You would imagine that the Berlin Wall has been erected
in Pattaya. It is called Sukhumvit Road! On one side is Pattaya and on the
other? Well, it’s called “the other side of Sukhumvit Road” and for
some reason, people are afraid to go there!
The
Dining Out team hoisted its collective skirts, rushed the 0.5 km down
Sukhumvit Road from Central Pattaya Road, turned left at the (orange) 7-11
store on the corner of Soi Khao Noi, and about 400 metres on the left (after
Formosa Massage) is the Prince of Wales pub. We were not arrested by secret
police or made to show passports, because we came from the “Pattaya
side”. In fact, the “other side of Sukhumvit” looks exactly like this
side!
The Prince of Wales has the typical double shop-house
frontage and a pool table to walk past as you enter. Along one wall are the
rosters for the pool league - the Prince of Wales is heavily into pool!
Much of the pub space is taken up by the three sided bar
in the middle, with sit-up stools and a bar top deep enough to be able to
eat at. A large TV dominates (the bar is heavily into all sports) and a
large projection screen is on order. To show the origins of the pub, a large
Welsh flag, featuring the legendary griffon, is also hanging on one wall. In
‘local’ fashion, there are DVD’s for rent and a book exchange as well.
We settled with a beer each (it’s a pub after all),
with draft Heineken (B. 50) and Chang (B. 39) both on tap and perused the
menu. It begins with an All Day Special breakfast that owners Kung and
Richard say is their most popular dish. At B. 85 for bacon, sausage, egg,
tomato, beans, fried potatoes, two slices of toast and tea or coffee, you
can see why. For the teapots out there, the Prince of Wales has Typhoo and
PG Tips. True to its origins, the pub also serves Welsh Rarebit (B. 50).
Over the page and there are pies, pies and more pies (B.
90-150) including steak and kidney, chicken and leek and mince and onion.
“Other” dishes are next with the interesting sounding “Faggotts, peas,
gravy and chips” on offer for B. 120. (These are a ‘rissole’ style
meat patty and very flavorsome - both Madame and I enjoyed it.) Most of the
others were around B. 120 including a pork chop. There are also curries (B.
130) and snacks. For those who want Thai food, there are many local outlets
close by, and you can bring their Thai delicacies(?) to the pub to eat.
Beverages include house wine (B. 100 per glass) and
spirits, beers and softs all inexpensively priced.
There are some objective parameters to reviewing food. As
well as taste, there is quantity, presentation and price. We both considered
that the Prince of Wales cooked great chips - a most important staple with
British food, which is generally of the “something and chips” genre, and
the other items we tried were fine. The amount was excellent - the cottage
pie and the steak and Guinness pie were both more than adequate. The
presentation was good, other than one Uri Geller (bendable) fork. Mein host
Richard assured me that it would be sent back to the Middle Eastern mystic
immediately! Finally, price. When a steak and Guinness pie comes in at B.
150, it would be difficult to fault the value. In fact, well nigh
impossible. Just ask around town to see what others are asking.
In summation, we had some very passable ‘value for
money pub grub’ in a friendly pub ambience. The heading for this week’s
dining out was important. The Prince of Wales is a pub that sells food, not
a restaurant that sells beer. There is a big difference. The Prince of Wales
has no pretensions to be anything else. Definitely another good value
alternative to try.
The Prince of Wales, 113/53-4 Soi Khao Noi (AKA Soi Formosa), Sukhumvit
Road, Pattaya, telephone 038 376 860, web
www.geocities.com/princeofwalespattaya. On street parking. Open 10 a.m. till
late.
