Cheap Charlies blocked my review

[NowNow]

11 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

 

You are not the first person to say that. But as I said to that person, I would not order a 199 Baht steak there - or anywhere for that matter. Cheap Charlies has it's own specialism - bog standard dishes, well prepared/presented and very good value........ a western equivalent of Kiss Food & Drink. 

 

What's the point of having it on the menu if it's considered inedible? Considering that you can buy a kg of beef for under 240 baht, an 150 baht steak can cost as little as 40 baht. No one is expecting fork tender, but a good cook should be able to create something passable. If not, take it off the menu.

[NowNow]

17 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

 

You are not the first person to say that. But as I said to that person, I would not order a 199 Baht steak there - or anywhere for that matter. Cheap Charlies has it's own specialism - bog standard dishes, well prepared/presented and very good value........ a western equivalent of Kiss Food & Drink. 

 

*bulk standard 😊

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

Well they can't complain on the CC FB page as they just remove your post and block you 

 

And that's an excuse to come on here and moan about it?

 

5 hours ago, 5davidhen1 said:

I used to be a card-holder (when the cost was either 99 or 199 baht) but I grew weary of asking for the vegetables to be better cooked, usually with the Sunday roast. They are not merely al-dente, I think they are simply dipped in hot water for seconds! I stopped going there (usually Jomtien) for many months, but I did return a few weeks ago. I had interactions with 3 different waitresses --- not one of them proffered a smile, nor even a thank you when I paid my bill --- just the normal wei. I think that it will be a long time before I venture to return.

Yes, you do "get what you pay for" BUT, I tried the steak way back, and found it so tough to be almost

inedible. If a restaurant cannot provide a reasonably acceptable (eatable) meal for the advertised price, then it should not be on the menu!

Although The Gold Monkey, on Thanon Chaiyaphruek increased their prices recently, the meals are still excellent value for money. The specials are priced at 149 baht (except the large Sunday roast which is still excellent value at 179 baht). No loyalty card is required and the meals are cooked to perfection. One particular day which I usually visit is Thursday, when the 149 baht pork steak offered is tender and delicious.

I highly recommend this bar/restaurant/live music venue.

 

You're supposed to preface your glowing recommendation with something like, "I have no vested interests in this restaurant, but although the..."

 

Otherwise, some members may think you're self-promoting.

[daveAustin]

11 hours ago, shdmn said:

I had planned to try that place a few times but every time I walk by (Pattaya & Jomtien) and see the sad sacks sitting there I always change my mind.

🤣 Probably that guy 😋

Take any reviews anywhere nowadays with a massive pinch of salt, esp food and shopping. Buy something off Lazada with amazing reviews, weeks later falls to bits, same Amazon. With food, generally go past the place and see how busy etc, but can never tell with Thailand. I've had some of the best food from places that are empty.

Anyway... something named 'cheap Charlie' can never be a good thing, surely. Op should pm owner of group and say 'your food sucks, go F yourself!'. 👍

[NowNow]

4 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

And that's an excuse to come on here and moan about it?

 

 

You're supposed to preface your glowing recommendation with something like, "I have no vested interests in this restaurant, but although the..."

 

Otherwise, some members may think you're self-promoting.

 

Does they need a excuse?

[NanLaew]

46 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I might have seen you last week. 3 guys had lots of food and drinks and when the 3 bill folders came back they all pocketed every single baht and left. Not leaving a tip must be a cheap charlie thing as I'd never seen that before in 16 years of coming to Thailand.

 

Tipping is an affectation wrought of exposure to Americans. Sure, loads of people do it, even when the concept is an alien notion in their home country.

 

There's absolutely no need to tip anyone in Thailand, ever.

[NanLaew]

38 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I went to the FB page because that's where they post all the specials. I never intended to write a review but couldn't help myself after seeing all the posts saying how wonderful the food was, including that 150 gram steak that sells for 199 baht. It's the worst steak I've ever had in my life.

 

 

Maybe you need to live a bit longer?

[NanLaew]

27 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

Your computer does not have Google?

 

 

It really can save asking embarrassing questions.

 

What? More embarrassing than claiming to eat there frequently despite having more unacceptable food experiences than acceptable ones?

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, Sandboxer said:

 

Lol, unlike tourist amateurs, I just pay the exact amount by QR/scan when I already know I'm not going to leave a tip.

 

I tip normal (20) to larger amounts (50-100) at most restos, even when eating alone. 

 

I just don't tip at places where I feel that paying more than for the food consumed isn't deserved. Like I said, I think the food there is ok.  That's not the problem.

You seem to be implying the service isn't good, I'd agree with that, certainly at Buakhao with a couple of exceptions, Jomtien staff are better

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Thanks for the advice. However, I regard Facebook as a narcissist haven.

but you don't use it so how would you know?

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

There's absolutely no need to tip anyone in Thailand, ever.

Tell that to the waitresses in Cheap Charlies, Pitini and most restaurants, they'll have your balls. Personally the boss needs to pay them more so they don't get preoccupied with tips

[NowNow]

20 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

why would any food court give a discount?.......but I do get my discounts at tesco as makes sense to get eaten or used before it goes on the trash heap......makes sense to me but logic seems fleeting amongst the gents here.....waste is good????

 

wealthy people are notoriously cheap aka warren buffets house and rich people spend it to protect their egos...just look at the orange felon....i live here 6 months a year without income using this tactic...

 

but you do you lets literally throw food away instead of discounting it for those that may eat or use the product by the sell by date. which is how i shop as ive been cooking for 30+ yrs and see the amount of food waste..esp working in grocery stores...appalling amounts of perfectly good items....tragic

 

I also have that strange penchant for buying discounted items. For two reasons. It pushes me to try things that I might not have usually tried and like yourself, if I can make good use of it, I'll use it to stop it from going to waste. 

[The Fugitive]

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

There's absolutely no need to tip anyone in Thailand, ever.

My Mrs tips 10% or 100 baht (whichever is the greater). Her logic is that the waiter/waitress is from Laos or Cambodia etc. and they deserve it.

[hotandsticky]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

What? More embarrassing than claiming to eat there frequently despite having more unacceptable food experiences than acceptable ones?

 

That's gibberish cr4p.

 

Nothing embarrassing about eating at Kiss or Cheap Charlie's.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Tell that to the waitresses in Cheap Charlies, Pitini and most restaurants, they'll have your balls. Personally the boss needs to pay them more so they don't get preoccupied with tips

 

The fact that they chose to work for a skinflint is NOT an excuse for them to expect me to subsidize them, no matter how good the food is or attentive the service.

[NanLaew]

35 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

My Mrs tips 10% or 100 baht (whichever is the greater). Her logic is that the waiter/waitress is from Laos or Cambodia etc. and they deserve it.

 

The owners deserve a flogging for abusing their workers. They're already using cheap imported labour. Makes you wonder how many of them are working illegally.

[NanLaew]

25 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

What? More embarrassing than claiming to eat there frequently despite having more unacceptable food experiences than acceptable ones?

 

That's gibberish cr4p.

 

Nothing embarrassing about eating at Kiss or Cheap Charlie's.

 

Yes, and you are not the OP who has admitted to eating multiple times at Cheap Charlies despite the mostly sub-par experience.

[Pattaya57]

35 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Yes, and you are not the OP who has admitted to eating multiple times at Cheap Charlies despite the mostly sub-par experience.

 

I never said that. I said I had one bad meal the steak, while the others were not great (like the FB reviews), but I said they were great value (because I bought the member card to make them 99 baht)

 

[TimBKK]

16 hours ago, pomchop said:

Cheap charlie story.  One night was eating there and the waitresses were all gathered around some guy sitting at the street front counter causing a big fuss...went on for a while then he finally left.

 

I asked the gal what it was about and she showed me a menu where you ordered noodles or something with choice of chicken pork or beef...guy was all pissed because he thought he should get chicken pork and beef......gals were not amused as he was a jerk on top of being an idiot.

100% its the chicken nuggets loser

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

13 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I'd say they are fed up with all the moaning, complaining foreigners. 

The name CC, welcomes these type of customers. 

 

 

   Maybe fed yup with the elderly western men who think that the waitresses are bar girls and treat them as such 

[TimBKK]

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

There's absolutely no need to tip anyone in Thailand, ever.

Your name isn’t Charlie by chance, is it?

[Keeps]

6 minutes ago, TimBKK said:

Your name isn’t Charlie by chance, is it?

Not sure about that but I do believe he is Scottish though, so no surprise he doesn't tip. 

[scubascuba3]

19 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Maybe fed yup with the elderly western men who think that the waitresses are bar girls and treat them as such 

A no, have you even been to Thailand?

[OJAS]

9 hours ago, phetphet said:

OP. Be careful. Leaving bad reviews here in Thailand (deserved or otherwise) can get you sued.

 

That can actually get you banged up in the Bangkok Hilton for defamation. The OP will probably find the food served up there much more to his liking.

[NanLaew]

45 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

 

I never said that. I said I had one bad meal the steak, while the others were not great (like the FB reviews), but I said they were great value (because I bought the member card to make them 99 baht)

 

 

Is there something incorrect with my 'sub-par' interpretation of your 'not great' opinion? To me, both descriptions would suggest that you have tasted better.

 

The member card is inedible and doesn't contribute anything to a food review. A discount does not and cannot make poorly prepared food 'not great' or 'sub-par' food taste better.

 

Back on topic, it is their FB page, and they have the right to remove anything they see as negative. You have the right to stop eating there.

[Nick Carter icp]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

A no, have you even been to Thailand?

 

   Yes, I have regularly seen the older guys leering at waitresses , winking at them and asking what time they finish work and pay their bill with  1000 Baht note hoping to impress the waitresses 

[TheGhostWithin]

I was very very sick in Pattaya last year. I actually had a flesh eating bug in my leg, and had daily trips to Bangkok Hospital to fight for my leg to not be amputated (it was no joke). I was on heavy drugs, lucid sometimes, very erratic and moody. I probably came across as a candidate to be an under 35 year old mental health patient. My attempts to be pleasant were used to try to moderate the days I just could not smile because of the pain and fear, as well as a dose of psychological trauma I was going through.

 

The staff at Cheap Charlies on Buakhao pulled me through, their chicken meals (which I recommend, but the full size was too big for me) got me through my time recovering, the staff knew I was unwell and were always extremely kind to me. Not a single staff member showed an ounce of unfriendliness towards me, I was never asked for a tip. The only thing that used to irk me was that demand for the deserts was high enough that when I managed to motivate myself to go outside, the local cheap charlies had already beaten me to the apple pie, or whatever desert was on special for the day. The card for me was worth it, I ate there at least once, often twice daily, virtually every day for a month.

 

Without that place and their western orientated food at a good price being so close to where I stayed, my recovery would have been much worse. The waiters and waitresses at the restaurant were my daily dose of normalcy, watching the behavior of some of the wackheads that used to walk in with the most bizzarre behavior was amusing, but in general most customers appeared "normal", if we as Farang can be seen as "normal" in Thailand.

p.s. The staff that I saw on Buakhao were all Thai, we spoke in Thai and they did not have Thai Lao, Lao, or Khmer accents when we spoke. Had I picked up on it, I would have asked them. There are Khmer and Lao people in Pattaya, they tend not to be Front of House on mainstreet restaurants. Isaan yes, Khon Lao or Khmer Khrom at Cheap Charlies, no.

[scubascuba3]

31 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Yes, I have regularly seen the older guys leering at waitresses , winking at them and asking what time they finish work and pay their bill with  1000 Baht note hoping to impress the waitresses 

i think you're imagining it, easier for them just to go to a bar, but the girls in these restaurants often have farang boyfriends 

[Nick Carter icp]

54 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

i think you're imagining it, easier for them just to go to a bar, but the girls in these restaurants often have farang boyfriends 

 

   You are claiming that waitresses in restaurants in Thailand usually have Felang boyfriends ?

   What are you basing that opinion on ?

Or is that just what you imagine ?

Older Western men think that they are Gods gift to woman , so they flirt with evert female under 25 they encounter 

[pomchop]

in the overall scope of inexpensive restaurants on soi buahkaow my once every 10 days or so experience at CC has been just fine...say a few words in thai and try and joke a bit with waitress and i always seem to get perfectly acceptable service. It is obvious that whoever runs the CC spots that they know the market, know how to run a budget restaurant  and know how to keep the seats filled.  I normally eat thai food or american breakfast...no complaints at all.   

 

I do not go in expecting top level meals for 99 or so baht...