The Dining Out Team had an overseas visitor with us and
we thought hard as where he could be taken. Many great restaurants reviewed
recently, but European cuisine in the main. Where could we take a European
visitor to experience some genuine Thai food, with a restaurateur willing to
explain everything? In the end, it was simple - Somsakdi Restaurant, run by
Somsakdi Kavowthong, who will admit to being 75, but he is a very sprightly
75, still with his trademark towel over his left shoulder.
If
any restaurant in Pattaya deserves to be called an icon, it is Somsakdi, in
Soi 1 Beach Road, having been there for 28 years, 19 on the right hand side
and nine on the left and about three quarters of the way up the soi.
Enormous high ceilings keep the temperature under control, and there are
many, many tables, which began to fill up during our meal. The Dining Out
Team was not the only people to know about Somsakdi Restaurant.
When you enter, you will see a smiling chap in a colored shirt and a napkin
over his left shoulder. This is Somsakdi, who never seems to age, and who
has been running his own restaurant here in Pattaya for almost 30 years.
Somsakdi really is one of the success stories of Pattaya, but the road to
the top was not an easy one. He was once a delivery boy for Pepsi-Cola, for
a monthly salary of 450 baht. At that time he also decided that, “One day I
have to be boss, not just a worker.” A turning point was to come in his life
after just a few months of pushing Pepsi wheel barrows. He met famous
restaurateur Dolf Riks, who advised him that if he were to achieve his aim,
he should go to the kitchens. This he did, and traveled the world in
sea-going galleys, bringing back not postcards, but recipes from different
parts of the world. He worked with famous cooks such as Moogens Bay
Esbensen, at the renowned Two Vikings Restaurant in Bangkok. Finally he came
to Pattaya and worked with Dolf Riks, his advisor from so many years before
and then opened his own restaurant, simply called “Somsak’s” to be later
called “Somsakdi’s”.
The venue is enormous, and because of its capacity has
always been very popular with large groups. The very reasonably priced
dishes are also an attraction!
Not only is the venue enormous, but so is the menu as well! Pages and pages
in both Thai and English, with items covering Thai food, European food,
Chinese and vegetarian cuisine. “Three hundred and seventy four,” said
Somsakdi with pride.
To help us with the menu, we ordered Heineken beer which at B. 60 is a
bargain in a restaurant these days. Appetizers are in the B. 150-200 range.
Seafood dishes are B. 250-500 and he even has fried kippers, a perennial
European favorite. Thai dishes are mainly under B. 200.
Somsak is very proud of the fact that he was the one who brought deep-fried
ice cream to Pattaya from New York, many years ago. Our guest mentioned that
he likes deep-fried ice cream, and after a short discourse on how it should
be done, he returned with the (almost compulsory) dessert. And it was
beautiful.
We had a selection of dishes from the 374, and when
Somsakdi suggested some we were happy to listen to the restaurateur. His/our
selection included Hoi Jaw deep-fried crab and pork (B. 250), spring rolls
(B. 170), a Tom Kha Gai, the Gai Sawan (flamed chicken on a hot plate),
Green curry and a fried rice (B. 200). Quite frankly, the food was
delicious, with the flaming chicken, the Tom Kha Gai and the Green curry
being stand-out dishes. We can highly recommend Somsakdi Restaurant, and is
certainly a venue to take your overseas visitors for a great and inexpensive
evening. Out of 374 items, even the pickiest of eaters will find something
they will enjoy.
Somsakdi Restaurant, Pattaya Soi 1, tel: 038 428 987, 038 423 284, 038 429
869, limited parking but plenty of on-street parking in the soi. Hours 11
a.m. until 11 p.m.
