If you have never heard of the Paulaner Garden, or have heard of it but don’t know where it is, you are forgiven. Paulaner Garden is new, and is on the top floor (3rd floor Beach Road side) of the Royal Garden Plaza, with Food Wave as its neighbor.
The name of the Paulaner brewery refers to an order of friars that resided in Neuhauser Strasse in Munich who were part of the order of Saint Francis of Paola. The monks began brewing beer for their own use in 1634, although some beer was sampled by the parishioners. After the abolition of the cloister in 1799, the building was converted into a penitentiary. However, Paulaner did not die in captivity and is still a very popular German beer today.
With the full range of Paulaner beers being imported to Thailand by the happily gregarious Ken Whitty, he then opened a German beer garden in Bangkok to go with his beers. Three and a half years down the track, and just over two months ago, he has now opened the Paulaner Garden in Pattaya.
In common with the Food Wave, the Paulaner Garden has spectacular views across Pattaya Bay through to the Royal Cliff in the west. There are two viewing areas outside, one under cover and the other open to the elements. The covered one is fine during the day and the other one best to watch the spectacular sunsets. There is another dining area indoors and air-conditioned, complete with a bar and a couple of Paulaner draft beers on tap.
The menu shows that the fare is more than just German and oom-pah-pah. There are many international items, such a NZ Mussels (B. 270) or grilled Atlantic salmon steak with lemon butter (B. 450). There is even a children’s section in the menu with hot dogs, spaghetti and the like, all at B. 120. Starters are catered for with items such as chicken wings (B. 150) or the Thai favorite pla muek sai thong (B. 160). Salads and sides, with most in the range B. 125-195 have enough choices for most tastes and there are many Thai items for those dining partners who are not enthusiastic over ‘farang’ food. Of course, the desserts do offer warm apple strudel with vanilla ice cream (B. 160) and a totally decadent Linzer Torte with hazelnut sugar dough with raspberry jam and chocolate ice cream also B. 160. Not recommended for those on a diet!
Germans love their beers and Paulaner is one of the favorites. Sixteen beers are available with most between B. 150-195. The range is generally at 5.5 percent alcohol, though beware of the traditional Salvator at 7.9 percent.
Wines are available, with the house red and white at B. 170 per glass. Bottled wines are from France, Spain and Chile with most under B. 1,000 per bottle. The house white I tried was excellent quaffing.
We sampled many items from the menu and can honestly say we were not disappointed in any way. While making our choices, we snacked on traditional pretzels with pate, great with beer. The items were correctly cooked and the portion sizes were large. I particularly liked the spicy goulash soup with beef and bell peppers (B. 120) and followed that up with the assorted Bavarian sausage served with sauerkraut and German roasted potatoes (B.295).
If you have a large appetite, look at the bacon ribs which are pickled in-house. As we were three in the party, the next dish we sampled was an enormous pork knuckle with traditional sauerkraut and potatoes (full B. 450, half B. 250). This is a dish that can be overcooked if the chef is not careful. The chef had it just right.
We moved outside and lingered, enjoying the view and finished with coffees, complete with warm milk. Nice touch.
We were more than impressed and can readily recommend this new restaurant in the center of town, for a refreshing beer or a great meal.
Paulaner Garden, 3rd floor Royal Garden Plaza (Beach Road side), open 11 a.m. until 12 midnight, seven days. Secure parking in the Royal Garden Plaza car park (but remember to get Paulaner Garden to stamp your ticket).
