Smokin' Joe's BBQ in Soi Lengkee

[ex-pat]

8 hours ago, steak&co said:

Breakfast menu

 

I live on a very limited budget - a lot of folks here would call it marginal, but your menu looks very reasonably priced to me. 195 for an American breakfast including coffee for example. That's comparable to The Continental or Rich Man Poor Man in Jomtien. French toast at 265 seems a bit high, but not if that is genuine maple syrup - is it? 

Geez, I am getting hungry just looking at this

[soi16]

It is three price levels.

1. Thai

2. Expat

3. Tourist aka 2 weeks millionaire

1 and 2 ok, but 3, no way!

Edited December 2, 2017 by soi16

[Kreggerz]

Of course I like the refill idea but I do think at least the included cup of coffee will soften the blow of the higher prices for the local market. Maybe bad form to cite a closed restaurant, but Pastrami and Rye in Jomtien was very popular for breakfasts and they included a coffee and also various options of upgrading the coffee (like to a latte) for an add on price. It's breakfast. Got to have that coffee (or tea). 

[TheGrill]

16 hours ago, CuppaTea said:

Well I guess we all knew your Breakfast Menu wouldn't be cheap and its certainly not.

Is it to expensive ?, I'm going to say a firm Yes for many guys on this forum but as with all things the market will decide. If your tables are busy then you've pitched your prices right.

I am though shocked that a restaurant called steak & Co isnt offering steak and Eggs for breakfast, in fact no Steaks at all ? Even if breakfast is only served at Smokin Joes S&C is only next door.

I think your prices are high, especially when people look at Casa Pascal all you can eat and drink for 240 baht but maybe that's an unfair comparison because your menus are different and you've certainly got things that either are difficult to find or simply not around.

My only suggestion, that will cost you very little, is to include a mug of Coffee or Tea with ALL of your set breakfasts and with one free refill. Psychologically that will offer customers much more and offset your prices to a degree in peoples minds.

For example currently Eggs Benedict at 245 baht  + 100 baht for 2 Coffees = 345 baht now and THAT'S a lot of money unless your overlooking the sea or sitting in a plush tropical garden and at your place your certainly not.

But Eggs Benedict + 2 Coffees = 245 baht, that changes it from being very expensive to "not cheap but hey lets try it."

Please understand I'm only speaking for myself when I say your to expensive because I'm certain a load of guys on here will say your not, but how many of them will actually go and eat and of those who do, how often ?

As we all know customer numbers are the only real answer and I wish you, as always, only success because you severe quality stuff but I'm priced out..

 

 

Retox one of the cheapest places in town charges 285 Baht for Eggs Benedict 'no tea or coffee' making our 245 Baht look good value ? The raw ingredients are not particularly high compared to other breakfast items which includes more protein or incredibly expensive Canadian Maple Syrup but it's difficult and time consuming to make a good Hollandaise sauce thus reflected in the price here and Retox. I do understand the different types of customers living or visiting Pattaya, I have been operating some type of restaurant here for at least 10 years, I don't pretend to know everything but times are changing and I think there is more scope for 'nicer eateries' with higher quality food then say then Crazy Dave's.  Retox is doing a fantastic job with it's Baht Busting 98 Baht Breakfast and they are serving hundreds perhaps thousands of English Breakfasts in high season, I'm looking for a different segment of the market who appreciate value for money but want higher quality ingredients. 

The Free Tea & Coffee is certainly a thing we may change, it's a business and if we can find customers prepared to pay 245 Baht and still buy a cuppa tea, coffee or water  (no tea or coffee at Retox too) then we should at least try, if not we will change. Thank you for the feedback, I know everyone talks from their own personal view point and are just trying to help, its appreciated. I hope my replies give you some insight into the process a business has to consider when pricing or implementing something new, I'm here to make a profit or I'd simply have to close our doors, it's very easy to give stuff away but much harder to make even the smallest profit. 

[TheGrill]

15 hours ago, ex-pat said:

I live on a very limited budget - a lot of folks here would call it marginal, but your menu looks very reasonably priced to me. 195 for an American breakfast including coffee for example. That's comparable to The Continental or Rich Man Poor Man in Jomtien. French toast at 265 seems a bit high, but not if that is genuine maple syrup - is it? 

Geez, I am getting hungry just looking at this

 

Thanks for your comments, yes its Canadian Maple Syrup, the cost price was 75 Baht for a small cup, insanely expensive but I do not want to give 'flavoured maple syrup' because it tastes rubbish compared to the real deal, I'd prefer to take it off the menu then serve rubbish. The fresh berries also add a lot of cost to the dish....

Edited December 3, 2017 by steak&co

[Gnorman]

Good luck with your breakfast menu, I'll certainly be giving a few items on your menu a try later this month, food looks great.

I had a McDonalds breakfast last month in Pattaya. Muffin, hash brown and cappuccino cost me 202 baht. So I think your prices are just fine. Food must be a lot cheaper in other parts of the world compared to Australia if people consider breakfast in a restaurant expensive at 300 baht compared to their home countries. Yes, yes I know we are talking about Thailand but people do make the comparison to their home also.

Plus breakfast at 300 baht is much better value than two thimble lady drinks in my opinion.

[CuppaTea]

9 hours ago, steak&co said:

Retox one of the cheapest places in town charges 285 Baht for Eggs Benedict 'no tea or coffee' making our 245 Baht look good value ? The raw ingredients are not particularly high compared to other breakfast items which includes more protein or incredibly expensive Canadian Maple Syrup but it's difficult and time consuming to make a good Hollandaise sauce thus reflected in the price here and Retox. I do understand the different types of customers living or visiting Pattaya, I have been operating some type of restaurant here for at least 10 years, I don't pretend to know everything but times are changing and I think there is more scope for 'nicer eateries' with higher quality food then say then Crazy Dave's.  Retox is doing a fantastic job with it's Baht Busting 98 Baht Breakfast and they are serving hundreds perhaps thousands of English Breakfasts in high season, I'm looking for a different segment of the market who appreciate value for money but want higher quality ingredients. 

The Free Tea & Coffee is certainly a thing we may change, it's a business and if we can find customers prepared to pay 245 Baht and still buy a cuppa tea, coffee or water  (no tea or coffee at Retox too) then we should at least try, if not we will change. Thank you for the feedback, I know everyone talks from their own personal view point and are just trying to help, its appreciated. I hope my replies give you some insight into the process a business has to consider when pricing or implementing something new, I'm here to make a profit or I'd simply have to close our doors, it's very easy to give stuff away but much harder to make even the smallest profit. 

 

I wonder how many Eggs Benedict's Retox sells per week at 285 baht and what it both looks and tastes like, particularly the Hollandaise, I going to guess its just an item on their menu and one that gets ordered so infrequently that when it is the kitchen staff scratch their heads and try to find an instruction sheet.

Thank you for understanding my comments are only meant to be helpful so let me leave this on a positive.

Your American & English set breakfasts at 195 baht are really not all that much higher than your comparable competitors around there, Retox cant be considered for food, only drinks

You do seem a pragmatic guy and will fine tune things if you need to and there definitely is a market for, lets be kind, "better"

[Kreggerz]

Well, if you do ever decide to include coffee with the breakfast dishes, please announce it here.

Thanks. 

[sherlockholmes1987]

Its normal to have different quality and price meals, for different people and tastes...  I can imagine what kind of comments would Mercedes or Hilton owners get if they had their own forum thread  

[JohnDoesPattaya]

3pm, now it's doable  I will give it a try when i am in Pattaya next time. 
 

[JAI DEE MAK]

98tb Bt at retox can not be a profit maker for what you get how can anyone complete with this loss maker ?.

You can not buy the ingredients never mind cook them for this price.

JDM

Edited December 4, 2017 by JAI DEE MAK

[JAI DEE MAK]

23 hours ago, Gnorman said:

Good luck with your breakfast menu, I'll certainly be giving a few items on your menu a try later this month, food looks great.

I had a McDonalds breakfast last month in Pattaya. Muffin, hash brown and cappuccino cost me 202 baht. So I think your prices are just fine. Food must be a lot cheaper in other parts of the world compared to Australia if people consider breakfast in a restaurant expensive at 300 baht compared to their home countries. Yes, yes I know we are talking about Thailand but people do make the comparison to their home also.

Plus breakfast at 300 baht is much better value than two thimble lady drinks in my opinion.

I agree however you don't get to put your finger into the breakfasts  pussy after buying a lady drink Ha Ha .

JDM

[Kreggerz]

Coffee included or I won't even try it.

I have price resistance for breakfast.

For that price with coffee charged, I'm going to Pascal's buffet where you drink a gallon of coffee if you want all included.

But that's just me. 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Kreggerz

[Ah dinnae ken]

19 minutes ago, Kreggerz said:

But that's just me. 

Yep

Your choice.

I go for food because I love the quality presented at this place. Looking forward to breakie in Feb 

[Gnorman]

1 hour ago, Kreggerz said:

Coffee included or I won't even try it.

I have price resistance for breakfast.

For that price with coffee charged, I'm going to Pascal's buffet where you drink a gallon of coffee if you want all included.

But that's just me. 

Did you not read that breakfast 1, 2 and 3 all have coffee or tea included?

Edited December 4, 2017 by Gnorman

[Kreggerz]

2 hours ago, Gnorman said:

Did you not read that breakfast 1, 2 and 3 all have coffee or tea included?

Actually, I didn't because those sets didn't interest me.

[Kreggerz]

3 hours ago, froddo said:

Yep

Your choice.

I go for food because I love the quality presented at this place. Looking forward to breakie in Feb 

Yep.

My choice. 

I kind of already said that.

Most people have a deal breaker at some point. Just saying mine. 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Kreggerz

[Farangkie]

I went this morning and had the 195 English breakfast with black pudding as an extra . When I walked in I was greeted by a delightfully smiley welcoming waitress , I only make a note of that because it stood out for me as it was in complete contrast to the miserable as sin waitress from Retox  that I had the morning before , that almost threw my 99 baht breakfast at me when it arrived, she fully deserved the 1 baht tip I left her .

As for the Smokin Joes  , it was excellent and one of the best breakfasts Iv'e had in Pattaya, all high quality ingredients cooked well. The stand outs for me were the bacon , unusual to get crispy and not cremated bacon, also the toast was very good , don't know what sort of bread it was but I would go back for that alone. A large mug of filter coffee was included , personally I'm not a big fan of filter coffee , as I prefer an espresso or a cappuccino ,but in this case it was really good quality and very pleasant.

In summary , quality surroundings , food and service , for 195 it's a bargain.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Syco

[TheGrill]

On 05/12/2017 at 17:12, Syco said:

I went this morning and had the 195 English breakfast with black pudding as an extra . When I walked in I was greeted by a delightfully smiley welcoming waitress , I only make a note of that because it stood out for me as it was in complete contrast to the miserable as sin waitress from Retox  that I had the morning before , that almost threw my 99 baht breakfast at me when it arrived, she fully deserved the 1 baht tip I left her .

As for the Smokin Joes  , it was excellent and one of the best breakfasts Iv'e had in Pattaya, all high quality ingredients cooked well. The stand outs for me were the bacon , unusual to get crispy and not cremated bacon, also the toast was very good , don't know what sort of bread it was but I would go back for that alone. A large mug of filter coffee was included , personally I'm not a big fan of filter coffee , as I prefer an espresso or a cappuccino ,but in this case it was really good quality and very pleasant.

In summary , quality surroundings , food and service , for 195 it's a bargain.

 

 

Really please you enjoyed it, our waitresses are pretty attentive and really happy you thought for 195 it was a bargain, it's early days but we have 2 regular already! The Daily Mail newspaper is also available, let me know if you prefer the Wall Street Times or something, it's 7,000+ a month so only wanna have one for now.  The coffee is from one of those bean to cup machines then hot water added, happy that was ok for you. 

Thank you again for the review its much appreciated. 

Edited December 8, 2017 by steak&co

[soi16]

On 05/12/2017 at 17:12, Syco said:

A large mug of filter coffee was

I think you coffee is freshly ground beans without Melitta filters, right?

[TheGrill]

1 hour ago, soi16 said:

I think you coffee is freshly ground beans without Melitta filters, right?

No filter (no drip brew system), we have a freshly ground bean to cup machine which makes an espresso shot to which we just add hot water from our water urn (uses filter water from those big bottles). This was yesterdays breakfast, 2 eggs on sourdough bread and 1 slice of thick cut smoked bacon, its no culinary masterpiece but it was a nice breakfast.  

[TheGrill]

Just tackled the Premium Breakfast for photo purposes haha 

[TheGrill]

It's been a week since we launched the Breakfast menu and we have listen to our customers and here are some changes. 

1. Tea & Coffee with EVERY Breakfast menu item
2. We have added an option to upgrade to illy coffe for only 70 Baht
3. We have increased the size of the Maple Syrup given from 40ml to 60ml (the cost price of 60ml 75 Baht) We won't use that cheap crap which is flavoured syrup
4. We have added Scrambled Egg & Smoked Salmon on Toast and taken away the grilled cheese sandwich

Hope thats pleased some of you and we will continue to listen to the feedback we are given. 

 

 

[Kreggerz]

Yes.

Thank you! 

So which is better, the buttermilk pancakes or waffles? I've never had buttermilk waffles. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by Kreggerz

[TheGrill]

23 minutes ago, Kreggerz said:

Yes.

Thank you! 

So which is better, the buttermilk pancakes or waffles? I've never had buttermilk waffles. 

Waffles for me  if you do try em let me know if the 60ml of maple syrup is enough (we raised it from 40ml) ... it's crazy expensive here.

Edited December 10, 2017 by steak&co