El Ocito - Major disappointment

[thenoilif]

I want to start by saying that I had high expectations given that it is from the same guy who brought us La Monitas, which a perfect blend of atmosphere and excellent food. Billy Batista was able to bring a faithful Mexican cuisine that had been butchered by every other restaurant before it, to the LoS.

He not only captured the food but the atmosphere of a quant Southern Cali taco joint. There is not pretention, just great food, drinks, service, and surroundings.

Unfortunately he seems to have completely missed the boat with El Ocito.

Upon entering this the establishment, which is right next door to La Monitas, in a large business complex next to the Ploen Chit BTS station, I immediately got the feeling that this was going to be a negative experience.

The décor of El Ocito is basically a hodge podge of various styles that are blended together to give the place a modern urban feel. It’s a paint by numbers copy of every other new café/bistro/lounge that have been popping up in the various western dominated coves of BKK. Concrete floors, exposed ceilings, suspended light bulbs, and of course a large iron-esque chandelier. I am starting to wonder if every restaurateur in the city is hiring the same interior decorator because they all just seem to blend together. The wait staff is also dressed like they are working in some hip nightspot farther down on Suhk.

The décor wouldn’t really be that big of a deal if the food was excellent but it’s not. This is the biggest disappointment because of how good La Monita’s food is and because I have been waiting for someone to open up a quality American style deli sandwich joint. I ordered the New York Style Pastrami Sandwich on Rye; one of my favorites and my friend ordered their bacon cheeseburger. I was expecting excellent pastrami given that it seems to be a signature as they really push for you to add it to as an extra topping on many of their burgers and sandwiches. Sorry to report but the pastrami was very mediocre. In fact it didn’t even seem like pastrami at all, just a lightly season, thin sliced ham. There was generous a portion of meat but the sandwich was also supposed to have gruyere cheese but much like the seasoning on the pastrami, there was very little on the actual sandwich to the point that I had a hard time finding it. Maybe my expectations were a bit high because I was anticipating a sandwich with cheese oozing out from the sliced middle much like what you get in the states. The sandwich was also extremely dry, meat was over cooked and the bread was also overdone.

My friend’s burger was also below average. The patty was thin and overcooked, with very basic toppings. The bun was the best part as it was soft and not overwhelming. I don’t mind a basic lettuce, tomato, and cheeseburger but at least make an effort with better quality meat given the abundance of better options out there.

To add insult to injury, the prices are a bit on the high side given the quality. My sandwich was close to 350 baht with fries (which were actually decent) after VAT and service and my friend’s burger was also close to that price as well. They offer two different sandwich sizes and mine was the smaller of the two options with the bigger one having more meat but costing over 400 baht!

On top of all of this the service was very poor. We were the only customers in the place and there were 5 servers just standing around and we still had to get their attention anytime we needed anything. An older Thai women, who I think is the principle in the business even came in at one point and the servers were more interested in socializing with her than attending to their only customers. Places like this make me really hate the obligatory 10% 'service' charge that has become standard at most western style restaurants.

In closing, not only was this one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have had in BKK, it was also one of the most confusing. Much like the décor, this place doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Does it want to be a high end Spanish lounge or a New York style deli? Personally I think they should have separated the tapas and sandwiches into two different concepts. They could have opened up a smaller, more quant joint for the sandwiches and charge less money so the value matches the product (even though the product does need some work) and left El Oconto as a dinner/late night Spanish style tapas and drinks lounge, which based on the setup would be more fitting. Either way I don’t think I will be returning anytime soon.

[lomatopo]

Believe the name of this establishment is El Osito.

http://elositobkk.com/EL_Osito_Sandwiches_and_Tapas/Welcome.html

[thenoilif]

Damn I've been off with the spelling lately.

Edited November 2, 2013 by thenoilif

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I tried El Osito for lunch the first time a week or so ago, and wrote this review for another thread here on American style sandwiches... I'm not as negative on this place as the OP above... And I really could care less about their decor choices. But based on one visit only, I do share some of the OP's feelings about the prices and service, and the food not being as good as I would have hoped. But I'm willing to give them another try sometime, if for no other reason, just to explore their interesting menu choices a bit more.

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For a variety of American deli sandwiches, the not very long ago opened El Osito near the Ploenchit BTS Station has an interesting menu of various deli sandwiches and hamburgers for their lunch/afternoon menu only.

http://www.elositobk...U/LunchMenu.pdf

I was there for the first time a week ago, and had a cheeseburger with homemade pastrami for 290 baht++. Fries or chips are extra, which for me makes it a bit pricey. I thought the burger was OK...and the combo of the beef and pastrami was not something you can find every day around these parts. But I thought the beef they were using for the burger was pretty good.

Sorry the pastrami cheeseburger photo is out of focus... Pastrami on the top underneath the veggies, with the burger and cheese on the bottom.

Other lunch menu sandwiches there include a reuben, cubano, BLT for 120++ baht (which my wife had, and I tasted, finding it pretty sparse and ho-hum, but with a very thick French roll), braised brisket, Vietnamese BBQ pork, salami, cheesesteak, etc.

The curious part is, this restaurant is the sister restaurant and located right nextdoor to the popular La Monita Mexican place. But when we went last Saturday afternoon right at lunch time, we were the only customers in El Osito during our entire stay. Presumably they're busier on weekdays with the local office lunch crowd. El Osito is closed on Sundays, and at night time, they switch to a different menu focused on tapas.

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FWIW, the burger in my pastrami cheeseburger was not thin nor was it over or undercooked. And I thought the ground beef was quite good. But I'll agree the pastrami, at least as tasted within a burger, was on the light side taste-wise. As for the service, I had almost an identical experience, being the only customer in the place for a Saturday lunchtime, having a half dozen or so servers standing around and chatting, but not paying much attention to our table. But when one did come to the table, they were polite and efficient. Still, overall, less of an experience than I would have hoped.

[wooloomooloo]

My friend’s burger was also below average.

I honestly thought the OP was describing a Michelin starred restaurant. Doh.

[Ulysses G.]

My friend’s burger was also below average.

I honestly thought the OP was describing a Michelin starred restaurant. Doh.

Me too.

A pastrami sandwich sounds good and so does a cheeseburger, but a "pastrami cheeseburger" does NOT.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A pastrami sandwich sounds good and so does a cheeseburger, but a "pastrami cheeseburger" does NOT.

UG, I assume you like cheeseburgers, and I assume you like pastrami. How about the common bacon cheeseburger?

So what's wrong with a pastrami-topped cheeseburger? I actually thought the combination was quite good. And a whole lot better than their BLT.

[Ulysses G.]

It just does not ring my bell, But I might think that it was OK if I tried it. . Bacon cheeseburgers are almost a necessity in Thailand because the bacon covers up the taste of the lousy beef.

[jonathan63]

You can always try the worst lasagne in town at la boca or actualy just worse than that in the jomtien beer bar complex rumpo a new italian just opened what r these italian chefs up to...Expensive rubbish back to pattaya italian restaurants..

[NoshowJones]

Believe the name of this establishment is El Osito.

http://elositobkk.com/EL_Osito_Sandwiches_and_Tapas/Welcome.html

To the OP. Never in a million years would I ever pay a service charge, if I ever saw it on the menu, I would walk straight back out.