by Miss Terry Diner
It had been some time since the Dining Out Team had
been to the Grill Room, which is located in the main building of the Royal
Cliff Beach Resort. We arranged to meet Andrew Wood, the general manager
of the Royal Cliff and Ranjith Chandrasiri, the resident manager of the
Royal Cliff Grand for dinner, meeting at the Piano Bar, which overlooks
the Grill Room itself.
Some words about the Piano Bar will not go astray - as
a pre-dinner meeting place it is an excellent choice. Quiet, comfortable
and attentive staff. We did enjoy a bottle of the Italian sparkling wine,
Ca del Bosco - very refreshing and not a sweet wine compared to most
Italian bubblies. Having Ranjith, the guru of the Wine Club with us,
certainly helped in wine selection.
You go downstairs to the Grill Room, passing the Wine
Cellar on the way. This is now the largest wine cellar in Thailand, if my
spies have got that correct, and with some wines up to 240,000 baht, the
reverential air of the staff is warranted! However, there are
“affordable” wines there too, for the likes of Miss Terry!
The restaurant proper is done out in a golden teakwood,
with dining alcoves set beneath teak eaves, while the high curved ceiling
is also teak. The ambience is sumptuous, and the staff makes sure that
your every need is catered for. There is something about the Royal Cliff
service which does place it apart from other restaurants. The words
flawless and impeccable spring easily to mind.
The table settings are also worth mentioning, with
specially designed hand blown crystal glasses just waiting for your wine
choice. We left the choice of wine to Andrew and Ranjith and we were
presented with their new range of exclusively blended wines which are now
under the Royal Cliff “house” label. There are 10 varieties in all and
we tried the Riesling/Gewurztraminer 2001 and the Chardonnay/Semillon
2001. Both were excellent and at 800 baht a bottle not over the top in any
way.
There was a new menu in the Grill Room since our last
visit and it begins with Cold Appetizers (150-360 baht) with such choices
as smoked trout on cucumber salad and saffron-mayonnaise through to half a
dozen fresh Tasmanian oysters. Soups are up next (B. 95-130) including an
interesting scampi-bisque flamb้ed with cognac.
Warm Appetizers follow (B. 220-310) including baked
snails in herb butter. After these it is into the grills themselves, with
seafood first (B. 310-580), then lamb and other combinations (B. 350-620).
After these comes the beef grill selections (around B. 520 plus a
Chateaubriand for two at B. 1150, followed by the flamb้ choices (B.
550-560). If you still have room, there are also many choices of desserts
of wickedly indulgent natures. However, it does not end there, as there is
a daily special menu, which at 750 baht per head for 5 courses (including
river trout, sole fillet and oven roasted lamb on our evening) plus coffee
and pralines, represents sensational value for dining at this level.
We had a varied selection which included the freshly
opened Tasmanian oysters, which came on a frozen ice “plate” and the
snails, complete with special snail tongs (the Royal Cliff misses no minor
details). Madame shared a Chateaubriand with Ranjith and declared it a
tour de force, while my roasted middle-cut fillet served with cabernet jus
was done exactly to my order and literally fell apart. The saut้ed
vegetables were also done correctly.
Desserts? There was no room, and Ranjith’s wines were
starting to make their presence felt, so it was time to adjourn (but not
till after coffee and a cheese platter)! Altogether a sensational evening,
thank you Andrew and Ranjith.
So how do you define excellence? The food was superb
and the service exemplary. Somehow the Royal Cliff always makes you feel
important, and with the new daily special B. 750 menu, the evening is
eminently affordable too. It is impossible to award the Grill Room
anything other than First Class and very highly recommended.
The Grill Room, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, 353 Pratamnak Road, tel. 038
250 421 email [email protected]
