Fraser's in Jomtien

[Evil Penevil]

 

Fraser's is a popular sports bar and restaurant in the Chateau Dale Complex (above the News Cafe) on Thrappraya Road in Jomtien. 

 

 

When I lived in Jomtien a few years ago, I ate at Fraser's on several occasions and always found it offered good if unexciting pub-style food.  It was a nice place just to have a drink or watch sports in a non-girlie environment.

 

 

 

 

 

I went back last week a couple of times to try two dishes: Beef Wellington (325 baht):

 

 

 

and the Friday Wagyu Rib Eye Special at 350 baht:

 

 

 

Since on both occasions I was there between 4 pm and 7 pm,  I had the Happy Hour pint of Tiger at 95 baht.

 

Bottom line:  The wagyu special was value for money and the Beef Wellington was a total waste.

 

I'll start with the good news.  The Friday wagyu rib eye was very tender but somewhat light on beef flavor.  It came with a choice of potatoes and a salad or vegetables.  I took salad and boiled potatoes,  One of my dining companions had it with veggies and mash ...

 

 

The other had veggies and the thick-cut chips, what would be called steak fries or maybe potato wedges in the U.S.

 

 

It wasn't a giant steak, but I'm guessing it was 8 ounces (225 grams).

 

 

We all ordered our steaks  medium rare and that's how they were cooked:

 

 

 

 

I wasn't bothered about sauce or gravy, but the ladies took what I think was supposed to be Bearnaise sauce.  It had a very mild flavor, but they were happy to put it on their vegetables.  The vegetables must have been cooked al detente and retained some taste; otherwise, my main companion wouldn't have eaten them.

 

 

My salad was fine, a mixture of coleslaw and lettuce that worked well:

 

 

The ladies split a formidable piece of chocolate cake (95 baht) between them for dessert:

 

 

 

This review is getting long, so I'll split it into two parts.

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil]

We were all satisfied with our Friday special wagyu steaks.  I doubt the steaks had a marbling score above 1 or 2, but they were nevertheless tender compared with much of the beef that masquerades as steak in Pattaya.  Australian wagyu with a marbling score of 4 to 5 corresponds to USDA Prime (the highest U.S. grade), so the steak at Fraser's was roughly equivalent to USDA Choice, which can still be quite tender.  350 baht is a good price in Pattaya for meat of that quality.
 
 The service was fine and food came quickly even though Fraser's had been busy the two occasions I was recently there. One point to note is that the main bar area only has five booths and the chairs at the other tables are both awkward and uncomfortable.

 

 

However, Fraser's also has another dining area in a separate "family room," but I'm not sure how often it's brought into play.
 
One cool thing about the booths is that they all have individual wall-mounted TV screens.
 

 
Unfortunately, I don't have anything positive to say about the Beef Wellington I had at Fraser's. I had ordered it with considerable trepidation because I doubted it would be possible to offer an adequate Beef Wellington at 325 baht. It's a finicky and time-consuming dish to prepare and its ingredients aren't cheap.  My fears proved well-founded.
 

 
On first glance, it didn't look bad.  But when I examined it a bit closer and above all, tasted it, I found a lot that was wrong. Basically, it was inedible.
 

 

 
 
Beef wellington is beef tenderloin that is covered with duxelles, a paste made from mushrooms and herbs and sometimes foie gras, then wrapped in pastry, usually puff pastry, and baked. Many variations exist and the seared tenderloin is often brushed  with Dijon or English mustard for extra flavor.  In modern recipes, the coated tenderloin is often wrapped in slices of prosciutto ham rather than foie gras.
 
This is what Beef Wellington is supposed to look like:
 

 
Fraser's Beef Wellington had been coated with English mustard and liver pate, which gave it a horrible bitter taste.  Chunks of mushroom had been pressed into the pastry.
 

 

 

 
The outer layer of the pastry had been browned, but the other layers were raw.
 

 

 

 
In and of itself, the rather small pieces of tenderloin weren't bad once I scraped off the abominable  coating.  I'd asked for medium-rare and it came medium, but that was the very least of the problems. I pushed the food around on the plate so I could take the pics, but I didn't eat more than a mouthful and came close to spitting it out.  The salad that came with the Beef Wellington was good (the same as with the wagyu steak) and I ate all of it. The mashed potatoes were watery and the only flavor came from a liberal dose of butter.
 
Since I had plenty of room left after my one-bite main course, I decided to try the apple crumble.  That was another mistake.  It was 4/5s crumble with a layer of very thin apple slices on the bottom. The topping was sickeningly sweet even for my American tastes.  The vanilla sauce was good, though.
 

 

 
I've had a very mixed experience with Fraser's, but I wouldn't hesitate to eat there again.  I have learned an important lesson:  when eating in British pub-style restaurants in Pattaya,  it's safest to stick to standard dishes.  In the future, I'll leave fancy dishes like Beef Wellington to fancy restaurants.
 
Evil

[brooksie]

I have eaten there,but was at least 18 months ago,I had the fisherman`s pie i remember but the price escapes me sorry.It was a Saturday night with the ELP games on so the place was very busy, think there was four of us and the food when it came was fine but nothing special,would eat there again but not on a busy weekend night.I think the owner/Manager was at Shenanigan`s jomtien before.But may have moved on by now.

[jimboh]

I like the place but food is a let down.

Also, cocktails are cheap but like they are watered down

News Café & Gians next door are good.

[Balee]

Is not a sports bar one that serves food just to mop up the beer its customers drink ?

I never expect anything other than truck stop food in one so your trying the Beef Wellington there and hoping it would be anything other than your description of was extremely optimistic to say the least.

 

Burgers & fries, a bowl of chilli, basic fried chicken type dishes, ready meals bought frozen then microwaved and served, stuff out of cans like baked beans, pre bought sausage meat wrapped in frozen pastry that "Chef" prepares as sausage rolls.is really the most that I think we can expect that "Chef" will be capable of providing.

It could be that "Chef has aspirations towards more but then would "Chef not be working in a place that advertises itself primarily as a food establishment rather than a sports bar ? .

 

Should the Beef Wellington even have been on the menu, following what I have said ? No I don't think so and the owners should have tasted it before allowing it on there but.........................

 

This pre-presumes that the owners know what a decent BW should taste like or having that knowledge think that most of their customers wont.

Either way it shouldn't have been on offer as you unfortunately found out.

 

Frasers own website states clearly who they have pitched towards and that food there is just a means to ensure customers stay drinking rather than going just for a meal to be savoured.

 

"WELCOME TO FRASER'S

I grew up in a small country town in Victoria Australia where the local pub was the hub of the community. My Mum, Dotty, worked in the kitchen & Norm my Dad drank at the bar. I would always be trying to sneak a beer at the bar or a chip in the kitchen because it was like our second home.
At home we had a bar out the back of the house & after the local closed it was back to Frasers to continue the night. Dad always had plenty of beer in the fridge, & I can see him now, in his dressing gown, making sure everyone had a cold beer with his normal comment ‘Don’t forget to replace my beer in the morning you bastards’ which we never did. Mum would be walking around with fresh sausage rolls saying ‘You boys have gotta eat if your gunna drink’. Every time you came to Fraser’s you were looked after. You were part of the family. 
My up bringing was very much based around playing sport & socializing, so I’m a self confessed sports junkie who enjoys a drink. After 30 years in the hospitality industry here in Thailand & Australia you can now enjoy Fraser’s in Jomtien with the same values instilled into me by my Mum & Dad.

In memory of Mum & Dad welcome to Frasers & enjoy Norm’s Bar & Dotty’s Family Room.

Take care,
Stewart 'Froggy' Fraser"

 

Copied from    http://www.fraserspattaya.com/

[just hanging]

Fraziers is okay, for what it is.    The problem is the service, sometimes good but often so bad we leave.  We have sat 20 minutes while the servers run around.  we have had a meal for 4 come at different times, 20 minutes to 60 minutes.   the boss, although a good guy, does not do a thing, even when seeing a problem.   I have problems bringing some friends there becasue of the service, so many problems and these are guys that usually go with the flow

 

I do like their chicken strips, one of the best things on the menu.   When I am hungry I order chicken Parmesan.    Not great and not bad, but filling

[jimboh]

Never had any problem with service.

[gimmesum]

Kick ass reports Evil top notch photos too.

[Taa_Saparot]

The problem is the service, sometimes good but often so bad we leave.  We have sat 20 minutes while the servers run around.  we have had a meal for 4 come at different times, 20 minutes to 60 minutes.   the boss, although a good guy, does not do a thing, even when seeing a problem. 

 

Agreed.

[Chubzilla]

Have eaten here a few times, and as a couple of others have said have found the food quite mediocre. After reading the blurb by "Froggy" (quoted in an above reply) the first time I was there I thought this place was going to be very good.

 

I was buying some items from the Gourmet Deli in Jomtien once and noticed on the counter a large order of their frozen meals with "Fraser's" on the top of the page, so I would assume that's where they a lot of their food (fisherman's pie, cottage pie, curries, stuff like that). Not that that is bad or anything, I was just surprised to see it but maybe that is the norm for a lot of places. 

 

The best thing about this place is the ambience, really nicely laid out, lovely looking bar and would be great for meeting friends or watching sports. Also, they have a very good 2 for 1 cocktail offer, 175 baht and it's on all the time, cocktails there are quite good. If they put a bit more effort into the food, I would be eating here a lot more. As it is, I haven't been back for quite a while. 

[Herr Fluck]

Website says open 8am, I go 8.30 am, server say come back later, I never come back!  To many option in that area, give my custom to business that is open as advertised.

 

http://www.fraserspattaya.com/

[just hanging]

 

[Daryle]

Food and service of the waitresses have been on a steady decline. Even though it's close to home, I have not been in since Feb.

 

Sent from my SM-T530 using Tapatalk

[just hanging]

Food and service of the waitresses have been on a steady decline. Even though it's close to home, I have not been in since Feb.

 

Sent from my SM-T530 using Tapatalk

 

and the manager watches it all happen, fully aware but sits and drinks his beer while we try to get the waitress attention, or ask where is our food after 45 minutes.    Nice guy though

[Herr Fluck]

Maybe close soon?

 

• send away customer
• use bought in frozen meals
• manager cant manage servers and drink on job

Not good recipe!  HaHa u get? Not good recipe in restarants!

[Stevebilbong]

I've eaten there plenty of times,go every Friday for the wagyu when I'm in town.

For what it is,it's fine and good value.

If you want a good wagyu try Steak & co and spend 1000+ I guess.

[mikeyboy]

I have eaten at Frasers many times since it opened and never had a problem with food or service . Last time was January .

 

The Pork Chop , mash potato and fresh veg is superb and the Thai girl i go in always has Lad Na  soup which she says is very good .

 

I'm sure Stewart would make it his business to sort problems out if informed .

 

Mikeyboy

[mikeyboy]

Be a good mate then and inform him ... Except for yourself, everyone is here basically has had problems with both the service and the food, either or, or both.

 

The prices are quite elevated, so the food and service should be tops and it isn't.

 

 

Stuart? Owner, manager ... Maybe he spends too much time with GoGo girls and should concentrate on improving the place ....

 

Walter , i would gladly inform him if i had a crap meal in there , but i havn't .  

 

I must admit i nearly always stick to the Pork chop as its really good.    My regular Thai girl has always said she enjoys the food there . Lad Na ,( seafood soup stuff )

 

Sometimes its difficult to get a seat in there so Stewart must be doing something right .

 

If somebody has a bad meal in there , bring it up with him  ( so to speak )  . Its really not difficult .  I think he has tuesdays off .,

 

Mikeyboy 

[LTGTR]

OP,I also visited a few times when I lived in Jomtien. And nearly always the 4-7p timeframe you mentioned. Never had an issue with food and it was a nice change of pace.