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The Bistro Wine & Cheese on Soi Yamato


Evil Penevil

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The Bistro Wine & Cheese is a Swiss restaurant on Soi 13/1, aka Soi Yamato, about halfway between Beach Road and 2nd Road. It is a small restaurant, with about 20 seats in the enclosed air-conditioned part of the restaurant and a few more seats outside.

 

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It serves delicious food prepared from quality ingredients with meticulous attention to detail. The menu is focused on dishes which are popular in Switzerland and many of its customers are not surprisingly Swiss ex-pats and tourists in Pattaya. It's been full or close to it the nights I've eaten there, so reservations are recommended if you plan on eating around 7 p.m.  It opens at 2 p.m. and closes at midnight. 

 

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There are some Thai dishes on the menu as well as Swiss specialties, but it's not a place where you'll find cheeseburgers or beans on toast.  Prices are premium for Pattaya, but so is the food.  It's becoming one of my personal favorites in central Pattaya as I very much like cheese-heavy dishes.  The decor is elegant but unpretentious and the service is extremely friendly and attentive.

 

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The meals at The Bistro begin with an amuse-bouche, or complimentary bite-sized portion of food selected by the chef and generally not on the menu.

 

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On a recent visit, I got a mini-portion of breaded fish with tartar sauce.  Yum!  There's also a spread to put on the warm, freshly baked bread.  The spread reminded me of what we call Amish egg salad in the U.S.

 

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Because of its national and linguistic diversity,  French, German and Italian dishes are popular in Switzerland as well as dishes that developed locally from traditional Alpine farm products like meat, sausage, potatoes and above all, cheese.

 

I began with a tomato and fresh mozzarella salad at 240 baht.  It was large enough that it could have been split among two people as a starter.

 

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I don't know why, but tomatoes in Thailand often seem flavorless to me.  Not so with the tomatoes in my salad, which were bursting with real tomato taste.

 

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The salad comes with bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar so diners can dress it according to their own preferences.  I didn't think it needed anything extra.

 

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I choose macaroni with gruyere cheese at 190 baht as my main course.  I love the nutty flavor of gruyere and it goes perfectly with pasta.

 

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The generous portion of gruyere was mixed evenly through out the pasta and wasn't just a top layer.  You can't get much simpler that cheese, pasta and a sprinkling of parsley, but due to the quality of the ingredients and flawless execution, it was a pleasure to eat.

 

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I also had a recent meal at the Bistro with a friend.  He's a fanatic for margaritas and ordered one.  I told him The Bistro probably wasn't a natural place for a margarita, but he said it was both strong and excellent.

 

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He had the tomato and mozzarella salad as his starter and I picked the French onion soup at 120 baht as mine . It was great, among the best I've had anywhere.

 

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The beef broth was wonderfully rich and wasn't overwhelmed by too much wine or sherry.  The onions were cooked perfectly and the gratinated slice of bread atop the soup was great.

 

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My friend ordered spaghetti carbonara at 240 baht, which he ate to the last strand of spaghetti.

 

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I ordered the German-style spareribs with potatoes rösti at 380 baht.  Remember, these are Swiss-sized ribs, not Texas.

 

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The pork ribs were high-quality and roasted as they should be.  The rösti did justice to its name ("crisp and golden").  It was crispy on the outside but the shredded potatoes were fluffy inside.

 

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 However, I feel spareribs cooked in that fashion need a bit of acidity to perk up the flavor.  Maybe this isn't part of the Swiss tradition, but I felt some sauerkraut or pickled red cabbage would have gone very well with the ribs.

 

The Bistro was fully booked from 7 p.m. that night, so we had gotten there at 6 p.m.  That gave us a chance to follow the preparation of the evening's offerings in the kitchen.  The owner was very active, supervision and discussing the food with his chef as he tasted it.  That's a very good sign, one that smacks of real professionalism.

 

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You can see the cheese and sausage the restaurant uses  in its dishes.  Top ingredients!

 

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This is another picture-heavy review, so I'll post the second installment ASAP.

 

Evil

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Another really tasty meal I had at The Bistro was also simple but delicious.  The amuse-bouche that day was black olives with diced onions.  I'm not a big fan of olives, but these were good ...


 


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... as was the light rye bread topped with the spread.


 


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I followed up with an open-faced tomato and sausage sandwich with dill pickles at 110 baht.


 


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There's not much skill required to make a sandwich, so it all comes down to the ingredients; otherwise, you might as well slap some salami and tomatoes on a piece of bread at home.


 


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Every component of The Bistro's sandwich was high-quality and fresh.  The toppings were placed on a section of a sliced baguette.


 


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Of course, if you have access to top-quality ingredients make such a sandwich at home.  But he salami was light years above the sliced package sort you get at the Friendship Store or Villa Market.


 


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Next I had fried eggs on rösti for 120 baht. Again, a simple dish that began as a breakfast meal on Swiss farms several hundred years ago. The only ingredients in traditional rösti are shredded potatoes and butter and that's what you get at The Bistro, but cooked perfectly.


 


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The eggs were fresh and fried exactly as they should be.


 


I'd eat breakfast in The Bistro on a regular basis for the rösti and eggs, but unfortunately it doesn't open until 2 p.m.


 


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I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a few items on The Bistro's menu that I haven't tried yet.  It features Swiss hallmarks like fondue and raclette, but those are dishes best enjoyed with friends and few of my acquaintances have wanted to try them, perhaps because of the fondue craze in the U.S.  during the 1960s and 1970s?  Anyway, the fondue and raclette at The Bistro are on my list.


 


The other aspect of The Bistro's menu that deserves mention is its wine list.  I don't  drink wine due to a weird food allergy, so I can't comment on wine choices, but The Bistro's list is extensive.


 


Bottom line:  The Bistro serves great Swiss food, but you have to appreciate cheese.  It's premium food at a premium price,  although several of its dishes fall into the "reasonable"  category.


 


Evil


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Thanks for the review.

I'm sure I'd never have noticed the place.

I'll have to remember to try it during my next trip.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So remember to “Enjoy every sandwich”

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How is the wine?

 

As I explained in the second part, I can't drink wine due to a food allergy that affects an estimated one in every 100,000 people (lucky me!), so I can't comment on the wine at The Bistro.  I've never been able to drink wine.

 

Evil

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Raclette in Pattaya you say?! Take me there now!!

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Raclette in Pattaya you say?! Take me there now!!

 

Yup, it's done with the small table-top grills that look sort of like this:

 

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For those of you who haven't heard of raclette, it's a traditional Swiss dish with more that dates back more than 1,000 years.  The cut side of a round of cheese was heated by a fire and the melted part was scraped off on a piece of bread. Once potatoes were introduced and became established as a food fit for human  consumption, boiled potatoes replaced the bread. Raclette is most often served with gherkins, pickled onions and dry-cured meat.

 

It's delicious, but raclette is mainly a cold-weather meal and I find it a bit heavy in the heat of Pattaya.

 

Evil

 

The video is from a New York restaurant, but it gives a good idea of what raclette is about.

 

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How is the wine?

i eat there with a friend 2 times in feb.

and it's first class for me and also the wine.

just perfect.Enjoy.can't wait to be there in nov.

Cheers.

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  • 2 years later...

Still one of my favourite places in town.

Quality Swiss cheese and cured meats platter 520฿, plenty of fresh bread, ample for two. I really should try a different dish here more often, but it's the perfect lunchtime snack. 

Good espresso, decent Shiraz by the glass at 120฿. Spotlessly clean. Good service.

Very conveniently located in soi 13/1 close to 2nd Road on the central baht bus circuit.

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  • 9 months later...

A reminder of how good this place is, with a few reviews, by different people, during September..

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Sliced pork tenderloin Zurich style with pan fried chanterelles and rösti potato. Delicious! 

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Thailand Wine And Dine - unbiased food reviews around town ... Pollution Watch Thailand - daily air quality readings, news and info, Pattaya

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No. 2 from September...

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again a wonderful meal at The bistro with live lobster from Canada, pork knuckle, Munich Hofbräu beer, chanterelles from France and a sweet dream dessert!

perfect!

 

 

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Thailand Wine And Dine - unbiased food reviews around town ... Pollution Watch Thailand - daily air quality readings, news and info, Pattaya

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Last one...

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Looking at his menu, I cant help myself then going again to the bistro: 

fresh bouzignes oysters Nr. 4, grilled DEER tenderloin mignon from Elsass, fresh French chanterelles with garlic as starter and with pasta in a creamy sauce as main!

super food in a cosy athmosphere with a nice host. Thx Pesche Weber

 

 

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Thailand Wine And Dine - unbiased food reviews around town ... Pollution Watch Thailand - daily air quality readings, news and info, Pattaya

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To be honest that place was TOOOOOOO convenient to my old condo and TOOOOOO good to me.  :Clap:

I probably ate dinner there 2-3 times a week.  The owner is a prince and the staff are all excellent.  One time I stumbled in after having a few after golf drinks on the way home.  It was kinda empty and subdued and I saw Peter (the owner) having a drink and cigarette inside which was odd as normally no one smokes in there.  I asked if open?  He said sure sit down.

I had a single quick course and went home.  Only then did I realize it was after midnight.  Poor bastards in the kitchen probably hated me.  

In short.  One of my favorite places in Pattaya.  Can not go wrong.  Should warn people that seating is limited and during high season it is a good idea to book your table.

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Great food and never disappointed  there !

Of course it's not that cheap  but quality is always on the table. 

Lovely staff and the boss is the only one restaurant owner, (don't talk about bar) who regularly ring the bell in his restaurant!!!!  

Well worth a visit! 

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