Kata has a solid range of dining options along Patak Road and the side streets leading to the beach. Thai food dominates, from cheap street-side pad thai to more polished seafood restaurants with sunset views. Several Italian, Russian, and international restaurants cater to the long-stay tourist crowd, particularly along Kata Centre Road.
For cheap and good, look for the open-front shophouses one block back from the beach where you'll see motorbike-riding locals stopping in. For sunset dinners with a view, head up the hill towards the viewpoint or to the headland between Kata and Kata Noi.