulge both passions in delightful tropical surroundings. Bon appetite!