The Symphony restaurant has now been around long enough not to be the new drummer in the orchestra. It opened initially around two years ago, without any fanfare of trumpets or dramatic clash of cymbals. In fact, owner and conductor Hugh Millar could not be accused of overly waving his baton! However, Symphony has now settled in securely, and the only percussion is the occasional rattle of a coffee cup.
The premises is certainly no Albert Hall or Impact Arena, being a converted single shop-house, but done in such a way that it can comfortably seat far more diners than you would think possible. So if you are a party of 44, don’t worry, Hugh can fit you in. Just!
Despite the size, or perhaps even because of the size, the ambience is a cozy one of understated class, and the fittings, cutlery and glassware are of the high standard expected in one of our ‘better’ restaurants. You know immediately that this is not a bistro, but it is also not attempting to be ‘fine dining’ in the grand European manner. It is up-market, but without any pretensions.
The menu is evolving continually, so expect some new items if it has been a while since you ate there. There are also rotating daily specials, which Hugh described as “things I want to try”.
There are 12 starters (B. 170-270) with favorites such as traditional smoked salmon, frog legs or chicken liver pate or something different like a beef carpaccio or duo of prawn and crab.
Soups (B. 150-180), salads (B. 90-210), steak dishes (B. 350-690), fish dishes (B. 310-590) all show that the items are very keenly priced, and a Steak Balmoral at B. 390 a veritable Scottish bargain.
The wine list covers most wine-producing regions of the world and we chose (following Hugh Millar’s recommendation) an Australian Tall Poppy Shiraz 2003, which was a nicely rounded red, and at B. 1,300 most reasonably priced for a wine of that standard. House wines by the glass are B. 160-180.
We began with the scallops in a cheese and white wine sauce for Madame (B. 200), artfully presented and the rich creamy sauce was excellent. I began with a pan-fried prawn dish with Parmesan on a bed of tomato sauce (B. 290). Sounds strange, but it was a wonderful taste explosion, with the prawns still juicy and not overcooked.
For mains, Madame could not go past the Chilean snow fish (B. 590), a dish we have had before at Symphony and was well worth revisiting. I decided to try the very inexpensive local Thai beef fillet (B. 390), rather than the New Zealand beef, for which one pays a premium. The local beef was tender, with not quite the flavor of the imported meat, but was still very good, and great value. Mention must be made of the side vegetables, broccoli in a tomato pesto, plus another dish with mixed vegetables (carrots and asparagus) sautéed with garlic and bacon. What a wonderful change from the usual steamed examples. Well done, Hugh!
Desserts? Too full, I am afraid, though Symphony’s new dessert line-up looked very attractive. You will have to try that for yourselves.
Symphony has always been an up-market restaurant, and now after two years seems to have really settled down and is comfortable in the niche it has carved for itself. We have noticed an upwards movement in the menu over that time, and in the presentation, but no commensurate upward movement in the prices. This has made Symphony excellent value for money in the upper end of Pattaya restaurants. Finally, the low season ‘Two courses plus a glass of wine or beer’ promotion for B. 499 represents unbeatable value, and should not be missed. Symphony is providing its diners with inexpensive and yet high quality dining, and we suggest it is well worth a visit.
Symphony Restaurant, Second Road between Soi 8 and Soi 7. Open evenings only (5 p.m. until 11 p.m.) and booking is recommended. Telephone 038 420 939. On-street parking, so grab the first available space as you approach Soi 9, or continue on and park in Tops Supermarket and walk the 50 meters back.

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Grilled marinated sea bass

Sea bass in the local markets is plentiful and great quality. You can even go to the boats yourself and choose your own, just caught that morning. This recipe is a fast way to prepare and cook thick fish fillets. You can serve this with noodles or steamed rice.

Cooking Method:
Preheat oven; set to convection at 400°F.
Rub fish fillets with sesame seed oil and hot chilli oil. Mix together garlic, lemon rind, salt and white pepper and evenly divide among the filets. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes, best done in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Heat a skillet on the cook top over high heat, and heat the oil. When the skillet is hot, place fish in the skillet. Without turning or moving, cook until lightly brown or until grill marks are apparent, about 3 minutes. Remove fillets and continue cooking in the preheated convection oven set to 400ºF for about 6 to 8 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork. Total cooking time for 3 cm fillets is around 10 minutes.

Ingredients                    Serves 4
Sea bass fillets 500 gm (about 4 pieces)
Vegetable oil                          2 tbspns
Sesame seed oil                        1 tspn
Hot chilli oil                              ¼ tspn
Garlic finely minced                2 cloves
Grated lemon rind                    1 tbspn
Salt                                        ½ tspn
White pepper                      1/8th tspn
Ground black pepper to taste