The Balcony Restaurant on Soi Bukhao

[Evil Penevil]

Quite by accident, I discovered Friday night a restaurant in which I had never eaten and probably never would, had it not been for an odd set of circumstances. I had five Thai girls with me Friday night and we were going to eat a very late (midnight) dinner in the LK Metro area. I had planned on taking them to the "Tin Cups" restaurant (a k a "Hole-in-the-Wall" or "No-name" restaurant) on Soi Bukhao, but one of the girls absolutely refused to set foot in it. I'm not sure why, but I don't think it had anything to do with the food there per se. 

Instead, another of the girls suggested a restaurant across the street called "The Balcony."
 




I was dubious, but I trusted her recommendation. I'm glad I did. It was brightly lit and while not fancy, was nicely done up inside. It had an extensive Thai menu and quite a few farang dishes of the "comfort food" variety. I let the ladies order the meal and didn't pay much attention to the menu.





The pics show what we got, all for the facile price of 1,054 baht, including drinks for six people (one San Miguel Light, the rest water or Coke). Five dishes, including two whole fish and big bowl of rice. That's a lot of food for 175 baht per person, including drinks. It was all excellent, very fresh and tasty.

A spicy Thai squid dish:



Another spicy dish:







Steamed fished with chili and lime sauce:



Chicken with cashews:





A fried fish:







I was so impressed I went back and ate alone the following night. My solo meal was squid with salted eggs, roast duck and rice. I drank a can of Coke Light and the total cost was 370 baht. Both my dishes were again excellent, particularly the duck. Very moist and tender, but not at all greasy.

Squid with salted eggs:








Roast duck:









I know there used to be a restaurant and bakery off North Pattaya Road that was called The Balcony, but I have no idea if it has any connection with this one on Soi Bukhao, about half-way between Soi LK Metro and Soi Diana. I'm not sure about the hours, but I saw that it served farang breakfast (even pancakes!), so it may even be open 24 hours. On each occasion I was there, my party and my lonesome were the only customers. That's too bad, because on the basis of the food I've eaten, it deserves more customers. It's a good place to have Thai food. It's more comfortable and less rushed than a hole-in-the-wall place, but the prices are very reasonable.

Evil

[deathlay]

Looks good,I'm sure more people will try it after seeing this

[petermik]

I.ts new to Pattaya and has been open a couple of months, due to it being the lowest of low seasons it has struggled to attract customers even though they are offering a 10% reduction in prices plus a free glass of wine with any steak meal-

[Tyson1]

Looks great heading there in 5 weeks was looking for some restaurant tips I will be eating there for shore cheats

[izzyg]

Thanks! I will check it out in August.

[moey007]

thanks for the post will be trying it for sure. Is it on the LK Metro and soi dianna side of soi bakou or the opposite side of the road.

 

Has anyone tried the steaks there

 

but i love thai food and duck, i usually go to leng kee restaurant 

[lecarreblanc]

thank u evil   food seems very tasty

 

I am also curious about how the night ended with 5 thai girls

[Mick Pattaya]

Must say a good chance find, the duck looks salivating.

[expatdude]

Thanks yet again. I might check this place out.

[smiler]

Thanks for the review, tried it last night (thai food) & was very impressed.

[Evil Penevil]

thanks for the post will be trying it for sure. Is it on the LK Metro and soi dianna side of soi bakou or the opposite side of the road.

 

Has anyone tried the steaks there

 

but i love thai food and duck, i usually go to leng kee restaurant 

 

It's on the Diana-LK Metro side.  The roast duck held the same standard as Lee Keng, but of course you can get duck prepared in a lot more ways at Leng Kee.

 

thank u evil   food seems very tasty

 

I am also curious about how the night ended with 5 thai girls

 

Four of the five were ex-FLB and ex-Secrets' hostesses. Three of them are now working at a beer bar on Soi Bukhao, the fourth no longer  "works bar" but was there visiting her friends.  The fifth was a lady I'd never met before, but works in the Soi Bukhao BB.  Basically, they were sitting in the BB hanging out after the girls' shift had ended.  I walked past on my way to listen to the live music at the Rockhouse and they of course were happy to see me.  They all wanted to come along. No bar fines were involved.  After the Rockhouse, we went to Lady Love to say hello to the ex-FLBers who now work there.  We left Lady Love around midnight for a late supper and ended up in The Balcony.  It was all very innocent.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

 

And to keep the thread on topic:  On my way back from a solo bar crawl of LK Metro bars, I stopped in yet again at The Balcony for a very late supper. I thought I'd try their farang food and had spaghetti with meatballs. It was a small portion, more of an appetizer than a main course, but the price was also small, 119 baht. It was good. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, the way it should be done. Too often in Pattaya spaghetti is cooked too soft, like lo mein noodles. The sauce and meatballs both had plenty of flavor. You'll see in the pic that the cook sprinkled the spaghetti with Parmesan cheese. I'm sure it was grated Parmesan out of a can, but it was a good can. No complaints on my part.

 

 

 

And across the street, the hole-in-the-wall restaurant was doing a bustling trade.

 

 

Evil

 

[felix the cat]

The food looks delicious & reasonably priced as well....thxs for sharing Evil!  

[Macawber]

Thanks again for another great 'foodie' post EP. Whenever I see one of your posts I always know it will be fair, informative and well written. 

[Bazt]

Mmmmmmmm !! love spaghetti and meatballs, the pic looks good

[Luv2Phuket]

Thanks for posting!  The photos look good.  I especially appreciated the spaghetti photo.  While I enjoy Thai food, I crave a little farang food, even on my short trips.

 

I'm definitely putting this place on my "to try" list....although that is a very long -- and growing! -- list

[One hung low]

Okay evil, we are waiting. For part 2!!!

5 ladies?????

What did you have for dessert?????

We're waiting.

[sydney95b]

Thanks for posting another great restaurant review Evil.  I'm looking forward to your review of the new steak place on Soi Lengkee (formerly China Garden) once it opens.  Maybe it'll be open when tookinkyforher comes back into town in the coming weeks.

 

 

Cheers...

[SteadyG]

Maaaan. I am fasting and hungry as helllll right now..LooooooooL....My stomach started to growl on those dishes 

[raymie]

Food looks great will def try in March can't wait.

[Evil Penevil]

Thanks again for another great 'foodie' post EP. Whenever I see one of your posts I always know it will be fair, informative and well written. 

 

 

 

Thank you all very much for the kind words.  They are always appreciated.

 

Evil

[moey007]

It's on the Diana-LK Metro side.  The roast duck held the same standard as Lee Keng, but of course you can get duck prepared in a lot more ways at Leng Kee.

 

 

Four of the five were ex-FLB and ex-Secrets' hostesses. Three of them are now working at a beer bar on Soi Bukhao, the fourth no longer  "works bar" but was there visiting her friends.  The fifth was a lady I'd never met before, but works in the Soi Bukhao BB.  Basically, they were sitting in the BB hanging out after the girls' shift had ended.  I walked past on my way to listen to the live music at the Rockhouse and they of course were happy to see me.  They all wanted to come along. No bar fines were involved.  After the Rockhouse, we went to Lady Love to say hello to the ex-FLBers who now work there.  We left Lady Love around midnight for a late supper and ended up in The Balcony.  It was all very innocent.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! 

 

And to keep the thread on topic:  On my way back from a solo bar crawl of LK Metro bars, I stopped in yet again at The Balcony for a very late supper. I thought I'd try their farang food and had spaghetti with meatballs. It was a small portion, more of an appetizer than a main course, but the price was also small, 119 baht. It was good. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, the way it should be done. Too often in Pattaya spaghetti is cooked too soft, like lo mein noodles. The sauce and meatballs both had plenty of flavor. You'll see in the pic that the cook sprinkled the spaghetti with Parmesan cheese. I'm sure it was grated Parmesan out of a can, but it was a good can. No complaints on my part.

 

 

 

And across the street, the hole-in-the-wall restaurant was doing a bustling trade.

 

 

Evil

 

Ahaa i know where it is, a girl took me to the place across the road once for soup a while back.

 

Also what is FLB ... i had a few ideas but i dont think its lady boys

[Evil Penevil]

Also what is FLB ... i had a few ideas but i dont think its lady boys

FLB is a hostess bar on Walking Street that at one point in time and space had many girls working there. It changed ownership earlier this year and now only a couple of girls work there and it struggles for customers.

 

 

Evil

[moey007]

oh yeah i remember that place

 

thank you

[furryman]

I miss the weird variety shop that used to be there, but this looks like a worthy replacement.

 

But where is the balcony

[Sexyfarangman]

It's more comfortable and less rushed than a hole-in-the-wall place, but the prices are very reasonable.

 

Evil

 

I just ate at The Balcony tonight with my teerak. We both liked the food.