Long gone are the days when a pub was a pub and you drank there after work with some mates until sozzled and then crawled home. The social contact side is still there, but in addition you need (these days) good food with a changing menu, internet access, TV screens showing all sports and good attentive service.
So how did the Amari’s Tavern by the Sea shape up? Firstly, the venue. It is, as its name implies, a tavern, with a large horseshoe shaped central bar and the building is just across Beach Road from the sea and around 50 meters past the Mantra restaurant. Tavern by the Sea? Yes it is: tick!
Ribs and Wings.
The tavern is in three distinct sections. There is an outdoor setting, al fresco if you like, adjacent to Beach Road, where all the BBQs are set up. There is an air-conditioned main area with the bar, plenty of seats, TV sets and the like and then there is a mezzanine with its own bar, overlooking the outdoor setting.
The Tavern has always had a good reputation for food, and in fact an American friend claims that the hamburgers are the best in Thailand, and he is a hamburger expert looking at his size (yes, you Ken). There is a standard menu, plus there are rotating specials. The new menu is comprehensive, without being overpowering and begins with breakfasts, both Thai/Asian and European. Appetizers next with a strapped jacket potato with cheddar, bacon, spiced sour cream and spring onions (B. 150).
Soups next, salads, pizzas and pastas, burgers and hot dogs, sandwiches, Philly steak, racks of ribs, Thai cuisine, pub grub (fish ‘n chips), a kid’s menu, desserts and drinks.
Amidst loud shouts from the kitchen, chicken fajitas come out steaming on the hot plates, along with the tortilla wraps and guacamole, cheese, and cream dips. Fun theater from the service staff as well as being fun eating.
One of the additions to the expanded Thai section was khao soy gai (spelled Kao Soi Gai in the menu), which is the traditional Burmese curry dish, plentiful in Chiang Mai, but difficult to find in Pattaya. This comes with fried egg noodles in a plate of curry and chicken breast slices, along with fermented cabbage and onion. A great Thai taste treat (even though it was imported from Burma) and at B. 230 a meal on its own.
Amari’s Tavern by the Sea has a large horseshoe shaped central bar.
Pizzas? There 10 to choose from and the Pescatore, a seafood pizza with sautéed prawns, mussels and fish with tomato sauce, basil and mild chili, sounded very interesting.
The Dining Out team did this review on a Wednesday to review the Ribs and Wings offerings. At B. 399 and all you can eat, this is not expensive, and for another B. 50 you can have a glass of Heineken with the deal.
The way this works is simple. Finger bowls are brought first, and if you are an extremely sloppy eater, then you get a bib as well! The ribs and wings are marinated in different sauces and then put on the grill. Six different wings (honey, sweet chili, garlic rosemary, plain, tandoori and BBQ) are delivered to your table as well as two slabs of ribs. The meat just fell off the ribs, a tribute to Chef Leonard’s preparation. When you want more, you just ask and it arrives very quickly. The team found it a fun evening, and food should always be fun!
Tavern by the Sea? Yes it is: tick!
We can wholeheartedly say that we enjoyed the Ribs and Wings. The expanded Thai menu is also good marketing, with more and more Bangkok Thais coming down to Pattaya for weekends.
The specials nights include an Indian Curry night on Mondays (B. 449), the Ribs and Wings on Wednesdays (B. 399, or with a glass of San Miguel B. 449), and the Churrasco nights on Fridays and Saturdays, featuring all you can eat with prawns and pork ribs being just two of the favorites (B. 690).
Tavern by the Sea, Amari Orchid Pattaya, Beach Road, telephone 038 418 418, email [email protected], secure parking in hotel grounds, Tavern open seven days 11 a.m. until 1 a.m., special on Wednesdays Ribs and Wings 6.30 p.m. until 10 p.m.
