Anyone Eaten At Best Beef Bbq?

[OnNutter]

Has anybody experienced the food served Best Beef BBQ near On Nut BTS? They advertise T-bones at 99 baht and Leo beer at 39 baht on their outside banners, I can only imagine what the T-bone for 99 baht is about as thick as a BG's nail polish but I could be completely wrong, it's a big open barn of a place but looks clean and is well patronised by the local Thais.

Maybe they are only there for the beer!

Any info on the place greatly appreciated.

[sanmiguel]

Live life on the edge and splash the 138bht and let us know.

[Ulysses G.]

[wasabi]

I once went to fourth best beef in Kon Kaen. I have to say it was as advertised. I'll have to try Best Beef sometime.

[OnNutter]

Live life on the edge and splash the 138bht and let us know.

Careful now lets not get too rash, 138bht...humm, that equates to three bowls of noodles...Maybe I'll leave Best Beef for that special night out...the one where I break a 500bht note.

[onnut]

I might go and try it out next week if I can afford it it is only down the road from me and I noticed it for the first time today. I reckon though that the 99 Baht T-Bone will taste and be as tough as a 99 Baht T-Bone, and I couldnt drink Leo if you paid me. but there will probably be plenty of other stuff to try.

[paperwerks]

I've been there twice and will go again.

The big Leos are cheap about 50 baht and the steaks are big.

That being said, the steaks are not the best cuts (lots of grizzle) and the vegatables on the side are undercooked.

It's about the best place to go in the area and cheap describes it pretty well. It serves a purpose and is convenient.

Drink the cheap beers first and then order the steaks is my routine. I had 2 steaks once as they are not that filling at 99 baht.

Went to some place on On nut soi 46 that had better steaks for 69 baht and better atmosphere also and am looking forward to going back there. It was on the left hand side and had other falangs there too so it is known but I was drunk and don't remember the name..

[jfchandler]

As a regular restaurant reviewer here, folks know I am anything but a pushover... Having said that, I want to tell you that the Best Beef Restaurant on Sukhumvit Road a few blocks inward from the BTS On Nut Station is a great deal and value for food in Bangkok. And this restaurant really is much more than just beef, as will be explained below.

While they have a regular restaurant menu for steaks and a variety of other things at very reasonable prices (which I have yet to try), what is packing folks (Thai and falang alike) in to this large, covered outdoor eatery is their ongoing 199 baht "all you can eat in two hours" buffet. I took my Thai GF there to try the place once and she, who is a big beef eater, now wants to go back there every time we go out for dinner. Go figure...

In general, you could put their buffet deal into the general category of other moo krata BBQ places around town. But what I like about Best Beef is that rather than tong-ing your raw meats out of a big vat where they've been sitting out all evening (as is often the style at Thai places), at Best Beef, your sliced meats are brought to you by your waiter on individual plates from the kitchen and arrive fresh and nicely chilled. Have eaten there about a half dozen times by now, and never a blip of any stomach problem, which is something I can't say of some other moo krata places we've tried.

The way Best Beef works is... they have a printed buffet menu, Thai on one side and English on the reverse, showing about 24 different buffet items. Once you order the buffet, you can order any of those items and as much of them as you want during the two hour period starting with you placing your order. There's a half dozen different varieties of thin sliced beef, sliced pork, chicken, salmon and other seafoods, rices, salads, vegetables, kimchi and more. The nice thing is, there's a little something for almost everyone's tastes.

The waiter brings a charcoal BBQ unit and grill to your table along, a cup of butter for oiling the grill, cups of Thai-style BBQ sauce for dipping and you're ready to cook. Anytime you want something, just call the waiter over, tell him/her what item(s) you want and how many, and they'll arrive at your table in a few moments. Finish those and want more. Call the waiter again and repeat the process, as many times as you wish during the two hour period.

The quality of the meats we've had there has been fine. The only buffet item I've been less than satisfied with has been the raw salmon, which arrives as little slivers of skin, a little flesh and usually some bone. But I really enjoy their cups of Korean kimchi... The plates of french fries are pretty good. And I've taken to their beef and rice bowls (thin sliced cooked beef over a bowl of steamed rice). Just add some of their BBQ chili sauce, stir, and you've got a meal all by itself.

For drinks, they have the usual Thai beers. The restaurant has a big sign out advertising 39 baht large bottles of Leo beer (one of my favorites), but I believe that was done prior to the recent government tax increase. So the large Leo bottles now are going for 49 baht at Best Beef, I believe. Another nice option they have is the large litre cartons of Oishi iced tea, in several varieties, for something like 35 baht, which is about the same price as you'd pay to buy them at the market. One is usually enough to keep me satisfied through the whole dinner.

The only downside, I'd say, is that the buffet menu does not include any desert choices, though you can order a variety of ice creams separately afterward -- if you still have any room left after finishing the buffet.

Best Beef is open every day, but only from mid afternoon until late, so no lunch option available. The staff speak a bit of English, depending on what waiter/waitress you get. But it's not difficult to get along. Just point at the item you want on the menu. Best travel route is go to BTS On Nut station, then walk a few blocks back inward toward town in the direction of the Phra Kanong Station. The restaurant is on the same side of the street as the Tesco-Lotus supermarket there.

Give Best Beef's buffet a try, and you just might find yourself getting hooked!

[davejonesbkk]

great review. I dont have a mrs at the moment so will try and drag someone there!

[onnut]

yes, very good review, Thanks JFChandler. I live on 101/1 not far from Best beef and so will go tomorrow night because the buffet sounds good.

[onethailand]

Although I normally agree with JF, this time I have to disagree strongly.

I just went there on the strength of his review. I hadn't noticed that they were using a hot plate even though JF had a picture of the food, so that's my own fault. I had been hoping for charcoal-grilled food.

The butter was not butter - it was that Best Foods partially hydrogenated vegetable oil that is passed off as butter - you know the stuff which doesn't need refrigeration and doesn't melt except under high heat? Yeah, that stuff (yuck!).

The beef was of course Thai beef - after all, what do you expect for 199 baht? I tried 4 different types of beef - all terrible, except possibly the brisket. The teriyaki chicken wasn't teriyaki - it was plain old chicken. The bacon was passable - in fact it was the only thing that had any flavor at all.

I can only assume that the Thai dipping sauce was what saved it for JF - but I don't like dipping sauce. The meat was very chewy even though it was sliced very thin, to the point of almost being translucent.

I was almost sick to my stomach when I left - I had to quickly stick a Clorets hard candy in my mouth to get rid of the horrible lingering taste.

That being said - the table across from me ordered a la carte - there seemed to be some quite decent Australian beef at reasonable prices. And I didn't try any of the steaks but saw one as I walked out - looked approximately the same quality as those you would find at Santa Fe steakhouses. The service was not bad.

Value of the buffet - if you're into seafood, they have salmon (didn't try) and shrimp (small but you can obviously eat as much as you like), and squid - this might be a decent deal for you. If you don't mind mediocre beef, or don't mind chicken or pork, this might also be okay - really hard to knock an all-you-can-eat BBQ for 199 baht - but for sure if I ever go back, it will only be to try the Australian beef.

Didn't bother to take any pictures, JF's done a good job of that.

Edited June 27, 2009 by onethailand

[DP25]

Looks great, will be giving it a shot next time instead of my usual 99 baht moo kata place.

[jfchandler]

WOW OT... sorry you had a bad experience...but I'm not quite sure I understand all of what set you off about this place....

You mentioned you felt sick after, but not really clear about what taste or thing made you feel not right...

You mentioned the shortening/butter or whatever it's called. You're not eating it direct or putting on on a baked potato.... It's just there to provide some oil for the grill plate....

Just to be clear, re their grilling, they're not using the BBQ wire mesh things where the meats are directly exposed to the heat. they're using the thick, solid iron plate that sits on top of the charcoal grill bowl, so you're almost stir frying your foods.

About their beef, I agree, several of the cuts are quite chewy... One of the four or five on offer is much better than the rest. My GF and I finally settled on that and choose that one when we're doing the buffet, but I haven't been able to get her to translate the thai version of that into the English choice on the menu. However, the least chewy of the group is the one where the beef slices come out looking almost solid red, with no visible marbling... If you look at the photo above with all the food next to the grill, it's the beef dish just to the right of the grill...

That said, however, all of the buffet beef cuts are sliced wafer thin, as you'd want for grill top cooking. So even the chewiest versions of their beef didn't bother me too much. It was hardly like getting a tough cut of steak, where you have to chew it for 15 minutes just in order to swallow a bit. And in all the times we've been to Best Beef and of all the buffet beef dishes we've eat, we've never had any served with gristle or chunks of fat...to their credit.

I've never tried the pork, chicken or shrimp there...so I can't speak to those. My GF likes squid and has eaten large portions of it there with no complaints... The raw squid comes out looking fresh and clean.

Lastly, about the BBQ sauce, what can I say??? Part of the style of eating at such places is to grill the meats, then wrap the meat up in a leaf of Chinese cabbage or other other veggie of your choice, spoon on a bit of the Thai BBQ-chili sauce and then pop the package into your mouth. Without the sauce, I'd agree, it wouldn't quite taste the same.

Edited June 27, 2009 by jfchandler

[onethailand]

WOW OT... sorry you had a bad experience...but I'm not quite sure I understand all of what set you off about this place....

You mentioned you felt sick after, but not really clear about what taste or thing made you feel not right...

You mentioned the shortening/butter or whatever it's called. You're not eating it direct or putting on on a baked potato.... It's just there to provide some oil for the grill plate....

The beef was terrible... haha... the chicken and bacon were ok. I couldn't stomach the beef without having a piece of bacon along with it. I was nauseous and feeling clammy for a few hours until I got home and took a shower... felt a lot better then. The "butter" was terrible.

Real butter, cooking oil, or lard would've been fine... not that partially hydrogenated junk. Worst possible oil you could use. Also, there was no seasoning of any sort on the table - no salt, pepper, ketchup, nothing - just the dipping sauce and the butter.

About their beef, I agree, several of the cuts are quite chewy... One of the four or five on offer is much better than the rest. My GF and I finally settled on that and choose that one when we're doing the buffet, but I haven't been able to get her to translate the thai version of that into the English choice on the menu. However, the least chewy of the group is the one where the beef slices come out looking almost solid red, with no visible marbling... If you look at the photo above with all the food next to the grill, it's the beef dish just to the right of the grill...

Funnily enough. those (shank) weren't that chewy but they had no flavor at all - though the brisket could be chewy as well, at least it had some taste (that's the marbled one). The sirloin tip (fat on the edge) was so-so. The rump, which is also solid red in most cases, is chewy unless it has a little marbling. I tried all the beef except for tongue which I don't care for.

That said, however, all of the buffet beef cuts are sliced wafer thin, as you'd want for grill top cooking. So even the chewiest versions of their beef didn't bother me too much. It was hardly like getting a tough cut of steak, where you have to chew it for 15 minutes just in order to swallow a bit. And in all the times we've been to Best Beef and of all the buffet beef dishes we've eat, we've never had any served with gristle or chunks of fat...to their credit.

Thin is fine. Actually I prefer it that way, except when it's so thin you can see light through it.

No gristle, I agree. And a little chewy I can handle as long as there's flavor, which there wasn't.

I've never tried the pork, chicken or shrimp there...so I can't speak to those. My GF likes squid and has eaten large portions of it there with no complaints... The raw squid comes out looking fresh and clean.

Lastly, about the BBQ sauce, what can I say??? Part of the style of eating at such places is to grill the meats, then wrap the meat up in a leaf of Chinese cabbage or other other veggie of your choice, spoon on a bit of the Thai BBQ-chili sauce and then pop the package into your mouth. Without the sauce, I'd agree, it wouldn't quite taste the same.

If they had mesh instead of hot plate, it wouldn't have been so bad either... but the hot plate and what passed for butter just didn't work for me. This is the basic difference between Best Beef and Izumi, the place at Century - which also adds soy sauce for seasoning. The meat is a wee bit better at Izumi but they are essentially about the same quality.

I'm wondering though... if I had sort of marinated the beef with the dipping sauce before cooking, if it might've tasted better - but I just don't care for that style of sauce as a dip.

I should've ordered some pork to see if it was any good - but frankly if I wanted moo krata I would've gone somewhere a lot cheaper...

Anyhow, it was worth a try at that price but I think I'd better stick to Izumi (which is near the office anyhow).

BTW, the cartons of Oishi were 50 baht - not expensive at all, though I ended up having water.

[jfchandler]

Ok...so we're going to have to agree to disagree on this....re Best Beef.

I have no problem with their beef there, and it seems quite a popular place among both thais and farangs...

But I was thinking last night.. you and I also have a similar difference of opinion about Chok Chai Steak House.... I like their burgers and steaks a lot, and re their steaks, find them to be fine and not tough at all... If I recall correctly, you don't like them at all and have the opposite opinion...

So clearly, we have some different judgment criteria going on re beef.... but then...you like McDonald's!!!!

[onethailand]

Ok...so we're going to have to agree to disagree on this....re Best Beef.

I have no problem with their beef there, and it seems quite a popular place among both thais and farangs...

But I was thinking last night.. you and I also have a similar difference of opinion about Chok Chai Steak House.... I like their burgers and steaks a lot, and re their steaks, find them to be fine and not tough at all... If I recall correctly, you don't like them at all and have the opposite opinion...

So clearly, we have some different judgment criteria going on re beef.... but then...you like McDonald's!!!!

Chokchai is perfectly good taste-wise - I just complain that the steak's too chewy. And the burger was marinated.

McD's - for fast food it's fine, never said their beef tasted super!

The best steak I've had in Bangkok was at Neil's Tavern (the original location, there's another on Asoke I haven't tried yet). But then they use US beef... and was very pricey too! I might try the steak at Best BBQ one day, but the buffet - never again.

[bonobo]

I like Best Beef.  It is one of only two "BBQ" (I use the term loosely here) restuarants to which I will go (the other is a mookata on Rachapruk-easily the best one in BKK).  

Best Beef is not high-end dining.  But for a rather reasonable price, you can get a decent meal.  Decent is as far as it goes, but the price is rather decent, too.

I have gone there twice, and if I am in the area and hungry in the future, I would go there again.

[onnut]

I went last night as I said I would after seeing JFChandlers review. and I thought it was good. 1200 baht for 4 people including beer.

the butter was dodgy though and next time I will take a little olive oil maybe. but for the price the service was great and the beef although not great quality was fine and we enjoyed trying something different. we were all bloated when we left and went on to my place for more beers. great night all in all, probably because of the company though.

I must add one thing. do not wear your best clothes. they stink of grease afterwards.

[jfchandler]

The GF pulled me back for another weekend visit to Best Beef the other night, and so I have a couple of updates to pass along...

Apart from the regular entree dishes listed on the buffet menu, you also have your unlimited choice of various accompanying vegetables that are listed on their regular menu, such as lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms and such. One veggie I had missed on earlier visits, when I didn't understand clearly about the vegetables deal, was ASPARAGUS.

So this latest visit, being an asparagus lover, we probably ate more than a half-dozen small-plate orders of asparagus tips and stalks, fortunately, the thinner green kind -- not the thick, sometimes tougher variety. They arrived lightly boiled, so fine to eat just off the plate. But we popped them on the grill, and cooked them a bit more there for some added flavor. It was a great way to eat your fill of asparagus...all at no extra charge.

For those who don't like or prefer the grill plate approach, Best Beef also offers the same buffet deal with what they call a "fondue pot," which basically means cooking your foods in a big soup pot over the charcoal grill, instead of on the grill plate. The price for doing this is an extra 50 baht...making the fondue approach about 250 baht per person. That's one way to avoid their cooking shortening or the "fry" smell, for those who don't like it.

For the grilling, we also tried a new approach this last visit. As mentioned above, one of their standard items is giving everyone refillable cups of a mild Thai chili/BBQ dipping sauce. Taking a cue from OneThailand's comment above, instead of just dipping the cooked meats as usual, I tried this time dunking the raw meats into the sauce as a marinade PRIOR to grill cooking. That worked out very nicely, and I thought it added a bit more flavor to the cooked beef varieties.

(Note-to protect your health, don't mix the use of a single sauce cup between marinade and dipping. Once you've used a cup of sauce for marinade with raw beef (meaning dumped the raw meat into the sauce cup), only use that cup as a marinade cup. They'll be happy to give you a second/extra cup to use as a dipping cup for the cooked meats. You don't want to be dunking the cooked meats into a sauce that's previously been filled with raw meat).

Lastly, after I wanted to try one at home that the GF ended up drinking and liking instead, she's taking a liking to Thai Federbrau brand beer, which supposedly is the higher-quality, natural ingredients variety. I didn't care much for it or its taste, so I'm fine to leave the Federbraus for her. But Best Beef, in keeping with their reasonable drink prices, is stocking large bottles of Federbrau for 90 baht.... I'm sticking with their large Leo bottles for (I believe) 50 baht..thanks very much.

[Macx]

Thanks, JF and OT both.

You two should get together and publish a BK food guide

Keep it up!

[Macx]

BTW, have either of you tried the lunch thing at Vai Vai on Soi 8?

I think there was a thread on that one too.

[jfchandler]

Thanks for the compliment, Macx.... It's a tough job ( ), but someone's got to do it... OT and I do collaborate from time to time, so who knows what might come from that...

Re Via Vai, it's one of my favorite Italian destinations for good value, and they have a great lunch deal running daily now... See this other thread and post for the details... They likewise were having a Tues and Wed nights dinner deal that was excellent, but I haven't seen them advertising that lately, so it may or may not be continuing... I'm headed there soon, so will check and update in the Via Vai thread...

[Gluestick]

You can also pay for better butter. I think about 5 baht for a small pat of butter. I forget the brand. The bathrooms are nice and air conned as well.