New Restaurant On Thappraya Road In Jomtien

[whatchamacallit]

Anyone been there yet? Opinion?

[petermik]

Anyone been there yet? Opinion?

It opened on July 4th.-naturally-when I was there and on the occasions that I passed it seemed empty as was much of Jomtien itself,I cannot comment upon prices etc.but in my opinion for a place like this to do well it needs a dramatic upturn in tourists-which I cannot see for some time.

[Jingthing]

I have read a third hand review elsewhere. Impressive decor and atmosphere. Mediocre food. Ho. Hum.

[aussiechick]

Are we talking about Sun Dog Diner?

[Jingthing]

Yep.

[kdf]

Sun dog diner

very cute interior, nice Americana, currently soft opening limited menu. large space, feels awkward empty.

hope they do well, but don't have a lot of faith.

Hamburgers very small and not the best taste. Mos size or a little larger, inexpensive, 150 or so. Better than Mos, News cafe, and not as good as HJ Bean's burger.

Still no decent burger in Pattaya. Try Bully's in Bangkok for a good burger.

kdf

[Jingthing]

Oh, this is crazy! All that investment in decor and they can't even manage a decent real homemade American hamburger. Pitiful.

This is a huge opportunity for someone to do it right, and no I don't mean a 300 baht burger, not many people will pay that. Of course the most important thing, the beef has to be right, I know not easy here but not impossible either.

There is a new burger dive opening down the road near the Continental, it is just a shophouse shell now, JJ Burger, it looks like a Thai operation but if they can actually offer good burgers in that location they wouldn't need to charge so much and could mint money. I can't believe this hasn't been done yet here. Yes, it has to taste better than a fast food burger, I am talking about a different class of hamburger, such as at 5 Guys Burgers in the US. Must have good fries too, of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Guys

This is originally a Washington D.C. area franchise and Obama is now a fan.

Edited July 22, 2009 by Jingthing

[Lost in LOS]

good decor, cute waitresses, good atmosphere, food ok, menu a joke. not much on it and extremely hard to read. i gave it back after looking it over and asked for a menu. only after being told this was the menu i realized between all the pictures, writing etc were menu items stuck in there very strange

[Jingthing]

Happy happy, joy joy, another winner.

I hate so say this but its too bad Great American Rib isn't in that location. At least they used to have decent American food but I think the location is bad. Tourists mostly never see it.

[bkkbound04]

jingting

have you tried bob's bbq?

i haven't been over in ages but he used to do some lovely ribs and seemed to offer a lot of american food

he wasn't the cheapest but was good for a wee treat...don't know if he's still there or not? lol i think he was in the guiness book of records for the biggest burger or something like that

[Jingthing]

have you tried bob's bbq?

Yes but so far only the burrito and found it quite bad. Therefore, no rush to return for anything else. Yes it is still in business, off Soi Diana.

Edited July 22, 2009 by Jingthing

[bkkbound04]

i just had a look on bob's website, i don't know if it's still current but it's advertising daily specials at 199 baht

if the big man's still making good food then that's gotta be worth a visit

[bkkbound04]

lol missed your post there jingting

shame about the burrito i only ever tried his ribs and they were lovely but i'm from the uk..they were tasty though and the meat would just fall of the bone

..but he wasn't cheap so i can understand not rushing back if you've had a bad experience

[Explorer]

Are we talking about Sun Dog Diner?

Saw the neon light saying open 24 hrs, true?

Explorer

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I went to the Village yesterday to eat at Fatboy Diner, but it was closed with a big "for sale" sign in the window. Good concept, two terrible locations (Avenue and the Village).

[Jingthing]

I went to the Village yesterday to eat at Fatboy Diner, but it was closed with a big "for sale" sign in the window. Good concept, two terrible locations (Avenue and the Village).

That diner has been closed for many months now. I never tried it. Frankly I found their prices absurd. More good burger at a local price, less gimmick.

Edited July 22, 2009 by Jingthing

[TheWalkingMan]

...Yes, it has to taste better than a fast food burger, I am talking about a different class of hamburger, such as at 5 Guys Burgers in the US. Must have good fries too, of course.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Guys

This is originally a Washington D.C. area franchise and Obama is now a fan.

I never heard of Five Guys Burgers until this post. I did a google search and check out their menu.

The menu selection is tiny! Looks like they decided to focus on producing quality over quantity. I still cannot get over the limited selection. I am shocked.

Let that be a lesson to anyone opening a restaurant. Concentrate on a compact, quality menu which the results can be repeated over and over again and laugh all the way to the bank.

TheWalkingMan

[Jingthing]

The menu selection is tiny! Looks like they decided to focus on producing quality over quantity. I still cannot get over the limited selection. I am shocked.

Exactly. It is a brilliant concept. Specialize in a limited area and do it really well. When the limited area is something as popular as hamburgers, you get rich. Their real distinctive gimmick is to offer all the toppings you want "free" for the set price. The incentive is weird for the customer. You want to order a lot of toppings but if you order too many you get a ridiculous burger. If you want no toppings, you are subsidizing the toppings freaks. I went a little overboard on the toppings there a few times, and I did detect an ever slight rolling of the eyes, but they live up to their word, all you want. Their other gimmick is offering some of the best salted peanuts in the shell you are likely to find anywhere, again (offered in huge bins) , all you want. Also the drinks. They aren't cheap but they give it back. (BTW, the beef tastes good there without tasting like premium beef which you really do not need for a burger, if you don't get that basic right, forget about it.)

This being Pattaya, maybe someone can do a Pattaya version ripoff in Boyztown, call it 19 Boyz Burgers ... (it's legal as its over 18, when one ain't enuf?)

Edited July 22, 2009 by Jingthing

[bobbin]

Cheeseburger in Paradise! That American creation which I crave. - Jimmy Buffet

My favorite comfort food. Jing is right. A decent burger at a decent price is long overdue. Could be done from a shophouse. All the best burger joints are like that. Not fancy restaurant burger prices either. Money bank etc.

[Jingthing]

The person who does this right will make a fortune. People trying to do fancy things here and mostly failing.

[pluto_manibo]

I ate at Sun Dog Diner a week ago. The decor, setting and location are nice. The Milkshakes are good, as well as their unlimited refill of cokes in a jar. The Happy Days series running on a big flat screen makes it nostalgic. Now, the bad points! For someone who obviously spent a lot of money setting this place up, it is very disappointing to see that the food is in ridiculously small portions and not really good at all!! At 200 baht a Swiss cheeseburger(7-11 burgers are bigger and tastier and I hate 7-11 burgers) with about 6 french fries spread out(to make it look full) on a huge empty plate, who do you think you are fooling? It is aimed at Americans yet serves Kiddie menu portions. I can't remember what the price was for each item but it came to 1000 baht(+/-) for a plate of 5-6 teenie weemie bite size mozzarella sticks, the "hockey puck" size burger, chicken tenders, milkshake and a coke. I wouldn't mind if the food tasted good and the portions were normal, not Cambodia Polpot era portions. Absolutely shameful. I hope they quickly revise their menu, portions and chef. If not it will go under by Christmas! I would love to see it succeed because there is no place like it yet in Jomtien but the food should be the main reason for repeat customers not the icing on the cake. Until then get your burgers at hard rock, tequila reef, american rib company or anywhere but this place.

[Spalpeen]

You have to seriously question the judgement of anyone who looks at the present situation and thinks "Now would be a good time to open a new restaurant in Jomtien. It's bound to make money". A quick chat to the owners of a few existing restaurants would bring a cold shower of reality. Happy days, indeed!

[Jingthing]

Tiny portions at a retro American eatery? That's just stupid.

Assuming the owner will hear about this thread. We want you to succeed but you have to deserve it. Maybe its time to call in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Seriously, rethink your menu, rethink your prices, rethink your portions, rethink your chef. You clearly have a nice place but theme park is not enough in these hard times, you have to give value and good taste as well.

Edited July 22, 2009 by Jingthing

[torrenova]

Tiny portions at a retro American eatery? That's just stupid.

Assuming the owner will hear about this thread. We want you to succeed but you have to deserve it. Maybe its time to call in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Seriously, rethink your menu, rethink your prices, rethink your portions, rethink your chef. You clearly have a nice place but theme park is not enough in these hard times, you have to give value and good taste as well.

You have to have bean counters with a grip on the till and not just in the text book. What do I mean ? well your bean counters will say that you need X costs and X sizes etc. to make X profits on X volume but you can't use ceteris paribus here because of the really quite small marginal cost increase of some extra meat in the burger or a slightly larger bun or just a few more chips. Given the vast amount spent on fixed costs (apparently, haven't seen myself), then you're daft as a brush for not giving people just a little more than perhaps you would. It may entice some of them to buy another drink, way offsetting the extra. Skimping on portions is not the way to get a great reputation when starting a business.

[prospero]

Tiny portions at a retro American eatery? That's just stupid.

Assuming the owner will hear about this thread. We want you to succeed but you have to deserve it. Maybe its time to call in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Seriously, rethink your menu, rethink your prices, rethink your portions, rethink your chef. You clearly have a nice place but theme park is not enough in these hard times, you have to give value and good taste as well.

You have to have bean counters with a grip on the till and not just in the text book. What do I mean ? well your bean counters will say that you need X costs and X sizes etc. to make X profits on X volume but you can't use ceteris paribus here because of the really quite small marginal cost increase of some extra meat in the burger or a slightly larger bun or just a few more chips. Given the vast amount spent on fixed costs (apparently, haven't seen myself), then you're daft as a brush for not giving people just a little more than perhaps you would. It may entice some of them to buy another drink, way offsetting the extra. Skimping on portions is not the way to get a great reputation when starting a business.

Skimping on portions is what led to the demise of Luxor near Soi Day-Night. I think this American diner is doomed. Anyone looking for some slightly used neon signs, jukebox, and pictures of Elvis?

[Jingthing]

Skimping on portions is what led to the demise of Luxor near Soi Day-Night. I think this American diner is doomed. Anyone looking for some slightly used neon signs, jukebox, and pictures of Elvis?

They just opened. It is off season. They have plenty of time to fix this if they wish to. Some kind soul should point the owner to this thread in case they don't already know they are building a reputation.

For all we know he has a good business plan, contracts with Chinese tour buses to have an American experience, most of them wouldn't know any better ... I hope for the owners sake that is the case. Otherwise, best of luck, you're gonna need it!

Edited July 23, 2009 by Jingthing

[Lost in LOS]

you can go downstairs to News Cafe on a saturday afternoon and get a killer buffer for 199 so i think if i was eating on a saturday afternoon that would be my choice and is.

[timekeeper]

Tiny portions at a retro American eatery? That's just stupid.

Assuming the owner will hear about this thread. We want you to succeed but you have to deserve it. Maybe its time to call in Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares? Seriously, rethink your menu, rethink your prices, rethink your portions, rethink your chef. You clearly have a nice place but theme park is not enough in these hard times, you have to give value and good taste as well.

You have to have bean counters with a grip on the till and not just in the text book. What do I mean ? well your bean counters will say that you need X costs and X sizes etc. to make X profits on X volume but you can't use ceteris paribus here because of the really quite small marginal cost increase of some extra meat in the burger or a slightly larger bun or just a few more chips. Given the vast amount spent on fixed costs (apparently, haven't seen myself), then you're daft as a brush for not giving people just a little more than perhaps you would. It may entice some of them to buy another drink, way offsetting the extra. Skimping on portions is not the way to get a great reputation when starting a business.

Skimping on portions is what led to the demise of Luxor near Soi Day-Night. I think this American diner is doomed. Anyone looking for some slightly used neon signs, jukebox, and pictures of Elvis?

anyone know the opening hours?

do they open for lunch?

i would like to have a look at it before it closes

[tropo]

Tiny portions at a retro American eatery? That's just stupid.

Yeah. The very first thought which comes to mind when talking American restaurants is large serves.

Tiny serves for big prices....Forget about it!

Thanks to the OP for saving me the trip and disappointment.

[timekeeper]

Skimping on portions is what led to the demise of Luxor near Soi Day-Night. I think this American diner is doomed. Anyone looking for some slightly used neon signs, jukebox, and pictures of Elvis?

They just opened. It is off season. They have plenty of time to fix this if they wish to. Some kind soul should point the owner to this thread in case they don't already know they are building a reputation.

For all we know he has a good business plan, contracts with Chinese tour buses to have an American experience, most of them wouldn't know any better ... I hope for the owners sake that is the case. Otherwise, best of luck, you're gonna need it!

hi, i went there today for lunch, i wanted to see for myself

i was alone, service was prompt and efficient, no errors

i can concur on others thoughts on the retro decor, the rock and roll music atmosphere and unfortunately the size of the portions

one small burger in a sesame seed bun, a few fries, two small slices of tomato, three individual pieces of onion and a very small lettuce leaf.

150 baht

one Coke served in a moonshine jar 60 baht

tasty enough but i am now hungry only 2 hours later

i remember eating in diners in USA and one $5-99 feed would last me all day

its a shame as it could be so much more