Angel City Diners On Sukhumvit Soi 11

[smokie36]

I think I'm being kind in referring to the Firehouse staff as indifferent.

The burgers tgemselves are pretty good but let down hugely by the buns. If anyone from Firehouse reads this then please please source some sourdough buns....you will then be taken seriosly as a burger place!!

The chips are good.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

My experience with the Firehouse staff, on a weekend afternoon when they weren't at all crowded, likewise was beyond "indifferent."

I wasn't impressed with the burgers we had there, and the poor and SLOW service sealed the deal on not making a return visit.

[CPT]

Yankophiles you guys know so little about the US.....

Now a good SOUTHERN restaurant is what we need in LOS, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, fried okra...

Well, as I said I am American, while having lived in many other places. I prefer to use slang understood by the masses. But I can call it Bubba Land if you want me to

I thought Bourbon Street had all that heart stopping fat stuff, fatback bacon and lard lard and lard........... Personally that stuff is not quite my cup of tea...oops, I mean not my thing, sorry.

I don't know if Bourbon Street Grill really represents American food much less southern food (only roast beef poboy I have had on Ciabata, only nachos topped with shredded meat in sweet BBQ sauce).

Edited August 26, 2013 by Maestro
Removed off-topic part of post

[mjsansai]

That's up to you, but IMO mayonaise makes a burger taste better and with the lousy beef here, that is a consideration.

ay

Same goes for big sliced beef tomato or indeed any other sauce except what is described on the menu.

Mayo so easy to make should always be home made

[Newguy70]

^^^^^^

tried another dish off their Thai menu today, pad krapow moo, which was

really good and came with a quite large bowlful of Thai rice on the

side. Another great deal for 85b++.

What a pleasure this is to read, I never understand why western joints charge so much for Thai food.

Someone put up a link to a place on Suk soi 23, I had a quick perusal, prices as follows,

Yam Wun Sen 250 baht

Lap Gai 180 baht

Som Tam 160baht

Pad Krapao 180 baht

Please get real, just taking the piss, this isnt even a restaurant, its just yet another farang boozer.

Of course they charge these prices because invariably its the farang paying, I never see Thais going to these places to eat on their own.

My mrs refuses to eat in them and pay the prices, its not about the cost, its about being seen as a buffalo.

Never been in this place on Soi 11, but its now on the radar for future reference

Somewhere in this thread a few posters have referred to the place as upscale etc, however upscale + diner =oxymoron.

I did check out the mnu and the prices seem somewhat fair and equal to what a diner in the states would run you. Completely agree with the poster, How some restaurants charge 250,180,160,180 for a Thai dish is a joke!

As an American, and one who has eaten at diners and four star restaurants I feel I am more than qualified to share my thoughts on this subject .

Somewhere in this thread a few posters have referred to the place as upscale etc, however upscale + diner =oxymoron.

Thnx for the post guys, now i have two new places to try.

The

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Indeed, the Thai food dishes at ACD are quite good, and a bargain at most or all under 90 baht per entree.

That's typically about half the price of what a lot of farang pubs charge, although ACD's portion might be a bit smaller.

But no... there's nothing much :"upscale" about ACD. It's just a nice, comfortable place to eat -- clean, air con, wifi and open late.

Edited July 14, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[kurnell]

Very expensive and very ordinary

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

What exactly have you eaten there....to judge them "very expensive and very ordinary"?

Their Thai food is a real bargain for a real restaurant setting with all the accompanying comforts.

While I agree some of their farang menu items are relatively higher priced, they're hardly "very expensive" in the context of farang/American food entrees offered in Bangkok.

[kevvy]

Sounds to me like this is an American diner, and Americans put mayo on their burgers. I'm planning to check this place out.

I actually don't think most Americans put mayo on their burgers, but I can't prove it. I do understand there is mayo in the sauce on Big Macs but I'm talking about decent non-fast food versions of burgers.

lived in Illinois for 3 years never seen a burger with mayo on it .

[negreanu]

Dont't go to today it's crap. 25mins waiting for drinks. 35 mins waiting for milk shake.

2 waitresses 8 tables of diners. Manager just sat doing paperwork at top of restaurant rather than assisting..the unable to cope waitresses.

Music is deafening today also. Shame because last visit it wasn't bad at all...

Edited July 16, 2013 by negreanu

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Interestingly, they were a fair bit busier than before when we stopped by for an early afternoon lunch on Sunday....

Probably about 8 tables occupied and 2 waitresses during our visit... not seen that many customers too many times in the past.

[negreanu]

Waitresses today haven't a <deleted> clue what they are doing. Never seen the 2 on today probably new. But hence he manager should be in control...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

No excuse for the kind of delays you posted above...

FWIW, the two waitresses I saw on Sunday also were ones I'd never seen before, and not the regular pair I'd seen there on multiple prior visits. Although, we didn't have any particular delays in their service on our visit.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

[deleted]

Edited July 16, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[CodyB]

Had their Angel Burger last night, it was HUGE. It was yummy as well, though I don't think they need a 250gm pattie, especially with the bacon and cheese etc. There has to be over 1,000 calories in that monster.

Their pricing is all over the shop though. 100 baht for a singha, or 100 baht for a freaking Coke... that's overkill. Plus the Vat + SC rounding the price up by 20%

One thinks that with a little more agreeable pricing that they might be a lot more popular. And they need to expand their music selection beyond the 8 song rotation they have now.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

No excuse for the kind of delays you posted above...

FWIW, the two waitresses I saw on Sunday also were ones I'd never seen before, and not the regular pair I'd seen there on multiple prior visits. Although, we didn't have any particular delays in their service on our visit.

[negreanu]

This is my third time there and mrs and I were fairly impressed before but if this is the start of the fall in quality and service they better get their act together.

I got the impression the 2 kitchen staff were swamped as well. Realistically running 8 tables with what is a fairly extensive menu with 2 on the grill, combined with a manager not managing and 2 inexperienced waitresses......rethink time.

My burger arrived 15 mins before the mrs and the nanny's Thai food. Thats my pet hate in most establishments in Thailand the lack of the kitchen to prepare a table in one go.

Will i go back - yes one last time.

Ref milkshake (After 20mins of waiting they then came back and said no Vanilla milkshake! 15 mins later the chocolate one arrived......No vanilla milkshake in a american diner - really??)

And no need for the volume 97 on the sound system for lunch mid-week. 2 tables next to ours were business lunches or office diners and trying to talk business discuss office dealings might have been a tad annoying.

Edited July 16, 2013 by negreanu

[negreanu]

DELETED

Edited July 16, 2013 by negreanu

[theDukes]

Yankophiles you guys know so little about the US.....

Now a good SOUTHERN restaurant is what we need in LOS, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, fried okra...

Well, as I said I am American, while having lived in many other places. I prefer to use slang understood by the masses. But I can call it Bubba Land if you want me to

I thought Bourbon Street had all that heart stopping fat stuff, fatback bacon and lard lard and lard........... Personally that stuff is not quite my cup of tea...oops, I mean not my thing, sorry.

I don't know if Bourbon Street Grill really represents American food much less southern food (only roast beef poboy I have had on Ciabata, only nachos topped with shredded meat in sweet BBQ sauce).

Just to clear up a few issues. Most of the world does not associate American food with fast food. It does recognise that a lot of fast food has originated in the US.

As far as The Angel Dinner goes and to stay on topic, it will surely be a challenge to have an American Dinner that caters to westerners in Bangkok. While many folks talk about the pizza and burger restaurants changing their products for the Thai market the challenge would be to attract the Thai market without compromising. The Thai market is where the business is.

Dave

Edited August 26, 2013 by Maestro
removed reply to removed part of a post

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

FWIW, on the various times I've been to ACD, I've seen virtually no Thai customer presence there... Always what appears to be a mix of expats and their spouses or tourists.

That said, there are a number of Western restaurants around the center of Bangkok that seem to operate with very minimal Thai customer base. And at least some of them manage to stay in business over a period of time. But since I'm not their accountant, don't ask me how they're doing it.

[pmarlin]

The wife and I went for the first time yesterday for lunch. Location sucks as walking down Soi 11 from Sukhumvit is a pain. To me Soi 11 is one of the worst in the area. Inside the music was too loud which forced customers to shout ar each other and this made it very uncomfortable and was not able to relax and enjoy my meal. The cheese burger I ordered was average and overpriced. Also had the chocolate milkshake and it had a weird chalk taste. The wife had a couple of Thai dishes which one she could not eat. The Pork was bad. Also, she was given a dirty spoon which had to be replaced. Not going back.

[pmarlin]

The wife and I went for the first time yesterday for lunch. Location sucks as walking down Soi 11 from Sukhumvit is a pain. To me Soi 11 is one of the worst in the area. Inside the music was too loud which forced customers to shout ar each other and this made it very uncomfortable and was not able to relax and enjoy my meal. The cheese burger I ordered was average and overpriced. Also had the chocolate milkshake and it had a weird chalk taste. The wife had a couple of Thai dishes which one she could not eat. The Pork was bad. Also, she was given a dirty spoon which had to be replaced. Not going back.

[pmarlin]

sorry about the double post

Edited July 17, 2013 by pmarlin

[negreanu]

The wife and I went for the first time yesterday for lunch. Location sucks as walking down Soi 11 from Sukhumvit is a pain. To me Soi 11 is one of the worst in the area. Inside the music was too loud which forced customers to shout ar each other and this made it very uncomfortable and was not able to relax and enjoy my meal. The cheese burger I ordered was average and overpriced. Also had the chocolate milkshake and it had a weird chalk taste. The wife had a couple of Thai dishes which one she could not eat. The Pork was bad. Also, she was given a dirty spoon which had to be replaced. Not going back.

Agree it was <deleted> yesterday. Mrs refuses to go back but I was prepared to give it another go.... But the more I think about it The less chance I will.

My experience and the above posters. Restaurants just cannot afford to do that in the Bangkok Market place. Consistency, quality and service are so important.

We were not huge spenders there but all the times we went we spend around 2500-3000thb for lunch. Not bad for lunchtime customers.

Chocolate milk shake was made by one of the new waitresses that hadn't a <deleted> clue what was going on never mind how to make a milkshake...

I give it 6 months unless there is a dramatic turnaround. hope they read this thread.

They should give a 2000thb voucher to all yesterdays lunch time diners as an apology

Edited July 17, 2013 by negreanu

[up-country_sinclair]

^ and ^^

That's really disappointing to learn of the change in quality. I was planning on stopping in for breakfast this weekend.

I'll probably still give it a go, but now I'm wondering if it will be worth the effort.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Our lunch of Thai menu items on Sunday was fine...the food we ordered was the same as has been served in the past, at least that day for us.

The servers were entirely different from before, though our order wasn't delayed.

I have noticed lately, though, that even during the daytime hours, they sometimes do seem to be cranking up the stereo loud enough to make conversation a bit trying.... They seem to come and go on the music levels.

For anyone who hasn't had a bad experience there as yet, I'd say give them a try.

But if more bad reviews/comments keep surfacing, might need to revise that opinion.

[up-country_sinclair]

I ate at ACD twice over the last four days. My wife and I both enjoyed the food and found it to be reasonably priced for BKK.

The waitstaff screwed up the order on the first visit on Saturday, and those working on Monday night were obviously overwhelmed with the job. I don't know if they were new hires or maybe they were understaffed, but the proprietor should look into this, because it negatively affects the overall dining experience.

We'll probably be back though because the food was good.

[negreanu]

Looks like continuing staff issues will be their downfall if they don't get a grip...

[Newguy70]

Well I have wanted to try this place since they started and finally got my chance. Appearance/Ambiance First let me say this is the first diner I have ever entered that had a pool table inside. The layout is similar to a diner but misses on many levels. First of all when you enter the diner you are smacked in the face with club music which again is a 1st for me, but to each his own. Very spacious, very poor use of space IMHO. No child utensils,plates, bowls etc as I was told by the waitress "mai mi". Staff was unable to communicate with me in English. Why would you hire someone who is unable to communicate with the customers? While I was seated I did notice them interviewing potential employees, so who knows.

Onto the food. It was average at best. If anyone thinks that this place does a decent burger then its obvious that you have no idea what decent is. The burger was bland, and somewhat small. The burger wasn't very visible unless I lifted the top bun. To me the burger was a big disappointment. However, the bun was descent above expectations for a diner. I also thought I he mayonnaise was better than most places, it tasted as if it was home made. Fries were average at best. The price I found to be a bit high for what you get on the American dishes. The Thai dishes were priced more than fair compared to most restaurants located in and around Sukhumvit.

Would I go again? Nope, I would have to pass. After having had their burger and viewing some of the other dishes that were served as well as the shakes the portion sizes for me, plus lack of friendly service, make it a pass for me. Change a few things and I would give it another try!

Too many burger choices in Bangkok that are bigger and better for the same price!

If you surround yourself by those who are comfortable with mediocrity you are bound to fail when running a restaurant in any country...

[up-country_sinclair]

First of all when you enter the diner you are smacked in the face with club music

Not the case on my two visits. It was all Motown, Elvis and Blues.