Dining Out 2007

by Miss Terry Diner

Another year, another 100 starters, another 100 main courses between Madame and myself, and another 50 reviews. It has been a very full year, and not as easy as many readers would imagine. The concept is not one for the reviewers to have a good time, but one to give the readers an objective opinion as to what the restaurant is like.

Remember too, that when reviewing a restaurant, the Dining Out team has to take into account the style (and prices) of the restaurant. One should not expect pre-warmed plates at a roadside eatery, but should definitely expect one in a fine dining venue.

With just 50 restaurants reviewed each year, this is but a small proportion of the restaurants in Pattaya. 10 years ago we were talking about 300 restaurants in Pattaya. Now there are more than 1,000 and we reviewed more than 10 significant new restaurants this year alone. So if your favorite restaurant was not in the list below, the most likely reason was simply it was not on our visiting list in 2007. You can always contact us if you would like us to review it in 2008, which is best by emailing the Pattaya Mail.

So here is our list. The order is not really significant, but the category the restaurants are in is probably more important. We have also made comments after each listing, which will also act as a guide.

So straight into the Top Level:

Casa Pascal –superb anytime and Sunday Brunch most enjoyable.

Grill Room and Wine Cellar - the Royal Cliff Beach Resort at its best.

Mata Hari - with wine bar and restaurant, the best of both worlds.

Mantra - spectacular dining with multiple cuisines.

Bruno’s - predictably top class.

Manhattans - a newcomer and steak specialist in Nirvana Place.

The Bay - Italian fine dining at the Dusit Thani Pattaya Resort.

Intermediate Level:

Symphony - finally finding its niche in the market.

Poseidon - with Kim and Pascal Schnyder at the helm, now rising to its potential.

Amor - Around forever, and forever first class.

Great Solid Meals:

Jameson’s Irish Pub - pub grub, enormous portions and not expensive.

Hard Rock Caf้ - eat to the beat, where else on Beach Road?

Greg’s Kitchen - lashings of British food and inexpensive.

Caf้ New Orleans - sanity in Soi Pattayaland 2, with different cuisine.

King Seafood - another long-stay restaurant with a great venue.

Asian Moon - one of the best breakfasts in town and great for families (kids are free)!

Great American Rib - for great American ribs.

Queen Vic - Fun pub in a fun street!

Caddy Shack - another British food pub, but a little out of the way.

Captain’s Corner - around for years and still great value.

Elephant Bar - British food, and you’ll never leave hungry.

“Ethnic” restaurants:

Don Joe - Italian like Mumma used to make, great venue on Walking Street.

The Taj - Indian food, very well presented in a great venue 3rd Road.

Yamato - the new venue (behind Carrefour) has given Yamato a new lease of life.

Au Bon Coin - unofficial French embassy, wonderful French cuisine.

Trattoria Toscana - new venue on Beach Road, and decidedly Italian.

Tikka 2 - crazily cheap Indian food in Jomtien Complex.

Some ‘newbies’ worth visiting:

Hans Fine Dining - Second Road (opposite Xzyte), European style.

La Luna - top end 3rd Road, also European and faultless.

Seafood Emporium - opposite Jomtien Market, marinated seafood concept.

Pizza Pizza - in The Avenue, Italian with a flourish!

Fatboys - another in The Avenue, based on US Diner.

Romanasia - best bargain in Pattaya, marvel at the d้cor!

Stone Oven Jomtien - new venue for amazing pizzas.

News Caf้ - European food in Chateau Dale Jomtien.

So that was 2007 in a nutshell, or perhaps in a parfait glass or gravy boat. Pattaya’s dining out scene has evolved, and the choice of restaurants is without peer. You can dine in style every night, and the Dining Out team has been privileged to highlight just a few of the outstanding venues for our readers. There are 27 of them in the list. Happy New Year’s eating from the team!

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French Onion Soup

This is probably the simplest way to make French Onion Soup in the world. Being a French national symbol, countless cooks have given their renderings of this classic soup, from Escoffier onwards till today. This particular recipe came from Sue Bett in her long out of date recipe book “Great Ideas Galley Guide”, and I have also modified it slightly. This makes for a very hearty dish. French Onion Soup should be served very hot.

Cooking Method:
Fry the onions in the butter until soft and transparent in a saucepan. Add the stock and grated rind and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove rind with a fine strainer and add sherry.

Now place a slice of toast in the bottom of the serving bowls and pour the soup into each bowl. The toast will float to the top, and sprinkle it with the grated cheese and then briefly microwave to melt the cheese, or place under the salamander. Voila!

Ingredients           Serves 3-4
Onions, large, sliced           6
Butter                                4 tbspns
Lemon or lime rind, grated   1 lemon/lime
Beef stock cubes (3) in        2 liters water
Sherry                                4 tbspns
Cheddar cheese, grated       8 tbspns
Whole wheat toast              4 slices