10 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

 

I thought the Big C food court was your favorite....lol

There are LOADs of choices on the food apps....Its simply impossible not to vote at least a 7-8-9 or 10.

2 hours ago, connda said:

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?  

The suggested rating criteria is for each person to consider their own tastes and priorities and measure how well the Pattaya metro restaurant scene satisfies that.

I thought I had already made that quite clear.

For example we had a keto guy who isn't satisfied. 

A person that mostly wants Indian vegetarian food would be in a position to say how well Pattaya restaurants satisfy that presumably well these days.

Etcetera etcetera.

The falang food it average, the Thai food is very good. Eat what they know how to make.

1 hour ago, redwood1 said:

 

I thought the Big C food court was your favorite....lol

what school dinners slop experience? no

Weird post @cjinchiangrai Are you in Pattaya? 

Of course there is not every kind of food and happily, I can cook, so i don't need to eat outside every day nor order in. But when I do there are some decent choices, International and local. So no complaints.

Of course if you are just looking for cheap foreign food, you may find disappointment. 

So many restaurants in Pattaya.

How does one know where to begin?

29 minutes ago, FrankieGoesToHolly said:

Weird post @cjinchiangrai Are you in Pattaya? 

Of course there is not every kind of food and happily, I can cook, so i don't need to eat outside every day nor order in. But when I do there are some decent choices, International and local. So no complaints.

Of course if you are just looking for cheap foreign food, you may find disappointment. 

Not that weird, I am not in Pattaya but I visit more frequently than most of the non-residents. The rule is still the same everywhere, the best food will be what the locals know how to make. They don't know how to make a Sunday roast or anything from Oaxaca, but the som tam is first rate.

1 hour ago, FrankieGoesToHolly said:

Weird post @cjinchiangrai Are you in Pattaya? 

Of course there is not every kind of food and happily, I can cook, so i don't need to eat outside every day nor order in. But when I do there are some decent choices, International and local. So no complaints.

Of course if you are just looking for cheap foreign food, you may find disappointment. 

Correct. There is not every kind of food and not all of the varieties of food is of decent quality. However, there is a quite wide range of international options and much of it is quite decent. In my opinion anyway of course.

 

I am interested in compiling a list of what is missing here though.

 

Here's my first stab at it. Kindly pipe in.

 

A dedicated Malaysian restaurant though there are some places with some Malaysian dishes like rotis. There is that Singapore food place at Central Mall though. But no place for Laksa.

 

Ethiopian food (a personal favorite). There are one or two Nigerian food places though that is entirely different. (Haven't tried.)

 

As suggested before there are a lot of Mexican options now and some quite decent, but with emphasis on more American styles of Mex and antijitos as opposed to classic Mexican dishes such as mole, posole, snapper Veracruzano. etc. Certainly no Oaxacan food.

 

No Colombian food but few here would care. (The soups are really good.)

 

No Peruvian food, now one of the top food nations, not represented here.

 

Not aware of any Brazilian or Portuguese food here other than Piri Piri chicken, though there are some Spanish options.

 

I would have said before that Muslim Chinese food is missing here as I don't know of a dedicated restaurant for that but there are a number of Northern Chinese places that serve similar wheat based rather than rice bassed types (hand made noodles and breads) food.

 

Afghani food. Though I recall seeing an Iraqi place (haven't tried).

 

Iranian food. Another one of my favorites but the places I considered higher quality aren't  around anymore even though there are options for more meh level food. I guess that's because there aren't many Iranian tourists here these days.

 

What global foods are you missing here?

 

There aren't very many cities in the world that have every single thing, Even though this is a list of the missing, I've become impressed with the range of what Pattaya DOES have now. Yeah, you need to make an effort to actually find it though, and occasionally your finds will turn out to have very poor food or perhaps too "exotic" for your tastes, but for the most part I've found the international options adequately decent and sometimes wonderful.

 

No, I personally don't have a top emphasis on western European food though of course I enjoy that as well. There is decent pizza here for example though that have to find places that make it to your preference. You can keep your British fry up brekkies.

 

Authentic Chinese deserves special attention. It is now possible to find truly amazing world class regional Chinese food here. But be careful especially with Chinese menus. Have your tranlation app ready unless you really do want to eat a steaming plate of stir fried pig anuses

 

Overall as Pattaya satisfies my personal international food desires quite well (as you can see with a bias more towards what American call ethnic food), my rating is 8. I was feeling between 7 and 8 but rounded up. 

 

Yes, I eat Thai food too. That's a given, 

 

8 is pretty incredibly good for any beach resort city. 

So you might say I'm as happy as a clam with the food scene here. 

10 years ago I wasn't/

It's fine. I do miss some of the western places that used to be here. Brauhaus German, domicile Austrian second road between soi 7 and 8. The pig and whistle.   Butchers arm. Some of the old breakfast buffets were entertaining,  lek hotel, 

2 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

It's fine. I do miss some of the western places that used to be here. Brauhaus German, domicile Austrian second road between soi 7 and 8. The pig and whistle.   Butchers arm. Some of the old breakfast buffets were entertaining,  lek hotel, 

The now shuttered Lek Hotel that was next to immigration in Jomtien had a dreadful breakfast buffet. It was included with room, but after trying to eat there a couple of times, I begged out. Too many decent places right on Beach Road Jomtien. The Lek was just very convenient those times I had to do a visit to immigration.

6 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

The now shuttered Lek Hotel that was next to immigration in Jomtien had a dreadful breakfast buffet. It was included with room, but after trying to eat there a couple of times, I begged out. Too many decent places right on Beach Road Jomtien. The Lek was just very convenient those times I had to do a visit to immigration.

I was referring to the lek in pattaya, 2nd road,near soi 13

It seems that you decided to double down on your rather vacuous statement @cjinchiangrai

Perhaps you can tell us who "they" are and about the 'farang food' restaurants that you visited.

It's obvious @Jingthing likes his food and certainly I don't eat rubbish. So I'm suggesting that you have no idea as to what you are 'talking' about. But you are 'talking' anyway.

So let's read about what you actually tried.

 

 

 

Covid-19 did for some of those Germanic restaurants. I remember one of the German restaurant proprietors making a takeaway delivery in a vehicle so old and battered during that period. Haven't seen it since.

The new developments of Centrepoint Space and Once did for some others. Naklua Road may have some options.

7 minutes ago, FrankieGoesToHolly said:

It seems that you decided to double down on your rather vacuous statement @cjinchiangrai

Perhaps you can tell us who "they" are and about the 'farang food' restaurants that you visited.

It's obvious @Jingthing likes his food and certainly I don't eat rubbish. So I'm suggesting that you have no idea as to what you are 'talking' about. But you are 'talking' anyway.

So let's read about what you actually tried.

 

 

 

My personal favorite in Mom Aroi. 

 

So @cjinchiangrai, you went to a tourist attraction seafood restaurant and used that to judge foreign food in Pattaya? Really?

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

So many restaurants in Pattaya.

How does one know where to begin?

 

Ok here you go...When I find good food I stick with it and dont stray.....

 

Here are 4 places I have ordered over 50 times....

 

1.Hot meals 2U

https://www.hotmeals2u.com/

 

The big burrito with extra refried beans...

Superb...

 

2..Honest Indian

Lunch special on Grab between 2-5 PM

Superb....

 

3,Outlaw pizza

12 inch Supream thick crust Grab or Line

Superb...

 

4 El Greco  grab 

Every Thing is good

 

Superb...

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

You're looking for Thai food?

Yes of course there are many good places.

Short term tourists might not easily find them though.

So lets say I am a tourist and I stay near the night market in Jomtiem on the beach - which actually is pretty good - can you recommend a few good ones or outstanding ones nearby 

For casual dining, Smile Market, at the corner of Chaiyapruek and Jomtien 2nd Road has a selection of dishes. Usually freshly prepared. 35 baht a plate with one topping. 10 baht for each extra topping. 5 baht extra for a size upgrade. Max. spend 70 baht, if you go for a size upgrade, three toppings and a fried egg. They are open through the night. So a good option when the beach places have already closed. 

1 hour ago, FrankieGoesToHolly said:

So @cjinchiangrai, you went to a tourist attraction seafood restaurant and used that to judge foreign food in Pattaya? Really?

It is very nice, and the customers are mostly Thai. I did not attack you, why do you think it is OK to attack me?

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

As suggested before there are a lot of Mexican options now and some quite decent, but with emphasis on more American styles of Mex

I do miss Tequila Reef.  

 

Yes, it had somewhat of an American theme, but location and food was great.  

 

The building is still sitting there, vacant.  No doubt falling into disrepair.  

 

With the amount of Russian tourists, I'm surprised there are not more Russian restaurants.  

7 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I do miss Tequila Reef.  

 

Yes, it had somewhat of an American theme, but location and food was great.  

 

The building is still sitting there, vacant.  No doubt falling into disrepair.  

 

With the amount of Russian tourists, I'm surprised there are not more Russian restaurants.  

There are indeed many Russian restaurants here. Not nearly as many as Indian places of course.

Just thought of another missing cuisine.

Indonesian. 

 

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

So lets say I am a tourist and I stay near the night market in Jomtiem on the beach - which actually is pretty good - can you recommend a few good ones or outstanding ones nearby 

I'm going to shy away from getting much into specific recommendations on this topic. But I will mention Joom Lay further out on Jomtien Beach Road which is one my current rotation of favorites. 

 

2 hours ago, FrankieGoesToHolly said:

Covid-19 did for some of those Germanic restaurants. I remember one of the German restaurant proprietors making a takeaway delivery in a vehicle so old and battered during that period. Haven't seen it since.

The new developments of Centrepoint Space and Once did for some others. Naklua Road may have some options.

Back in the day, when I was based in Asia, eating local food all the time, I always used my occasional vacation trips to Pattaya or Phuket to enjoy some authentic German food.  Ample choice of restaurants with excellent quality and value. In fact, the best ever Sauerbraten I’ve had in a German restaurant in Patty close to north pattaya road. This one sadly closed down before covid already, triggered by the dicorce of the owner and his Thai wife as far as I recall.. 

So, back then based on my preferred food and available restaurants in Pattaya I would have voted with a „10“

Meanwhile the situation changed totally, not only many German restaurants closed down and Indian restaurants took their place,  I’m also based in Germany and not looking for German food during my visits anymore but using the limited time to sample all my favourite Thai dishes instead.

And in my experience Thai food gets better & cheaper the further you are away from the tourist hubs.

6 hours ago, redwood1 said:

There are LOADs of choices on the food apps....Its simply impossible not to vote at least a 7-8-9 or 10.

Clearly it's possible.

Remember this is subjective based on personal food profiles.

If someone comes from Yakutia Russia where they treasure frozen raw horse liver (served in slices and reported to taste like chocolate) and they can't get that here, they might say 1.

 

Would you taste raw frozen horse liver?

I'm not big on offal but if they say it tastes like chocolate, I would give them the benefit if the doubt and have a taste.

I'm gonna insert the elephant in the room now -- prices and affordability.

Like everything else, perception of affordability and value for money is subjective.

From my POV, the affordability factor is very attractive.

If I wanted to I could afford to eat three restaurant meals here every day here without my bank account breaking a sweat, and I'm far from rich.

I don't do that but I do generally eat at least one restaurant meal a day and quite often two. I almost always eat breakfast at home though. 

For others, the food is too expensive here based on their budget and where else they're comparing it with.

Though most people can afford to eat street noodles daily but that's not very healthy or exciting.

The delivery app Grab even with add on pricing is a super bargain from an international perspective as far as delivery costs, expected level of tips if any, and generous promotions if you spend a few baht to join their frequent user club.

Even if you have your own car or bike, it's great to pay a little to avoid long trips, parking, and sitting in heavy traffic.

You can "explore" places all over town that you've never heard of and would have never heard of if not listed on the apps.

So in my case that gives even more weight to my high rating of 8.

Of course if most of the food was crap and the variety I want wasn't there, being very affordable and super accessible with apps wouldn't really count for much.

On that note, there is a maybe popular (he's visible anyway) online local "influencer" who has the audacity to suggest that Pattaya is one of the greatest food cities in the world and you can literally get anything and everything you want to eat here.

That is totally absurd of course, it is very good here in my opinion, but why exaggerate so much? Clearly a big factor in his inflated assessment is the affordability factor. Like me he says he eats restaurant daily. 

 

Back in the west, that's something generally reserved for the rich. 

Over the last 3 years I've been to a lot of decent restaurants around Pattaya/Jomtien. Really no complaints almost always a 7/10. I'd say out of 50 restaurants there's only 5 I would really avoid.

 

Then I went to Danang, Vietnam and found the restaurants were a little better, but I had to look harder but quality of service is outstanding in Vietnam. 

 

Back here in Pattaya, usually a friend drags me to a restaurant of their choosing and then after about a year I had a good layout of most places. 

 

I'm going to a couple of restaurants this month, The Cove and Primo Bistro. 

 

However, now that I'm living here long term I found out I can cook most of my own food and it's as good, if not better, than any restaurant. I keep it pretty simple and find I save a ton of money. I spent a total of 8,000 baht on food last month, this month a little more since I'm going to the previously mentioned restaurants. 

 

All in all I think this is a very good place for restaurants and/or eating at home. So many different places, stores, speciality shops. Pattaya/Jomtien really cater to the western world food wise. 

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I'm gonna insert the elephant in the room now -- prices and affordability.

Like everything else, perception of affordability and value for money is subjective.

From my POV, the affordability factor is very attractive.

 

 

True! Well, if quality or quantity is better, I'm willing to pay more - within reasonable limits. 

But in my experience  taste and authenticity is often better in low-cost environments than in posh restaurants. I don’t need a nice looking restaurant with aircon and great service to be happy. A red plastic plate, plastic chair and metal table will just do fine.

Best places don't even have a fridge sometimes. They just go to the market at 3am , buy all fresh for the day and close shop after everything is sold. Its not getting better than that.

I think the competition at hawker centres in Singapore, food courts and street food in Thailand, Malaysia and around the whole region is tough and who can’t cook well will go bankrupt fast. Food Darwinism.

 

 

2 minutes ago, mangkut70 said:

 

True, but If quality or quantity is better, I'm willing to pay more - within reasonable limits. 

But in my experience  taste and authenticity is often better in low-cost environments than in posh restaurants. I don’t need a nice looking restaurant with aircon and great service to be happy. A red plastic plate, plastic chair and metal table will just do fine.

Best places don't even have a fridge sometimes. They just go to the market at 3am , buy all fresh for the day and close shop after everything is sold. Its not getting better than that.

I think the competition at hawker centres in Singapore, food courts and street food in Thailand, Malaysia and around the whole region is tough and who can’t cook well will go bankrupt fast. Food Darwinism.

 

 

That's funny thing about delivery food. The "ambiance" is limited to how cute the drivers are. I'm all about the food regardless, eating out or delivering in.