Indian Buffet At Dicey Reilly’S Irish Pub In Pattaya For 299 Baht

[Jingthing]

OK, I tried this so you don't have to ... yuk yuk.

I've been saying for a long time there is a market in Pattaya for a higher end Indian buffet as long as the food is better.

Well, this Indian buffet is higher, the food is better, but I won't be back. Do you wonder why?

Down to the nitty gritty.

Who:

You or maybe not

What:

Indian Buffet

Food on offer:

Fancy rice palao rice w/ cashew nuts

Lamb Rojan Josh

Butter Chicken

Fish coconut milk curry

Dal Makhani

Cauliflower and onion curry

Samosa interpretion

Chickpea salad

Fresh fruit

Nan

Raita

Sweet chutney

Pickle

Papadum

The quality and luxury level of the food as well as the sophistication of the cooking was a step up over the 200 bahtish Indian tour buffets.

The target market here appears to be British curry fans. (As opposed to actual South Asians.)

The spicing level was moderate but not offensively bland; one dish the butter chicken was spicier

EVERY curry dish including the rice and the nan was WAY TOO RICH. Way too much butter. There was no way you could make this not be an unhealthy meal and still eat a decent portion. I'm sorry but I think they do this on purpose so you fill up on not too much food to save them food costs. This was overall the RICHEST Indian buffet I have ever had in my life. The cooking was good but in my view they ruined the entire experience by making most dishes overly rich. Even the nan which I requested plain and was told they could not do, was swimming in butter.

The lamb chunks in the rojan josh were decent sized but I couldn't really taste it as lamb. Not sure why.

The chicken in the butter chicken did NOT have the taste of the tandoor, and to my palate the meat just didn't taste fresh. No, I am not saying it was rotten meat. It wasn't. It just wasn't pleasant.

The butter chicken curry was not classic but I liked the curry anyway.

My favorite dish ironically because it was very light, was the chickpea salad.

I also liked the fish curry but it was kind of Thai-ish.

I could only finish 1/3 of the nan because it was so soaked in butter and it was obscene using it with all the other food, reeking of too much butter.

A dish I would have hoped for in a higher end Indian buffet is a TANDOORI meat dish. Usually chicken. Not here.

An annoyance to me was the plates that were offered. There were large plates and small plates but there were no small cups/bowls. Small cups/bowls are needed for an Indian buffet for items like the liquid fish curry, raiti, dal, etc. Again I suspect a cost saving tactic hoping people just put everything on one plate and don't want to look too greedy coming back for new plates. Sorry, an Indian buffet NEEDS small cups/bowls.

The cost at 299 doesn't account for the high drink prices. The cheapest small beer is 95 draft or 120 small bottle. Soda water is 60. There is no plus plus.

I wanted to like it. It's worth the money if you love overly rich Indian food. I won't be back. I have a strong aversion to buffets that basically force me to eat overly rich foods with no other choice.

When:

Wednesday nights only, 6 to 8 pm, come early or some items may be gone

Where:

2nd Road, north of Royal Garden a bit

http://www.diceyspub.com/contact-us/

Why:

Hunger. Desire to gain weight. Enjoy sports bar environment.

Edited July 4, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jimmyd]

Thanks for the review.

[Darrel]

In the series "great minds think alike" I was wondering about trying that buffet soon having seen a newspaper ad for it yesterday. Thanks for doing it for me.

The ingredients and dishes sound very good but as you say, it wouldn't be nice trying to eat more than a minimal amount of something as rich as you describe. It does indeed seem to be typical British Indian food.

If I ever do go I wish them luck with making me feel guilty about piling up empty plates though!

[hellyes2oo2]

It is to behoped that their Indian food is better than their British food. Because their British food is absolutely crap. I took some friends there just after it re-opened (yet again) as dicey's, we all ordered fish and chips. What we recieved was disgusting, there was about 80% over cooked batter to 20% hard black coloured fish. We didn't eat it, and asked to see the manager, we were told he wouldn't be there for at least 2 hours,we said we didn't want to pay, and got the usual thai response "You not pay we call police". As my friends were visiting only for a few days we just paid up and left.Needless to say I have never been back since, and to be honest I have seen several comments on various forums, and I have never seen a positive one.

[seasia]

Thanks

The over use of butter and richness would put me off.

[Jingthing]

In the series "great minds think alike" I was wondering about trying that buffet soon having seen a newspaper ad for it yesterday. Thanks for doing it for me.

The ingredients and dishes sound very good but as you say, it wouldn't be nice trying to eat more than a minimal amount of something as rich as you describe. It does indeed seem to be typical British Indian food.

If I ever do go I wish them luck with making me feel guilty about piling up empty plates though!

Yes you can go back and fill all the plates you like but they bet that most people won't want to look like a total glutton, and I'm sure they're right. Their dal was very thick but the fish curry was really a soup and REALLY needed a bowl just as a functional thing rather than a food cost trick. I don't know about you but I can't go into a restaurant and NOT order a drink. Obviously they don't have "free" water and the soda water (a drink I actually like believe it or not) is priced so high as to encourage at least a beer order (I also like beer better). Not unusual, typical sharp restaurant business practices. But what I am saying is the buffet's real cost for most people is over 400 baht, so that's double the tour group buffets really. Again, if I liked the food well enough (my objections already posted) I'd be a happy regular customer paying that 400 baht. I reckon there are people who will like a super rich buffet like that so in that sense I don't think its an offering without value. Edited July 5, 2012 by Jingthing

[Darrel]

I don't know about you but I can't go into a restaurant and NOT order a drink. Obviously they don't have "free" water and the soda water (a drink I actually like believe it or not) is priced so high as to encourage at least a beer order (I also like beer better).

I certainly can eat without ordering a drink and have done so on numerous occasions, especially with one-plate meals, but I would rather not do so with a meal consisting of many different dishes. You do need something to freshen the mouth. I agree that there is not much point ordering soda if beer only costs a little more.

As for the 400B total price; that's rather like the Taco place in Jomtien. By the time you have added ++ and a couple of half-price Margaritas to the bill it would have to be getting on for double the advertised 220B. Perhaps that would be better value than at Dicey Reillys though.

If they had plenty of nice dry chapatis in the buffet then I suppose that would make the rich sauces more palatable. So I'm surprised that they dont have them. I suspect that chapatis are much cheaper to make than the main dishes are also.

I will certainly go in and look at this curry buffet one Wednesday, even if I don't actually eat it.

[Oink]

It is a Hotel bar! What do you expect?

[Jingthing]

It is a Hotel bar! What do you expect?

It's a hotel bar? I hadn't noticed that. However, for the type of place that it is in its prime location, no, I expected high drink prices for sure.

[TheWalkingMan]

JT - Thanks for the review.

[Ulysses G.]

we said we didn't want to pay, and got the usual thai response "You not pay we call police".

They are not a soup kitchen, Who can blame them.

[Darrel]

we said we didn't want to pay, and got the usual thai response "You not pay we call police".

They are not a soup kitchen, Who can blame them.

I can, for one.

If I am served inedible food I dont eat it and I dont pay and I explain why to the management. I dont give a hoot whether it is from a 30B noodle merchant in Pattaya or the best place in Paris, or anywhere in between.

[vtjforyou]

I don't really agree with this opinion...

[LALes]

I haven't found a good Indian restaurant in Pattaya in 5 years. I have a few favorites in BKK that crap all over any of the ones here.

Why is that?

[threelegcowboy]

I was told by an Indian resturant owner that to keep the buffet cost low he had to make the food very spicy. A normal person cant load up with this much spice. Just adding to someones previous comments.

(is there a spell checker hidden here?)

thx

[Jingthing]

I was told by an Indian resturant owner that to keep the buffet cost low he had to make the food very spicy. A normal person cant load up with this much spice. Just adding to someones previous comments.

(is there a spell checker hidden here?)

thx

Was that an Indian buffet catering to westerners? Most of my experience with Indian buffets here and in the U.S. is Indian buffets catering to South Asian people. The food is usually quite spicy and people including me eat a lot of it. People who love spicy food can eat plenty of spicy food, quite normally ... trust me on that.

[Spalpeen]

Jaysus! An English sports bar posing as an Irish pub serving ersatz Indian food. Times must be tough.

[Jingthing]

Jaysus! An English sports bar posing as an Irish pub serving ersatz Indian food. Times must be tough.

Yeah, that's funny. But actually I feel based on tasting their food that the chef there is CAPABLE of cooking very lovely Indian food or at least English style Indian food. He might even be Indian for all I know. I just didn't like the style of forcing me to eat a weeks worth of normal calories in one normal sized meal portion. So to me the buffet is not only a tourist trap but a fat trap. Edited July 6, 2012 by Jingthing

[Oink]

It is a Hotel bar! What do you expect?

It's a hotel bar? I hadn't noticed that. However, for the type of place that it is in its prime location, no, I expected high drink prices for sure.

When it was the Royal Garden Hotel Shananigans rented it. When Marriot took over they realised they were making a tidy profit and wanted all of the action and got them to move out to their current location in The Avenue. Dicey Reilly’S Irish Pub is part of the Marriot! So it does not surprise me that the Indian food is as about authentic as the bar is Irish!

[Jingthing]

There is nothing on their website about any connection whatsoever to Marriot. Also I recall watching an interview on tv with the restaurant owner and no mention was made of a connection to a hotel.

However, I consider this a trivial detail either way of little interest to most customers. The issue at hand is their Indian buffet.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

OK, the place is NOT a Marriot restaurant. Also it doesn't have plus plus as the Marriot restaurants do.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/pyxmc-pattaya-marriott-resort-and-spa/

Next ...

[Ohyesuare]

Thanks for the review, I don't think I would ever go to an Irish restaurant for Indian food especially with such a limited time frame.

[Jingthing]

Thanks for the review, I don't think I would ever go to an Irish restaurant for Indian food especially with such a limited time frame.

Understood but because the good options for Indian in Pattaya are so limited (and the prices so high even for usually meh food) I feel one should keep an open mind. I also think this place is not that far from offering something really good, but I seriously doubt that they will bother to make some adjustments. Also like I said before I am sure some people like their style. Edited July 6, 2012 by Jingthing

[Oink]

OK, the place is NOT a Marriot restaurant. Also it doesn't have plus plus as the Marriot restaurants do.

http://www.marriott....resort-and-spa/

Next ...

Oh yes it is! But who cares as the food is crap anyway!!!

[hellyes2oo2]

Sorry OInk, this place is completely seperate from the Marriot. The Marriot own the building that is true. But it is rented out to the owner of Riley's.He used to work for the Marriot as Bar Manager when it was the Mooore Bar.

The thing that mystifies me is that he failed miserably in the job, and the Marriot decided to close the bar, which he then took over, pouring a lot of his own money(or maybe he has silent partners) into it, and he doesn't seem to be doing any better now. I agree with you that the food is crap, and vastly overpriced, as are the drinks.

[LALes]

Had a sorry excuse for a Reuben sandwich at the Marriot recently. A double decker with lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayo.

A few shreds of meat, mostly bread. Add in a coke for 110 Baht!!!!!!! ++ on top of that. Live and learn.