Under 300 Baht ... And Good! (updated for 2024)

[article22]

Just tried Mr Pho with friends and in general it got the thumbs down from my German and Thai friends.

None of them had been to Vietnam though, I quite liked the Pho but it didn't have much in it, far more filling in Vietnam imo but the stock was tasty.

Would give the place a 6.5...place is nice, staff are good, food needs more work.

[Evil Penevil]

Tigglebitties Tavern is an American restaurant that serves mainstream U.S. food; Tex-Mex and Mexican-inspired  dishes; and Thai food.  It's located on Soi 17 (aka Soi Regional Land) about five minutes' walk south of the intersection with 3rd Road and ten minutes' walk from Tukcom.

The great  thing about Tigglebitties is that the owners and kitchen staff understand what American food is about and how it should taste. It's also one of the few restaurants in Pattaya to offer freshly baked U.S.-style biscuits, including biscuits and gravy.  It also features in-house-made U.S. desserts like apple and pumpkin pies and carrot cake.  Prices are quite reasonable for the quality of food and large portions.

It's an open-front bar and restaurant with a casual tavern atmosphere.  The fans keep the interior reasonably cool.  It can get noisy, though, as Soi Regional land is heavily trafficked. Tigglebitties is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Every day Tigglebitties has two specials, usually one main dish and one appetizer or snack. They are true specials; they often aren't on the regular menu. The other day I tried the fish taco:

 In the U.S., these are called Baja fish tacos.  Japanese commercial fishermen were frequent visitors to the coastal cities of Baja California in Mexico during the 1960s.  A group of them asked a  taco stand operator to batter the fish   tempura-style rather than grilling it.  The new version of the fish taco became popular among local Mexicans and North American tourists, except they favored a crispier crust.  A U.S. college student was so impressed with the Baja fish taco he opened a restaurant serving them in San Diego in 1983.  He now operates a chain of 200 fish taco restaurants.

Here's what I got:

That's a lot of food on the plate for 160 baht!

Everything- the fish, veggies and tortillas- was fresh and tasted fine, although I could have done with less lettuce and more salsa.  I had to use a knife and fork to eat the mound of green stuff, but a taco is a quintessential finger food. 

The original Baja fish tacos were  served in corn tortillas and topped with purple cabbage, salsa and Mexican crema (similar to crème fraiche), but since moving across the border to the U.S.,  fish tacos have taken on many variations.

 Each of the fish fillets was good-sized and flaky with a crisp batter.  I had no real complaint with the tacos, just some niggling about details. Were they the best fish tacos I ever had?  No, but they were good and they aren't very common in Pattaya.

A breakfast sandwich  with a Jimmy-Dean-style sausage patty, fried egg and cheese on a in-house-made biscuit is another classic American dish and well worth 150 baht.

 

It's the biscuit that makes the sandwich for me, but the sausage patty was also good.

I topped off the sandwich with a piece of in-house carrot cake.  It was delicious.  Neither the cream cheese frosting  nor the cake were too sweet and the frosting had the proper tang. The crushed walnut atop the frosting was a really good touch.  

The Monday specials at Tigglebitties center on  BBQ ribs and chicken:

It's a good way to satisfy a BBQ fix at a fair price.

Bottom line:  Tigglebitties is one of the best options in Pattaya for American food- and that includes Tex-Mex and Mexico-inspired dishes.  The main dishes and sides, such as coleslaw and potato salad, taste like they would back in the USA.  The staff is friendly and speak better English than is often the case in Pattaya restaurants.  

This post is getting very long, so I'll round it off with two interior pics.

 

In a follow-up, I'll post some pics of menu pages and for now, a few more specials.  The pics Tigglebitties uses to illustrate its specials correspond closely to what you get on your plate.

 

Evil

Edited January 28, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[Kreggerz]

1 hour ago, article22 said:

Just tried Mr Pho with friends and in general it got the thumbs down from my German and Thai friends.

None of them had been to Vietnam though, I quite liked the Pho but it didn't have much in it, far more filling in Vietnam imo but the stock was tasty.

Would give the place a 6.5...place is nice, staff are good, food needs more work.

I've been eating two dishes. The prices are cheap enough. Like a bowl of Pho and a bun bowl or a bowl of Pho and the shrimp platter. They have large and smaller Pho but not much difference in portion really. 

[Evil Penevil]

Some pages from the menu at Tigglebitties:

And a few more specials:

[davidge]

The review a couple of posts up just shows the different tastes that people have and why it must be very difficult to run a restaurant in Pattaya to suit everyone’s tastes. There is literally nothing in the pics in the review that I would even consider eating, yet I’m sure plenty of people would think it’s all great.

[Taa_Saparot]

4 hours ago, davidge said:

The review a couple of posts up just shows the different tastes that people have and why it must be very difficult to run a restaurant in Pattaya to suit everyone’s tastes. There is literally nothing in the pics in the review that I would even consider eating, yet I’m sure plenty of people would think it’s all great.

I always try to look at these reviews, while keeping in mind that the photography is not going to be very professional, and probably not showing the food at its best.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Taa_Saparot

[jiz]

8 minutes ago, Taa_Saparot said:

I always try to look at these reviews, while keeping in mind that the photography is not going to be very professional, and probably not showing the food at its best.

Turning off the flash helps allot. 

My iPhone takes incredible shots, even in low light. 

I’ve taken food shots with $20,000 worth pro equipment and the smartphone shots look nearly as good these days. 

How do they do it I wonder?

[Evil Penevil]

21 minutes ago, jiz said:

Turning off the flash helps allot. 

My iPhone takes incredible shots, even in low light. 

I’ve taken food shots with $20,000 worth pro equipment and the smartphone shots look nearly as good these days. 

How do they do it I wonder?

I believe the main reason is the improvement in smart phone sensor size and technology. The human eye can't discern the differences above certain resolutions when the photos are viewed on a  screen.  

The CEO  of Canon said in a recent interview that the use of smart phones for photography will reduce the market for digital cameras by 50% in two years. Link   Compact cameras and low-end DSLRs are most threatened by smart phones.  

Evil

[Luv2Phuket]

38 minutes ago, Evil Penevil said:

I believe the main reason is the improvement in smart phone sensor size and technology. The human eye can't discern the differences above certain resolutions when the photos are viewed on a  screen.  

The CEO  of Canon said in a recent interview that the use of smart phones for photography will reduce the market for digital cameras by 50% in two years. Link   Compact cameras and low-end DSLRs are most threatened by smart phones.  

Evil

I don't think I even brought my Canon S100 on my last few trips, and I haven't used it in Pattaya for quite a while -- my iPhone 8 takes great photos and I'm always gonna have it on me.

That said, the S100 takes some great photos, and I'm thinking seriously of going back to it on this trip.

FWIW, I was just at the annual AVN/porn show in Las Vegas, and there were a LOT of "mobile phone photographers," although there were also a bunch of guys with SERIOUS rigs!  I was talking to a friend (Marica Hase), and a guy asked me to take some photos of him and her.  Simple point and shoot, but it was quite a rig -- must've weighed 5+ lbs with flash and all!  Much easier when someone just handed me their iPhone!  555

[kabal2018]

Easy Health on 3rd Road just across from LK President serves up flavorful healthy food at reasonable prices. Portions are also big surprisingly. I had a great teriyaki bowl filled with edamame.

.

I returned for breakfast and a take on a breakfast burrito. It had all the right flavours and healthy to boot.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Evil Penevil]

Full-frame professional cameras have the edge when it comes to photographs intended for reproduction in print media or which will be enlarged for signs, billboards, etc.   That's when the resolution is crucial.  But for casual viewing on a computer screen, smart phones will give almost the same result.

Evil

Edited January 29, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[jimboh]

I mention this place and this dish a few years ago and glad to report, it is still good.

Thursday special at Tropical on dark side, Cottage pie, chips and beans or peas.

At 195Baht, this good value, its a decent size portion and tasty also.

Indoor with A/C & outside seating, staff are well clued in. Always busy.

[jimboh]

Had breakfast today at Tropical, went for American style, 2 poached eggs, a generous portion of streaky, crispy bacon, hash brown, tomatoes, tea and toast for 180Baht, I did add beans at 40B extra.

Everything good

[artie1234]

I concur, food and staff are definitely worth a try . Cheers 

[jimboh]

Went to this German/Swiss style place on Darkside a few nights ago, on Soi pattanakarn, called Mickyes.

The menu was mainly Swiss style food, mainly pork dishes, not really my cup of tea, I did however spot Beef Goulash on the specials blackboard, at 249Baht, so I ordered it.

First came 2 pieces of bruschetta, and was good. Next up was a nice crispy fresh salad. Then the Beef dish arrived, beef was really good, came with fried potatoes, there were several choices for the potatoes.

A really nice meal, very good service, place is open air, missus had a Thai dish and said it was good, 120Baht plus 20B for rice.

[macky]

On ‎31‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 09:40, jimboh said:

Had breakfast today at Tropical, went for American style, 2 poached eggs, a generous portion of streaky, crispy bacon, hash brown, tomatoes, tea and toast for 180Baht, I did add beans at 40B extra.

Everything good

A pound to add beans  So 220 baht for that That works out over a fiver for a breakfast with streak bacon 

[jimboh]

Yes. A tin of beans(not those disgusting Thai ones) is about 65Baht and I reckon there was almost half a tin, nothing worse than getting a spoonful.

[kane666]

14 minutes ago, jimboh said:

Yes. A tin of beans(not those disgusting Thai ones) is about 65Baht and I reckon there was almost half a tin, nothing worse than getting a spoonful.

Location for Tropical please?

[stubby]

On 28/01/2019 at 18:30, Evil Penevil said:

Tigglebitties Tavern is an American restaurant that serves mainstream U.S. food; Tex-Mex and Mexican-inspired  dishes; and Thai food.  It's located on Soi 17 (aka Soi Regional Land) about five minutes' walk south of the intersection with 3rd Road and ten minutes' walk from Tukcom. Agree Evil i have always had good food here.

Edited February 3, 2019 by stubby

[Jebb]

17 hours ago, jimboh said:

Went to this German/Swiss style place on Darkside a few nights ago, on Soi pattanakarn, called Mickyes.

The menu was mainly Swiss style food, mainly pork dishes, not really my cup of tea, I did however spot Beef Goulash on the specials blackboard, at 249Baht, so I ordered it.

First came 2 pieces of bruschetta, and was good. Next up was a nice crispy fresh salad. Then the Beef dish arrived, beef was really good, came with fried potatoes, there were several choices for the potatoes.

A really nice meal, very good service, place is open air, missus had a Thai dish and said it was good, 120Baht plus 20B for rice.

Soi Pattanakarn. Where is that Jimbo?

[dh842]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 05:30, Evil Penevil said:

Evil

Is that a shuffleboard I see there?

That's a true piece of Americana if so. They're even becoming rare here in the states.

[Evil Penevil]

8 hours ago, dh842 said:

Is that a shuffleboard I see there?

That's a true piece of Americana if so. They're even becoming rare here in the states.

Yup, it's a shuffleboard table. And you're right about it being Americana, shuffleboard in one form or another has been played in America since early Colonial times.   Competitive shuffleboard reached its peak in the 1950s.  It just can't compete with the games on Xbox.

Evil

Edited February 3, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[jimboh]

2 hours ago, Jebb said:

Soi Pattanakarn. Where is that Jimbo?

Its a road that connects Soi Nuparbwarn with Soi 89-I think, its got those green funky lights about 20m apart. If you come way up Nuparbwarn, turn right about 500m before the Temple.

There are now lots of little bars now on this road, along with several restaurants. Tara school also.

[jimboh]

19 hours ago, kane666 said:

Location for Tropical please?

Soi Khao Noi

[forcebwithu]

I also have Tropical on the darkside bars map.