Recent Dining Experiences - Reviews

[expatgaz]

Said it before and will say it again.Excellent value meals are Caddyshack & Nicky's.

Far better than Shenanigans or Jamesons.

EPG.

[cochran]

I appreciate all the recommendations.

I think Toscana is the Italian place I mentioned in an earlier post, but couldn't remember the name of the place. Had a great meal there, and will definitely go back.

For tonight, I'm not as concerned about value as I am about a can't-miss good dining experience. Know what I mean? Again, keep the recommendations coming. From recent posts, I'm only seeing Bruno's as a real solid recommendation - I'm not that old, and not gay, and the decor doesn't really matter (see earlier post re: Cherry's Restaurant) - just after good food and decent service.

[aussiechick]

Try Mata Hari's - same building as Manhattans and the food and service is excellent and not overpriced.

I have to disagree about Bruno's I haven't been for a long time - if the veal that was (is?) listed on the menu was really veal then I am 18y.o.

I ordered it on 2 seperate occassions and both times was disappointed - so I won't go back.

I also agree that Nicky's on Soi Buakoaw is great value for money. Try the braised steak.

If anyone mentions Spaghetti 90 Baht on Thappraya ( on the corner just past Mikes) ignore them!!

Jameson's is great value and the service is brilliant - the staff always make you feel like you are a good friend.

Enjoy your meal. Love the reviews.

[kicking]

Forgot to mention:

Casa Pascal - one of the best places in Pattaya without a doubt. Great service, great food, great atmospere - a bit upscale. It's located on 2nd Rd almost opposite Royal Garden. Nice wine selection too.

Fuji - always packed for a reason. Sushi and other Japanese at very fair pricing. Various Big C and Carrefour mall locations throughout Thailand.

The Balcony - really, really nice decor but usually not very crowded. Not sure why as the food is pretty good, so is the service. You can find this place on Pattaya North just before Tesco on the way to Suk.

Great margaritas (not the flavored ones though!) at Tequila Reef on Soi 7. Food can be good or bad depending on the night it seems. Avoid the fajitas.

Keep the reviews coming, it's a good thread.

[vickersvc10]

My favourite Pattaya restaurant is Wii's on Third Road almost opposite Xyte Disco. It was the original Cherry, which is now located about 100 meters further up the road. Wii's offers a la carte and set menu dining. The food is very high quality cooked perfectly. The cost is reasonable; the set meal (5 or more courses) is 590 B (or is it 490?) which includes a glass of decent South African wine or a bottle of beer.

I shall be dining there this evening with friends.

[cochran]

aussiechick - we LOVE Jameson's and we know we're bound to have a good meal whenever we go there. Just don't want to overdo it on the places we know we like. We're trying to experience as many new places as possible. So far, Jameson's is on the (short) list of places we've been to more than once and will go to again. I can not get over how much I love that beef and Guiness pie, and they have a great breakfast as you recommended before - best sausages, hands down. Nicky's is also on the list.

expatgaz - Caddyshack and Nicky's are in queue - we'll get to those eventually. I don't think they're all that far from home, actually....

kickin - thanks for the recommendations. I've reviewed the Casa Pascal website and will definitely try that one. In fact, was all set to try it tonight until my girlfriend decided we were having Indian food tonight. So we wound up at Indian by Nature.

Wow. A great meal. More than made up for the unfortunate venues of the previous two nights. We now have a new favorite place for Indian cuisine. While we were finishing up, the manager came over to ask about the meal. We were quite pleased, and he told us that the main difference between Indian by Nature and Madras Darbar (previous favorite) is that while Madras Darbar serves primarily south Indian cuisine, Indian by Nature focuses on northern Indian food.

We started out with a black russian for her and a Long Island iced tea for me (not my usual drink, but they couldn't make a Tom Collins since it wasn't on the menu - a minor weak point in the evening). Both drinks were made exactly right, strong enough, and refreshing. As an appetizer we had the massala poppadums. Amazing! My only previous experience with poppadums was at Ali Baba's, where they are very crisp to the point of crumbly and fairly plain. At this restaurant they were crisp, but were well seasoned, and were topped with chopped vegetables, much like an Indian salsa, including tomatoes, onions, and herbs. Delicious! Could have had two orders of this as a main course - it was that good.

For mains, my girlfriend had the baked chutney fish and an order of rumali roti. The fish was mild, flaky, and tender, and was served in an outstanding red sauce with just a hint of heat. The roti was great - I prefer naan, but this was good as well. The only thing left when she was done was a little sauce on the plate and a smile on her face. Win!!

My entree was Shahi kofta curry, lamb meatballs in a red curry sauce, served in a chafing dish. I had a side of butter naan with it. The naan was great - didn't have the slightly burned outside that we've come to expect from other Indian restaurants. The meatballs had great texture and flavor, and the sauce was simply amazing. There's a spice in there that I can't identify, that carries a hint of cinnamon, but isn't. Anyway, I typically don't like allspice or cinnamon flavors in anything that isn't dessert related, but this dish was just phenomenal. I ran out of naan to mop up the sauce, or I'd still be working on it. Great flavors.

Portion sizes on the entrees were not overwhelmingly large, but were definitely sufficient. They were exactly the right size for the two of us.

We ordered dessert, which we don't do too often. I had the coconut creme brulee and she had gulab jamun, a sort of Indian donut in a light syrup. She loved hers. Mine was okay, but I don't consider this a weakness of the restaurant - creme brulee has never been a favorite, but I wanted something sweet and the selection was limited. Outside of the ones we had, there was also a rice pudding (which in retrospect I should have tried) and a layered parfait with tapioca, then chocolate, then red jello.

Atmosphere wise, this place falls in the middle between Ali Baba's and Madras Darbar. Ali Baba's is a little kitschy and Madras Darbar is minimalist, with almost no decor at all. This place strikes a comfortable middle, but retains real tablecloths and napkins, nice tableware, etc. Service was prompt and professional without being overbearing. The management was attentive, which is always a plus for me - you can't manage a restaurant from the back of the house. We've seen that kind of manager / owner participation at several places in Pattaya, which I consider a huge plus.

All in all, this was a great meal. We will most definitely go back to this place. I recommend you try it, if you like Indian food at all. Now to sleep it off....and start planning tomorrow's brunch!!

[aussiechick]

I am in Chiang Mai at the moment and went yesterday to an English style pub. I decided to have a beef and guiness pie - well Jamesons sertainly have nothing to worry about. 14 hunks of beef with 5 pieces having a layer of fat (which i hacked off), nice gravy - thick and rich, but not enough of it - pastry top, mashed potatoes - couldn't work out if they were packet or not as they were pretty tasteless - and peas. Edible but nothing to write home about. Just made me wish I was heading back home sooner and a beef and guiness pie at Jamesons or the weekend carvery!!!!!

[cochran]

Sunday morning, and time to catch up.

Saturday morning's breakfast was the buffet at Apex Hotel. I like the variety that was on offer, as it really covered the spectrum from American to English to Thai quite well. I think the bacon (streaky bacon, for those of you keeping tabs) was cooked closer to the way I like it - a little on the crisper side of things, but not crunchy or crumbly. Didn't try the sausages, as they just didn't look too appetizing. I did put a couple poached eggs on my plate, but only realized after sitting down that they were cold. Not my cup of tea.

There was nothing overly impressive about the buffet, but also nothing offensive about it, really. And when you go to a buffet in general, and one at this price point in particular, you should have some idea of what you're signing up for. Overall, okay. Don't know for sure if we'll be back, as if just didn't impress, but I would not un-recommend it to others looking for this sort of meal.

We needed a little something on Saturday afternoon to tide us over till dinner, and so stopped at the new Jim Thompson's cafe on the ground level, outside, at Central Festival. Decor is nice and the seating is comfortable, and the staff is quite attentive. We were immediately served a shot of iced lemongrass juice and cold towels, a nice touch. I had a grilled salmon sandwich and fries, and the lady had a broccoli and shrimp dish and some seabass with three-flavor sauce (served in a small, boneless portion instead of the more typical whole fried fish). The food was good, but not excellent. I felt the portion of salmon on the sandwich (topped with lettuce, tomato, dijon mustard, and mayo) was really too small. Fortunately, i wasn't too awfully hungry so everything worked out. Flavors were decent, and the bread seemed to be a quite good quality wheat. Fries were the heavy steak-fry type and were cooked exactly right. Enjoyed those quite a bit. On the fish dish, the sauce was very good, but not quite as good as the same sauce from Leng Kee on Pattay Klang near Beach road - they do this dish up right! My seafood allergy prevented sampling the shrimp and broccoli, but my girl said it was great and she finished it all.

Beverages - she had a vodka tonic, and it was a little problematic. First sip without a straw showed the drink was not well mixed, and using a straw to get to the bottom of the glass did not completely fix things - there just wasn't enough liquor in the drink. My drink was an American iced tea. Being from the southeastern US, I'm used to drinking this sweetened, but being a recovering fat guy, I'm also used to an artificial sweetener that dissolves easily in iced tea. This one was served with a simple syrup as a sweetener (pro: none of the typical problems with dissolving sugar in a cold drink; con: pure sugar, lots of calories) and a small pitcher of lemon juice. Good touch, that. Overall my drink was quite refreshing and i did like it.

Will we go back to Jim Thompson's? Maybe, if we are already in Central Festival and have exhausted other possibilities. I don't think we'd make a trip over there just for this restaurant.

Dinner was a lackluster affair - we were still at home, not ready to go out yet, but I didn't want to wait for dinner, so called Door 2 Door. I ordered a NY style pizza from La Piola and a dozen wings from Great American Rib Co. Beverages were already on hand in the form of Singha kept in the refrigerator for emergencies.

The pizza was....a disaster. Even if you figure in the quality loss from the packaging and the delivery time, this was not good food. Toppings were very very sparse and the flavors were not on point. Vegetable quality was okay, meat quality questionable, and the sauce was not to my liking. We won't be frequenting this restaurant in person, I'm afraid.

The wings from Great American Rib retained the good flavor that I reported on in a previous post, but the delivery system caused some damage. They're packed in aluminum foil and then a styrofoam container, so the steam from the hot wings continues to cook them, and you lose the crispy crust on the wings that is so important. I am not saying there was anything wrong with the food, it should just be enjoyed in person and consumed fresh. Lesson learned. I think we're done with Door 2 Door as well.

Late last night we went out along Beach Road to enjoy the craziness of the music festival. We didn't eat anything, so I won't dwell on it as its off topic, but for the

This morning (Sunday) we rose typically late and were ready for brunch around 10 - 10:30. Following a recommendation from expatgaz, we headed for Nicky's on Soi Buakhaow. After we got there, I commented to my lady that our mealtimes on Sundays are robbing us of the opportunity to try the Sunday carveries that are on feature at so many of these places. We need to either have an early breakfast, or wait till noon for one of the roasts at some of these places. They sound so good.

Anyway, this morning's experience: I'll start by saying that I've found a new favorite breakfast restaurant in Pattaya.

We walked to Nicky's from home, so had a good appetite by the time we got there. It did not take us long to review the menu and decide on the full english, fried eggs, hold the beans, for both of us. I also asked for a small bubble&squeak, orange juice for her and pineapple juice for me.

Quibbles: Let's get the negatives out of the way first, as they are few and I'd prefer to wrap on a high note. 1. The menu for full English includes tea or Nescafe. I would have liked a cup of tea, and expected it to be delivered with my meal, but it didn't come out and by the time the food got there, I didn't care enough to bring it up, having had a cup of coffee before leaving home. We were charged extra for the juice even though the normal beverages were not provided. Not a major problem, just an adviso - ask for your tea or nescafe if you want it. 2. The bread and butter would be better, in my opinion, as toast cooked on a griddle. The bread was quite good quality, i just like it toasted. 3. Staff was not overly friendly. 4. Not served with potato, so if you want potato, order separately.

The positives: This was good food!! The bubble and squeak came out about half a minute before the rest of the food, and you should order the small portion unless you're voraciously hungry. The plate was full, and the taste was good. Needed a little salt, but the kitchen (quite appropriately) leaves that to the customer to handle. The eggs were perfectly cooked (sorry, Pig & Whistle, but them's the facts). The back bacon was lean. The sausages have the same texture and type of flavor as the one at Jameson's, and you are served two smaller ones at Nicky's vs. one larger one at Jameson's, with equal quality. The tomatoes were good, as were the mushrooms.

We really enjoyed the meal here and will definitely be back sometime in the future. I'm interested in their dinner menu as well...and they have Stowford Press on draught!!

Edited March 22, 2009 by cochran

[runner]

Tops cafeteria. good food, cheap prices.

[Tolley]

Hey Cochran how much weight have you put on since you started your quest to eat everything in Pattaya?

[cochran]

Hey Cochran how much weight have you put on since you started your quest to eat everything in Pattaya?

Tolley, your concern is touching. And we just met....

For the record, I've lost weight since coming to Thailand. You can eat three meals a day and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You just have to exercise and watch the extras. Note the comments about infrequent desserts? We exercise frequently and we enjoy ourselves. If you met me on the street, overweight is not an adjective you'd use.

So, let's get back on topic!!

[TVmonitor]

"salmon dumplings disapointing" - "except for the baked beans"

Would anyone like to explain why they thought a place was "good" or "bad" - how was the food cooked?

Did it have the right ingredients? were they handled correctly? What could be added or teken away? was the cooking itself correctly carried out? Seasoning? accoutrements?presentaion? style of cooking?

Service? Cost? - these are all releveny but please could we have an analysis of the most important thing - the food!

[curlywatt]

i've tried beefeater a couple of times in the last month, its in the arcade just opposite mikes shopping mall, give this a try cochran, i'd be suprised if you didn't give it an excellent review

[cochran]

Curlywatt, will do. I've driven past this place a couple times in the past week due to the closure of Beach Rd., and its within walking distance of my place. Its definitely on the list. The place across the soi from Beefeater has been recommended as well.

The reviews will be kind of sparse this week - working really late, so munching from local places near work, snacks from 7/11, etc - low-quality dining at its worst, but I'll be back!

[BugJackBaron]

Try the Ritz in Jomtien Complex for dinner. Manhattan's is a rip off. The chicken wings are so good at the Great American Rib that it's worth going there just for them.

Is that the one run by the elderly Brit? Quite good if I remember.

There are one or two others inside the Jomtien complex worth checking out..swiss or german

[Jingthing]

Try the Ritz in Jomtien Complex for dinner. Manhattan's is a rip off. The chicken wings are so good at the Great American Rib that it's worth going there just for them.

Is that the one run by the elderly Brit? Quite good if I remember.

There are one or two others inside the Jomtien complex worth checking out..swiss or german

There are so many elderly Brits about its difficult to tell. Yes, it is run by a local Brit restauranteur well known in the gay expat community, but you don't have to be gay to eat there.

[cochran]

Directions to Jomtien Complex?

[Jingthing]

Directions to Jomtien Complex?

Go south on Thappraya towards Jomtien.

Pass Thepprasit.

When you see the big sign that says Jomtien Complex on your right, that is Jomtien Complex.

It is across the street from View Talay 2 and there is also a TMB bank on the View Talay 2 side.

The complex itself is rather large.

BTW, I am not a fan of any restaurant in the complex except the Ritz. Poseidon is overpriced, it is run by Pascals. Most of them are just mediocre tourist restaurants and also some flashy gay appeal places with more style than substance. Dick's Cafe (original in Bangkok) is a very gay casual restaurant and it is pretty good for both Thai and Western but I don't like to cruise and eat at the same time.

Edited March 24, 2009 by Jingthing

[cochran]

Thanks, jingthing. I don't get out that way often enough to know my way around yet!

[Jingthing]

I want to make a special point to NOT recommend Oliviers in the complex. Their buffet included with dinner LOOKS very impressive but TASTES very salty and cheap. Their French style main courses are nothing to write home about either.

[Barack]

I want to make a special point to NOT recommend Oliviers in the complex. Their buffet included with dinner LOOKS very impressive but TASTES very salty and cheap. Their French style main courses are nothing to write home about either.

Not my experience at all. The all you can eat buffet is a good deal with or without the entree and overall this restaurant I rate as a good value. Oivier's is one of most popular restaurant's in the JCC area.

[Stanos]

bartimes under that russian strip joint on walking street has great food (restaurant at the back on the water) nice and quiet back there.- noisy out the front.

Have to agree with you about Bartime the Chicken Ceasar Salad is a meal in itself and very good. I found there Lamb and Beef vey good also.

[Jingthing]

I want to make a special point to NOT recommend Oliviers in the complex. Their buffet included with dinner LOOKS very impressive but TASTES very salty and cheap. Their French style main courses are nothing to write home about either.

Not my experience at all. The all you can eat buffet is a good deal with or without the entree and overall this restaurant I rate as a good value. Oivier's is one of most popular restaurant's in the JCC area.

Its popular because its cheap and a massive buffet with a set meal is an easy sell to TOURISTS. In my experience expats are not commonly regulars there once they get to taste the SALT BOMB that is the buffet. It is NOT fine dining at the food level, not even close.

[Barack]

I want to make a special point to NOT recommend Oliviers in the complex. Their buffet included with dinner LOOKS very impressive but TASTES very salty and cheap. Their French style main courses are nothing to write home about either.

Not my experience at all. The all you can eat buffet is a good deal with or without the entree and overall this restaurant I rate as a good value. Oivier's is one of most popular restaurant's in the JCC area.

Its popular because its cheap and a massive buffet with a set meal is an easy sell to TOURISTS. In my experience expats are not commonly regulars there once they get to taste the SALT BOMB that is the buffet. It is NOT fine dining at the food level, not even close.

True. Fine dining it definitely is not. But this place has a strong French customer base and is not exclusively tourists. It is still a good value especially when compared to the Poseidon next door, home of the 100 baht Diet Coke.

[timekeeper]

Try the Ritz in Jomtien Complex for dinner. Manhattan's is a rip off. The chicken wings are so good at the Great American Rib that it's worth going there just for them.

Is that the one run by the elderly Brit? Quite good if I remember.

There are one or two others inside the Jomtien complex worth checking out..swiss or german

There are so many elderly Brits about its difficult to tell. Yes, it is run by a local Brit restauranteur well known in the gay expat community, but you don't have to be gay to eat there.

just to set the record straight about John the proprietor of Cafe Ritz in the Jomtien complex, he may be well known in the gay community and its true that he does have many gay patrons but he is certainly not gay himself.

he is in fact a happily married man whose beautiful wife works with him in the restaurant.

i have known him for many years, he is a great character and he deserves every success in the world with this enterprise.

i thoroughly recommend Cafe Ritz to all, wether you be straight, gay, bi or third gender.

[cochran]

Quick update -

Even though I thought I'd be working too late last night for dinner, I finished up earlier than planned. Found a lucky parking spot on the bottom end of Pattaya Klang and walked over to Tequila Reef.

What a neighborhood, huh?

Anyway, once inside we ordered a gold handshaken margarita for me and an ocean breeze for the lady. I must say that the margarita (rocks, no salt) was just as good as the ones at Mike's. Not too sweet, good size, enough tequila. Good job. My gf said the ocean breeze was good as well.

The staff serves up a small portion of chips and two small servings of salsa (one hotter, one milder) while you wait. The chips did not seem too fresh. While the milder salsa was okay, the hotter one seemed like it had been sitting a while. There wasn't much crispness in the vegetables, and overall not a good flavor. I think the heat in this one was ancho chilies instead of jalapenos (not a criticism, just an observation - ancho sauces can be quite good).

I ordered a small bowl of chili, and was surprised at the good flavor. Not too hot, good dose of chili powder, beans not hard and not mushy. The meat was finely chopped, but not ground, and had good texture. There was a small side of shredded cheese and chopped onion, and it was served with two small flour tortillas (these were not heated before being served, but should have been). I enjoyed the chili, and should have stopped there.

For entree, she had barbecued chicken with fries and corn. The sauce was okay, but really reminiscent of the bottled Kraft sauces you can buy in the US grocery stores. The meat itself was tender and moist, so not really bad. She prefers the sauce on offer at Bob's. Our original reason for stopping here was for bbq ribs, but they were out last night, so the chicken was a 2nd choice. Not a win.

My entree was the East Los Angeles burrito with chicken. The shredded chicken is combined with rice and beans in a flour tortilla and then covered with enchilada sauce and melted cheese. The whole dish tasted very processed - the tortilla was very dry on the ends, probably from being put under the salamander to quickly melt the cheese on top. The rice and beans inside the burrito were very bland - not much flavor at all. The chicken was okay - shredded white meat. The sauce tasted like a medium-quality canned product. I left almost all of this dish on the plate.

I'm trying my best to be objective here, but the problem is that Tequila Reef's mexican food suffers BADLY when compared to the excellent experience we had at Mike's - freshness, quality of ingredients, flavor, staff, everything. I think if we go back to Tequila Reef, it will be because we're in the area and I want a margarita. Not a place we'll have dinner again.

[BugJackBaron]

I want to make a special point to NOT recommend Oliviers in the complex. Their buffet included with dinner LOOKS very impressive but TASTES very salty and cheap. Their French style main courses are nothing to write home about either.

Not my experience at all. The all you can eat buffet is a good deal with or without the entree and overall this restaurant I rate as a good value. Oivier's is one of most popular restaurant's in the JCC area.

Its popular because its cheap and a massive buffet with a set meal is an easy sell to TOURISTS. In my experience expats are not commonly regulars there once they get to taste the SALT BOMB that is the buffet. It is NOT fine dining at the food level, not even close.

True. Fine dining it definitely is not. But this place has a strong French customer base and is not exclusively tourists. It is still a good value especially when compared to the Poseidon next door, home of the 100 baht Diet Coke.

I have to agree with JingThing here. Patte cannot be done cheaply and what they

offer is a joke. You can tell just by looking at it.

There are some slightly better French places behing dot com. Better value for money anyways.

Funny how these threads keep on repeating!

[Jingthing]

just to set the record straight about John the proprietor of Cafe Ritz in the Jomtien complex, he may be well known in the gay community and its true that he does have many gay patrons but he is certainly not gay himself.

I never said he was gay, but no problem if you think it is important to parade his heterosexual qualifications, oy vey.

There are some slightly better French places behing dot com. Better value for money anyways.

Agreed. You mean Tukcom on the side soi.

Tequila Reef? Good for margaritas. The Mexican food there is a disaster. If they tried to serve that "East LA" burrito in the real east LA they would be BURNED DOWN!

Edited March 25, 2009 by Jingthing

[CGW]

Great thread cocrhan, believe you have tried more places to eat in your short time here than I have tried in the 14 years or so I have been here

[cochran]

Just too lazy to cook, I guess!