To start this with a reality check, Pattaya (metro area) is certainly NOT among the best cities for food in the world.

It's not San Francisco. It's not Bangkok. It's not Paris, etc.

Also what makes a great food city for you is subjective. Do you value mostly the local food or do you require a city that has strengths in many global cuisines? I think that just for travel, a city doesn't need to have global strengths if the local stuff is wonderful. Such as Oaxaca Mexico and countless other places.

For me personally as a place to live  having global food strengths is extremely important for my satisfaction.

Of course in Pattaya which contrary to popular belief actually is located in Thailand. you can get great Thai food, especially central Thai style and Thai style seafood. 

But also over the years the international food offerings have grown to be much more in volume with continuing increases in quality.

That doesn't mean that every particular restaurant is excellent, but that there are enough excellent restaurants to satisfy most everyone to a certain level anyway (thus the rating level poll).

As far as international offerings, Pattaya doesn't have everything, but it does have a lot.

So as far as the poll question, from your own subjective POV how well is Pattaya satisfying you.

You might say a low 1, you might say the highest 10, but if 10 that wouldn't mean that you're saying Pattaya is at the level of Bangkok, but it would say that it offers enough to satisfy you personally to your personal max.

Whatever your rating, feel welcome to post why you rated it as you did.

What's great for you? What's crap? What's missing here for you that lowered your rating?

Also yeah this is really about restaurants not grocery stores and food markets. Restaurants means from street food to shop houses to fancy schmancy joints.

So if you don't eat out here (or get restaurant deliveries), this poll ain't for you. 

i was genuinely content with food and life during my stay in pattaya,

in particular bbq pork and sticky rice with nam tjim tjao (isaan sauce) which i ate every day and wanted to continue eat every day of my life.

its for sale on 3rd rd left hand near traffic light between south pattaya rd and pratamnak at the food market. open from 3-4 pm

you can either eat there or take away. use water with a squeeze of lime for drinks

5 minutes ago, mordothailand said:

i was genuinely content with food and life during my stay in pattaya,

in particular bbq pork and sticky rice with nam tjim tjao (isaan sauce) which i ate every day and wanted to continue eat every day of my life.

its for sale on 3rd rd left hand near traffic light between south pattaya rd and pratamnak at the food market.

you can either eat there or take away

Thanks.

I had mentioned Pattaya's Thai food is strong in Central Thai and seafood. But I neglected to say it is also very strong in Isaan food because of the very large population of Thais that come from there. Perhaps the Isaan food is even better than the Central Thai food here because of that.

I miss that Russian buffet. It was awesome for the price.

2 minutes ago, Celsius said:

I miss that Russian buffet. It was awesome for the price.

I totally missed that but currently an excelent Uzbek and Russian restaurant here is on my regular rotation. Before I lived here I knew nothing about Georgian and Uzbek cuisine. 

OK.

Someone voted 1.

I want to hear your story.

Pattaya or Hua Hin. It is often the price that is outrageous and overcharging just because they know that some guilable foreigners just pay instead of going elsewhere. 

43 minutes ago, Celsius said:

I miss that Russian buffet. It was awesome for the price.

Is there an Israeli restaurant in Pattaya?

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Oaxaca Mexico

Do they have mole in Pattaya, Oaxaca special?

Times change and I guess someone loving Indian food is much happier now than 15 years ago.

For me: while in Thailand I mostly eat Thai. l love spicy, can eat everything, so Thailand generally is food heaven for me. Mostly street food or the typical small Thai or Thai/Chinese porridge or soup places.  

Pattaya I gave a mediocre 5 (sorry) and this meant just within Thailand. If comparing Pattaya internationally the rating would be better.

Well, I do know some lvl8-10 places in Pattaya (very subjective of course) but the majority of the places I’ve tried recently is on a rather mediocre, ok-ish and overpriced level. I also think a lot of quality was lost during the last few years, probably because of covid.  Several of my favourite places closed down and it is difficult to find something new on the same level.

Good example are the food courts in Pattaya, for instance in Central Festival. Used to be decent, but now mostly run by Burmese and the taste is just not right. Not really sure if they try to adapt the dishes to tourist-taste or simply don’t know how to cook it. But it was pretty bad lately.

So bottom-line, I would not visit Pattaya especially for the food, but won’t starve there either.

Well, above post refers to the tourist-area only. I have no doubts that in "normal" local urban areas in Pattaya, there will be some great local food. There must be! Sadly I don't know these places. Thankful for any recommendation!

I 99% cook at home now, my stomach loves me, out they seem to use the cheapest ingredients and re-use oil, no control what they throw in it when out.

 

La Cremiere Pratumnak soi 5 was good the other day

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

do Pattaya restaurants satisfy your food desires? 

Tinnies at Jomtien Complex is my favourite but I hate all the gay boys blowing me kisses when arriving and departing 😠

 

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Tinnies at Jomtien Complex is my favourite but I hate all the gay boys blowing me kisses when arriving and departing 😠

 

Must be your pink shorts.

13 minutes ago, champers said:

Must be your pink shorts.

Would you like them back? 

My food desires are quite simple. I immensely enjoy Western style Chinese food, Mexican food, and the occasional double fish filet from Mickie D's.

 

My first trip to Mexico many moons ago was a real paradigm shift. Initially, I thought "How come they don't know how to make Mexican food here? It's Mexico fercrhissake!" Then the light bulb came on and I realized how the US had warped the whole thing. Mike's Mexican in Pattaya now does the trick for me.

 

Then, I tried a genuine Chinese place in Jomtien. Looking at the menu frightened me. While it was in Chinese, they also had pictures of the food. I ordered a rice dish, ate quickly, and got the hell outta there. Now I stick with Pimmy's or Let's Wok. Either is fantastic.

 

Mickie D's - what can I say? It's a guilty pleasure I indulge in twice a year.

4 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Tinnies at Jomtien Complex is my favourite but I hate all the gay boys blowing me kisses when arriving and departing 😠

 

That's dumb as Tinnies is directly on Tappraya Road. To access it there is no need to go into Jomtien complex at all. Also it's not remotely any kind of "gay" restaurant. So you obviously felt the need to spout some homophobic silliness based on a fiction. 

37 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

My food desires are quite simple. I immensely enjoy Western style Chinese food, Mexican food, and the occasional double fish filet from Mickie D's.

 

My first trip to Mexico many moons ago was a real paradigm shift. Initially, I thought "How come they don't know how to make Mexican food here? It's Mexico fercrhissake!" Then the light bulb came on and I realized how the US had warped the whole thing. Mike's Mexican in Pattaya now does the trick for me.

 

Then, I tried a genuine Chinese place in Jomtien. Looking at the menu frightened me. While it was in Chinese, they also had pictures of the food. I ordered a rice dish, ate quickly, and got the hell outta there. Now I stick with Pimmy's or Let's Wok. Either is fantastic.

 

Mickie D's - what can I say? It's a guilty pleasure I indulge in twice a year.

Amusing and honest.

Proves my point that level of satisfaction in any locale is based on personal tastes.

Mexican and Chinese are among my favorites and my tastes are completely different than your. More authentic Mexican has seen decent improvement here, but more authentic and regional Chinese has seen remarkable improvement. I would rate the best for me Mexican here now at 6 or 7 and the best for me Chinese here now at 8 or 9. 

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I 99% cook at home now, my stomach loves me, out they seem to use the cheapest ingredients and re-use oil, no control what they throw in it when out.

 

La Cremiere Pratumnak soi 5 was good the other day

Well all I can say to that is you're right there are many low quality places, but if you live here I don't think you've tried hard at all to find the better places, Thai and international. It does take a bit of trial and error.

7 hours ago, JimCM said:

Is there an Israeli restaurant in Pattaya?

Are you asking for a friend?

6 hours ago, mangkut70 said:

Well, above post refers to the tourist-area only. I have no doubts that in "normal" local urban areas in Pattaya, there will be some great local food. There must be! Sadly I don't know these places. Thankful for any recommendation!

You're looking for Thai food?

Yes of course there are many good places.

Short term tourists might not easily find them though.

7 hours ago, mangkut70 said:

Times change and I guess someone loving Indian food is much happier now than 15 years ago.

 

For me: while in Thailand I mostly eat Thai. l love spicy, can eat everything, so Thailand generally is food heaven for me. Mostly street food or the typical small Thai or Thai/Chinese porridge or soup places.  

 

Pattaya I gave a mediocre 5 (sorry) and this meant just within Thailand. If comparing Pattaya internationally the rating would be better.

 

Well, I do know some lvl8-10 places in Pattaya (very subjective of course) but the majority of the places I’ve tried recently is on a rather mediocre, ok-ish and overpriced level. I also think a lot of quality was lost during the last few years, probably because of covid.  Several of my favourite places closed down and it is difficult to find something new on the same level.

 

Good example are the food courts in Pattaya, for instance in Central Festival. Used to be decent, but now mostly run by Burmese and the taste is just not right. Not really sure if they try to adapt the dishes to tourist-taste or simply don’t know how to cook it. But it was pretty bad lately.

 

So bottom-line, I would not visit Pattaya especially for the food, but won’t starve there either.

 

Well, you're right that the restaurant scene took a big hit from Covid, but things have recovered quite well since then. Depending on the type of food of course. 

 

7 hours ago, JimCM said:

Do they have mole in Pattaya, Oaxaca special?

No place that I'm aware of currently.

There used to be a dark side place that did have chicken mole but it wasn't really good.

A dish I crave is chile rellenos. 

None in Pattaya and I couldn't even locate any place online in Bangkok either.

Though it's hard to believe that it can't ever be found in Bangkok. 

7 hours ago, JimCM said:

Is there an Israeli restaurant in Pattaya?

Yes, of course. Multiple ones.

8 hours ago, SingAPorn said:

Pattaya or Hua Hin. It is often the price that is outrageous and overcharging just because they know that some guilable foreigners just pay instead of going elsewhere. 

Sounds like you're talking about tourist traps in the tourism belt. 

There is much more to the Pattaya metro restaurant scene than that.

Here's a suggestion.

Install Grab food and start searching.

The breadth and volume of the choices located all over the metro area are mind and stomach boggling. 

Of course delivery food has it's limitations.

There a place I tried for Thai style fried chicken a good example.

The first time it arrived quickly enough and was fantastic.

The second time took too long and was yuck.

It might have been the famous "Hat Yai" style fried chicken.

There is another place branded that way here but it's too far from me to order for delivery.

Some types of food deliver well (though might need a cheeky quick microwave) and some are problematic. 

5 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Tinnies at Jomtien Complex is my favourite but I hate all the gay boys blowing me kisses when arriving and departing 😠

 

I think u love it

19 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

I think u love it

Only when I'm wearing my pink shorts. 

 

I don't live in Pattaya. It was wonderful in the 1980s but had turned into a pit by 2007.  Haven't been back since.

But realistically?  Thai food in general pretty much anywhere in a medium sized Thai city and above, including Pattaya,  is typical Thai food.  If you like Thai food.  If you like Thai food the rating could be anywhere above 5 and if you don't like Thai food it could be anyway below 5 - so what is your poll really rating?  

I haven't found any Keto diet friendly restaurants in Pattaya. The major issue with most restaurants in Thailand is that one or more of the following is in the meal or dish: sugar, starch, syrups, honey, MSG, wheat or seed oils, or that it has been fried in oil that is too old.

Would have voted 10, but there's no restaurant serving Finnish reindeer stew.

And sushi is overpriced, so I go to secret Sashimi beach, Naklua soi 18.