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

[jwdub]

On 28/10/2018 at 13:00, Iamkanga said:

ZIP Hotel and Bar 150b Pizza

So I had to go at the Korandos 199b Pizza last week and personally found it fairly average. To be fair I had been drinking and I can't put my finger on what it was that didn't bring it up to scratch but it just lacked something. 

Fast forward one week I find myself in much the same situation, drunk again and fancying a pizza and I noticed earlier this place on Soi Dianna doing a 150b special. They didn't do a Salami Pizza which is my favorite so I ended up with the safety Ham and Pineapple. Anyway found it extremely satisfactory in the way the Korandos Pizza was not. I haven't eaten a lot of pizza here but it was easily the best I have had and certainly worthwhile for the price. I think the special runs from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. from memory. Sorry no pics, it looked a bit untidy by the time I got it home. 

ZIP Hotel & Bar
198/6 Soi Diana 
038 421 334
https://goo.gl/maps/9Ldaa7aYbQ62

Well that looks like it was short lived. I walked by Zip's tonight (Friday) and the sign out front stated All Pizza 200 baht.

Edited November 2, 2018 by jwdub

[Notherenow]

13 minutes ago, jwdub said:

Well that looks like it was short lived. I walked by Zip's tonight (Friday) and the sign out front stated All Pizza 200 baht.

Disappointing!

I had the Calzone the other night and asked for pineapple to be included which they did at no additional cost and really enjoyed it for my (surprisingly drunk again) late meal and late morning brunch/lunch. I am probably using the term morning liberally!

I'm pretty sure I will still go here unless somebody has any better suggestions at 200B particularly for the calzone it was stuffed! 

I should mention I'm not overly familiar with the calzone, I've only ever had it once in Australia and that was from having seen it on a Seinfeld episode.

[Evil Penevil]

I hadn't eaten at Mama's Cafe at the Beach Road end of Soi 6 for a long time. I was down on the Six the other night for a bar crawl and decided to try it again. Most of my dining on Soi 6 hasn't been done in restaurants.

I had tried the French version of shepherd's pie at Mama's in the past and went with it again.  It cost 290 baht with a small side salad.

It was good, but a different recipe than I recalled.  This version was ground beef and onions topped with mashed potatoes and a layer of Gruyère cheese.

 I would have preferred the other version, which had excluded the cheese and featured mashed potatoes seasoned with nutmeg.  No nutmeg this time round.

Bottom line:  If you want something more substantial than sushi on the Six, Mama's Cafe is a reasonable option for French and Italian food.

Evil

[SirL]

On 31/10/2018 at 08:19, jiz said:

Went looking for TacoTaco on Soi 9.

No signs of her new restaurant and nothing on her Facebook. 

I think I read that the new Taco Taco would be open from about 20 Oct, and my guess would be that it's located approximately under the red X here.  I haven't been there recently so all this needs confirmation.  Was that where you looked?

I've got to add that that's a part of town I hardly ever go to, in fact I don't think I've ever been on the side sois around there, so to me that isn't a great location.  I'm not sure Taco Taco is enough of a destination to make a trip up there, and I wouldn't normally be casually near there.  However, I do certainly wish her well.

Edited November 5, 2018 by SirL

[Luv2Phuket]

I'm horrible with maps and directions (especially in Pattaya!), but am I correct that it is about a block up from Mr. Jack's watch shop?

[jiz]

10 hours ago, SirL said:

I think I read that the new Taco Taco would be open from about 20 Oct, and my guess would be that it's located approximately under the red X here.  I haven't been there recently so all this needs confirmation.  Was that where you looked?

I've got to add that that's a part of town I hardly ever go to, in fact I don't think I've ever been on the side sois around there, so to me that isn't a great location.  I'm not sure Taco Taco is enough of a destination to make a trip up there, and I wouldn't normally be casually near there.  However, I do certainly wish her well.

Correct. X marks the spot where I was hunting for her new restaurant.  

[jpmelville]

On 30/10/2018 at 12:12, Evil Penevil said:

Based on your recommendation, I had put the ZIP pizza on my "to eat" list, but had it last night due to special circumstances. While I can't agree it's the best I've had in Pattaya, I do agree that it's good and worth the price.

Here's my review:

I went to Harry's on Soi Diana to see if the 99-baht hamburger with fries was still on offer and to have another of Harry's Swedish dishes.  The hamburger special was available, but a waitress urged me to try the 150-baht pizza special.

 

 

I went to Harry's on Sunday. Summer specials were gone as was this pizza offer. I ate Harry's swedish meatballs at 195bht. Gravy was ok, but the meatballs and mash tasted weird. Not going to order that again. Maybe have to test that new Chunky Monkey or whatever opposite to treetown for my search of affordable sunday lunch. I already ate pizza on Saturday, so did not go to ZIP 200bht pizza.

[CuppaTea]

2 minutes ago, jpmelville said:

I went to Harry's on Sunday. Summer specials were gone as was this pizza offer. I ate Harry's swedish meatballs at 195bht. Gravy was ok, but the meatballs and mash tasted weird. Not going to order that again. Maybe have to test that new Chunky Monkey or whatever opposite to treetown for my search of affordable sunday lunch. I already ate pizza on Saturday, so did not go to ZIP 200bht pizza.

Meat balls & spaghetti about 150 and GOOD + CuppaTea only 25 baht and a real big cup.

Chunky Monkey has hit the ground running.

Nearby competition Jollys, been crap for a while, Cafe Pitini is the real one and trust me man that's suffering now.

CM Sunday Specials include Roast Chicken (breast) + Mash + Roast potatoes + broccoli + carrots + peas + onion gravy 119 baht AND its a big plate full  !

Probably going to reduce the portions + increase the prices soon so get there now !!!

As far as I'm concerned its the best deal for price + portion sizes + taste for Western food in Pattaya now !!

Big call but I'm making it.

[semi-retired member]

Sitting chewing the fat about cheap-eats with some other long-term expats yesterday, and it occured to me that there was perhaps a need for a similar slightly-overlapping thread to this one, "Under 150-Baht-and-Acceptable".

Reasons being the familiar ones that the currency has reduced our purchasing-power, and we need to eat a couple-of-times daily, or at-least once (given a basic self-made breakfast-at-home) so price becomes even more important, and quality doesn't need to be gourmet/good but just acceptable on-a-low-budget.

I'm sure the short-time visitors may think I'm being cheap-charlie, but my occasional two/three-week trips down by-air from the village are costing me close-to a grand (in Sterling) or B40k all-in these days, and I'd rather still have sufficient left over for drinking & books/clothes-shopping & certain other delights, within my comfortable-budget.

This trip (about to end) the summer-deals (just ended) from Harry's Bar & Zip (pizza) were good, newbie Chunky-Monkey & street-stalls for chow-mein & frankfurter/chips (LK-Metro) or pasta (Nikom Court) were still fine, Seaside remains good solid value too. Oh and the ever-reliable Retox-bahtbuster breakfast ! 

Does this sort of thing need a dedicated-thread, or should it stay within this one, does anyone have a view ?

[geezerrb]

12 hours ago, CuppaTea said:

Meat balls & spaghetti about 150 and GOOD + CuppaTea only 25 baht and a real big cup.

Chunky Monkey has hit the ground running.

Nearby competition Jollys, been crap for a while, Cafe Pitini is the real one and trust me man that's suffering now.

CM Sunday Specials include Roast Chicken (breast) + Mash + Roast potatoes + broccoli + carrots + peas + onion gravy 119 baht AND its a big plate full  !

Probably going to reduce the portions + increase the prices soon so get there now !!!

As far as I'm concerned its the best deal for price + portion sizes + taste for Western food in Pattaya now !!

Big call but I'm making it.

I try not to eat too much western food when in Pattaya but do get a "hankering" some days so I will probably check "Chunky Monkey" out.

Some days you do get a "hankering" and I may well get "flamed" for this, last trip I tried Marquee's 100THB sunday lunch, it did leave a lot to be desired but it was ok and enough for me.

Do they still do the Friday 100THB Fish & chips? Never tried it because my back to loom on my own meal is the fish and chips from LKM stall.

[Notherenow]

6 hours ago, semi-retired member said:

pasta (Nikom Court)

As mentioned earlier the shop there has been taken over by somebody else. But if you want to go and find the lady boy that ran the previous shop she is now in LK Metro the section closest to second Road. 

6 hours ago, geezerrb said:

Some days you do get a "hankering" and I may well get "flamed" for this, last trip I tried Marquee's 100THB sunday lunch, it did leave a lot to be desired but it was ok and enough for me

I think @Evil Penevil talked about this earlier. But I can't remember if he mentioned, but if you have the chicken it's a decent serve and good quality IMO but the is pork fairly average but of course if you had issue with the vegetables they will be the same. 

[Terryofcrete]

On 12/04/2016 at 08:59, Soi7 said:

at everyday is Fry days

 

 

175 baht Calamari Chips onion rings and a soft drink great value

 

 

Tastyway to die ! yum . 

[Terryofcrete]

May be in the wrong thread here, but searched for Thai restaurants and ended up here ..

My favourite restaurant in Pattaya, called Isan Bistro.. that’s their spelling not mine, opposite Everyday is Fry Day ? ..other soi opposite... is closed , shut up and they are gone. I really loved their stir fry food , and other dishes, and last trip I had my sometimes LLT with me and as she turned the corner off 2nd Road I saw her face change ...OMG ,is closed ! ... where will we go ?  thought it would be easy to:find a similar thai food eatery but it wasn’t and still isn’t . It also was very good value , really , maybe that’s why it didn’t work out , I dunno. Think it was 2 sisters running it , lovely girls. 

I haven’t found anywhere that cooked stir fry chicken or prawns the way they did , rich sauce and chicken dipped in flour giving it that crunchy but delicious taste. Gone , and I am struggling . Staying on Soi 8 , the closest I found , having tried Sailor and a couple of others on Soi 7 , was the Klang opposite Bella Express, with rats darting about ..unfortunately. If anyone has a recommendation in that area I would be much obliged... 

If there’s a better place to post this I hope it can be moved . Thanks .

Edited November 10, 2018 by Terryofcrete

[LDU]

Kiss on 2nd road near Soi 13. Few of my picks. Chicken with cashew 120, sweet and sour pork 100. Pork or chicken fried rice 60. Good food, good quality, fast service.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

30 minutes ago, LDU said:

Kiss on 2nd road near Soi 13. Few of my picks. Chicken with cashew 120, sweet and sour pork 100. Pork or chicken fried rice 60. Good food, good quality, fast service.

Never been to Kiss, but I have noted over time that it might be the most "advised by some/hated by others" restaurant in Pattaya.  Some say it is good; others act like it is one of the worst in Pattaya.

 

[Kreggerz]

51 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Never been to Kiss, but I have noted over time that it might be the most "advised by some/hated by others" restaurant in Pattaya.  Some say it is good; others act like it is one of the worst in Pattaya.

 

That's funny because it really isn't either. It's about average or somewhat below average. As a local, I consider it a convenient place for uninformed tourists but you really can't complain at their prices. So it isn't a tourist trap as that suggests it's a rip off. 

[jpmelville]

Just now, Luv2Phuket said:

Never been to Kiss, but I have noted over time that it might be the most "advised by some/hated by others" restaurant in Pattaya.  Some say it is good; others act like it is one of the worst in Pattaya.

 

Never have eaten thai food in Kiss. Only some farang food after drinking at Rompho Complen in Jomtien as it's only place open 4-5am. It fills up your stomach but nothing more.

Those prices are pretty hefty for below average thaifood(my TGF said they are crap). 120bht for chicken with cashews is a joke. Worth 60bht max. Still I can see a lot of tourists there who don't know better. In Jomtien there is a food market near Kiss with good and reasonably priced food, still some people will eat at Kiss. Their loss...

[pasta man]

I only get the green curry chicken at kiss and it is consistently good for my taste. Not too sweet, spicy but not too spicy, uses the pea eggplants, whose bitterness helps balance the mild sweetness of the dish, a mandatory ingredient in my view. Other places I have tried don’t do these things, either not at all or not very consistently. Kiss has the right recipe and they cook it consistently.

i don’t eat anything else at kiss, but I like this dish there.

[dave46]

There is a new place on Soi Backou called Chunky Monkey (a spin off of Retox I'm told) Opposite Tree town, it has a very good slection of food, with good specials, I had chicken korma with free beer for 149 baht, my friend had fish n chips (real chips not frozen) 89 baht

[Luv2Phuket]

9 hours ago, Kreggerz said:

That's funny because it really isn't either. It's about average or somewhat below average. As a local, I consider it a convenient place for uninformed tourists but you really can't complain at their prices. So it isn't a tourist trap as that suggests it's a rip off. 

The truth often lies somewhere in between when some people have very strong positive views and others very strong negative views

[SirL]

13 hours ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Never been to Kiss, but I have noted over time that it might be the most "advised by some/hated by others" restaurant in Pattaya.  Some say it is good; others act like it is one of the worst in Pattaya.

I think the thing about Kiss is that it's prominent and farang-friendly in a convenient location, and so it's easy for lazy people who don't really know what's what.  IMO Kiss's food is on the low side of average, and neither the worst nor the best in town.  I used to eat there, years ago before there were so many new restaurants in town, but not much recently except when other guys I'm with insist (and I'm drunk)

[dave46]

Kiss is always busy they must be doing somthing right, Chunky Monkey is my personal favorite atthe moment, but i live here so most of my food is home cooked

 

[Taa_Saparot]

15 hours ago, dave46 said:

There is a new place on Soi Backou called Chunky Monkey (a spin off of Retox I'm told)

Nothing to do with the Retox Group. 

Chunky Monkey is the latest venture from the original owner of Robins Nest(aurant) and Jollies.

[jpmelville]

7 hours ago, dave46 said:

Kiss is always busy they must be doing somthing right, Chunky Monkey is my personal favorite atthe moment, but i live here so most of my food is home cooked

 

I tried Chunky Monkey for the lunch today. Terrace was packed and many people also inside. Seems to attract people and it should as with that pricing, they have to sell a lot of food.

I took a chicken steak and my TGF took fish&chips from the 89bht special menu. They were ok. I did not expect fancy stuff and it was basic and tasted ok. 2 meals, capuccino and Leo beer 283bht all in.

[Evil Penevil]

My experience at Chunky Monkey has been mixed.  My first meal was good and I wrote about it a few pages back in post #820.  However, my next two meals were mediocre and I wrote about them in this thread:

2 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

Bottom line: The Chunky Monkey now has two strikes against it in my book.  In the near future, I'll try either the Sunday roast or the meatloaf dinner.  A third strike will put it out for me as a dining option for quite awhile.

That's unfortunate,  as it has a convenient location and an enclosed air-conditioned dining area. It's well-lit, clean and spacious, with the background music played at a blessedly low volume and friendly service. Not many budget restaurants in Pattaya tick all those boxes. 

The prices for bottled beer are very low (55 baht for Leo and Chang, 65 baht for SML) and big bottles cost 79 baht.  Perhaps that will be enough to attract customers who aren't concerned about bland food. However, the cocktail van across the street could give it a run for the money.

I hope the Chunky Monkey succeeds; I just wish they would season their food.

Evil