The Robin Hood Tavern in The Avenue on 2nd Road

[Pheat]

I went to TRHT on Sunday looking to have the once-a-week roast dinner. The inside area was packed full at 2.30 p.m., not a single seat open and people standing with drinks in hand.  But there were plenty of seats outside, probably because of the impending rain.  Although I'm not a big fan of al fresco dining, I was more disappointed to find the roast dinners weren't available that Sunday.  Whether it was due to staff shortages or other hassles, I don't know.

 

In fact, TRHT was using an abbreviated menu with about half of its usual offering:

 

 

That's not a bad idea at all when a restaurant is forced for any reason to operate on a limited basis.  There's still plenty of choice, but customers won't have to constantly hear, "No hab" or wait for many minutes before the food arrives on the table.  I had my heart set on a roast dinner and if it hadn't been for the heavy rain, I would have gone elsewhere.

 

I swallowed my disappointment and ordered the cottage pie. 

 

 

It was excellent- a generous portion of minced meat topped with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese.  Three pieces of warm French bread accompanied it.

 

 

It was made from quality ingredients cooked properly.

 

 

The mince mixture had a good beef-and-vegetable flavor, but was perhaps a bit bland. However, that what the condiment basket is for.  Cottage pie isn't supposed to be a tongue-tingling dish and with Worcestershire sauce or Tabasco, you can add as much zip as you like.  

 

 

No complaints on my part and I wouldn't hesitate to order it again.  It 275 baht, it wasn't cheap, but the quality ingredients justified a premium price.

 

I went back again Wednesday night, not so much because I love TRHT, but The Avenue is five minutes from where I live and the Internet was down in my building.  TRHT has free WiFi that's both strong and fast.  The Internet is still down in my building and I'm filing this report from the Robin Hood. It's the WiFi rather than the food that is the immediate draw this time round.

 

IMG_0061.jpg

 

Somewhat to my surprise, it was nearly empty at 8.00 p.m.

 

 

I stayed until nearly 1.00 a.m. and there weren't many customers the whole time.  At one point, around 9.30 p.m., I was the ONLY customer.  

 

 

Things picked up a smidgen when a group of twelve guys entered a half-hour later.  They were still there when I left, eating and drinking heartily.  Without them, the night would have been a real bust for TRHT.

 

 

Every other time I've been to the Robin Hood, it's had plenty of customers and the service staff really had to rush. Such are the vagaries of the bar/restaurant branch in Pattaya.

 

 

At least the lack of customers allowed me to get clear pics of the layout of the main inside area.

 

 

For my meal, I had the lamb burger for 395 baht.  The longer Robin Hood menu was back on Wednesday.

 

 

The burger consisted of a 180-gram patty of Australian lamb, three slices of feta cheese, tomato and lettuce on a sesame bun.

 

 

The sides were thick-cut chips (they would be called potato wedges in the U.S.) and coleslaw. The menu said it was mint yogurt slaw, but that wasn't the case.  The mint yogurt sauce came in a separate little dish and the coleslaw was doused   with the usual mayonnaise-based dressing.

 

 

It was good, but not the most exciting burger I've had.  The feta cheese and lamb went well together.  I know imported lamb is expensive in Thailand, but 395 baht did seem a bit on the high side for what you got.  

 

 

I ordered the bread-and-butter pudding for dessert along with a coffee latte.  

 

 

Both were excellent. The bread-and-butter pudding was just like Grandma used to make. 

 

 

Plenty of egg/cream mixture and butter and baked perfectly so it got a great topping of caramelized sugar but not too sweet. The cook had been a bit stingy regarding raisins, but so was my Grandma.

 

 

The custard sauce was also lovely, smooth, full-flavored and again, not too sweet. The pudding went for a very reasonable 140 baht. I would have liked to have had another portion, but that would have been overindulgence, so I'll post another picture instead.  Less fattening!

 

 

Bottom line: So far I've been very happy with the food at the Robin Hood. It's not inexpensive, but the quality is higher than in a lot of places that serve English food.

 

Two other points: 1) I saw no evidence of any Bite Me Bistro dishes on the menu, but I was served Sunday by Apple, who used to work at Bite Me; and 2) smoking is not allowed inside.  Half of the guys in the group of 12 went outside to smoke.  If TRHT had been flexible on smoking, I'm sure they would have allowed them to smoke inside on a night with almost no other customers. 

 

Evil

I visited a couple of nights back and had the cottage pie

Which in my opinion was just ok nothing special at all

The prices RH are charging the food should be way above average which it is not.

Many restaurants in Patts serving pretty much the same menu at the same quality but at 80-100 Baht cheaper per meal

[Ah dinnae ken]

Pleased Apple as a job but looks to me we ave seen the last of BMB

[Evil Penevil]

Breakfast is a beloved topic on the Pattaya boards, but I'm not usually a good source of information as I seldom eat a farang breakfast.  However,  due to the problems with the Internet in my building, I've had more Western breakfasts this week than I would normally have in six months.  Internet connectivity, rather than the food, has been my reason for visiting restaurants in the morning.

 

 

Yesterday I had the Sheriff of Nottingham breakfast at TRHT for 179 baht.  

 

 

It was a big plate of food and what came down in front of me closely corresponded to the pic in the ad for the Sheriff of Nottingham breakfast.  It included  a cup of coffee or tea and a small glass of orange juice.  I added a watermelon smoothie for 85 baht. According to traditional Chinese medicine, watermelon juice is a cold food that helps dispel the heat of  a tropical climate.  The coldness doesn't have to do with the temperature of the juice, but its position on the yin-yang scale.  The yin of the watermelon juice helps balance the both the yang of the outside heat and humidity and the other components of the breakfast.

 

 

Others are more qualified to discuss the details of an English breakfast, so I'll abstain.  It tasted pretty good to me, even though English sausage and tinned beans don't rank among my favorites for breakfast. However, there was no mistaking the ingredients were quality.  The eggs were fried nicely, once over lightly.  The grilled tomato, fried mushroom and potato were also tasty, as was the back bacon, sometimes called Irish bacon in the U.S.

 

 

Look at the knife and fork in relation to the size of the plate.  That's a lot of food!  And it wasn't greasy, which is often the case with English fry-ups.

 

 

In terms of value-for-money, the quality of ingredients as well as the portion size make the Sheriff's breakfast a reasonable deal.  However, the other Retrox restaurants have similar breakfasts at about 100 baht.  If you add another 61 baht to your breakfast outlay, you can have the buffet at Casa Pascal, without question the best breakfast offer in central Pattaya and just a hop, skip and jump from TRHT.

 

Evil

Edited January 13, 2017 by Evil Penevil

[Sexyfarangman]

Too bad about All American Restaurant, the previous occupant. I liked the food there. I'll try the new place when I'm back in town.

[FROST MEDIC999]

Shame no black pudding included in the deal

[Evil Penevil]

Pleased Apple as a job but looks to me we ave seen the last of BMB

It's only circumstantial evidence, but there is some indication BMB might be slowly manifesting itself at The Robin Hood Tavern.  From another thread:

 

Robin Hood Tavern is doing daily specials and they are sounding very similar to the daily specials that sadly departed Bite Me used to have.

 

Check it out daily:

https://www.facebook.com/robinhoodtavernpattaya/

I agree. Some of the daily specials remind me of BMB specials. Time will tell.

 

Evil

[just hanging]

do they have thai food also?

[jimboh]

Yes they do have Thai dishes, missus had larb moo today, said it was good, I thought it a tad expensive at 195B. I had the 179B brekkie, outstanding, mainly due to, as previously mentioned. quality ingredients and the fact it was not swimming in grease. Best brekkie I have had in Pattaya in a long time.  

[hauhinbin]

Yes they do have Thai dishes, missus had larb moo today, said it was good, I thought it a tad expensive at 195B. I had the 179B brekkie, outstanding, mainly due to, as previously mentioned. quality ingredients and the fact it was not swimming in grease. Best brekkie I have had in Pattaya in a long time.  

good to hear...quality sausage is hard to come by....as the TG  saying goes

[Skalliwag]

Shame no black pudding included in the deal

Yeah,like you need more blood and guts after that 19 year old.

[FROST MEDIC999]

Yeah,like you need more blood and guts after that 19 year old.

55555 ☺

[Balee]

It is possible they have a special deal for 1st year rent as did the All American Restaurant there before them so it can last also one year.

 

Bad location and nothing I see to make it worth going to for, it offers the same as other places but food for more cost that is not special.

 

Wetherspoons is okay and this tries to be the same but it is not well located, other Retox as Soi Honey is, less the one near third road.

 

I read Bite Me goes there soon to make the food and this would make it much more worth going to but this is not the place for it to sit and enjoy it.

[just hanging]

[mmaaarrrkkk]

Exactly the same as the RetoxGameOn breakfast

 

[Skalliwag]

Ham Hock.jpg

WTF is that?

Looks,like shit.

[Lambik]

Similar to Eisbein in Germany.

Everything is relative, a plate of mushy pea curry doesn't look attractive(understatement) to me.

 

https://www.google.be/search?q=mushy+pea&client=tablet-android-samsung&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi51v28iMbRAhXC1xoKHbeaAkkQ_AUIBygB&biw=600&bih=1024#imgrc=lCPBJxVDtj_3eM%3A

[xdrt33]

Excellent reviews as usual Mr Evil.

Will defo check it out on my next trip (and Smokin Joe's).

They are both around 5 mins walk from my hotel

[Evil Penevil]

 ,,

 

I had the Saturday special at TRHT on Jan. 21, which was the same special yesterday: Oven Roasted Fish Fillets,  Mustard Mashed Potatoes served with a White Wine and Pepper Cream Sauce for 225 baht.

 

It didn't look too much different than the pic on the Robin Hood's FB page:

 

 

The potatoes didn't have toasted peaks and the plate I got didn't have grape tomatoes,  but otherwise pretty much the same.

 

 

It sounded and looked like it could have been Bite Me special, which is the main reason I wanted to try it. It was good, but kind of like a dumbed-down Bite Me dish. Make no mistake, it was good and I had no problem finishing it, but it lacked the "something special" in terms of flavor that was the hallmark of Bite Me specials. The fish was a bit watery, most likely dory.  The mustard mash was fine and the portion size was good in terms of the price.

 

  

 

The night before, on Jan. 20, I'd wanted to try Friday's special, poached chicken breast filled with salmon mousse and served with fondant potatoes.  Unfortunately, it was finished by the time I got there (8.00 p.m.), so I tried the poached egg with back bacon, black pudding and bubble and squeak for 160 baht.  

 

 

That definitely wasn't a Bite Me dish, but what the hell, once in a while I have to expand my culinary horizons.

 

 

The hollandaise sauce was pretty bad.  If they had just left it off, or served it in a boat on the side, the dish would have been OK.

 

 

The egg was poached properly and the bubble and squeak had plenty of flavor.  The black pudding was, well, black pudding. Hollandaise sauce is a bit of a minefield; one wrong step and it blows up.  Even properly made hollandaise is tricky for restaurants because it has to be held at just the right temperature or it coagulates.

 

Also worth noting: the nights TRHT has live music, the volume is too loud.  In the future, I'll avoid eating there on the nights they have music.  To be fair, TRHT is a sports bar, so you have to expect a certain level of noise from the TVs and the music, but it was too much for me. The thing for everyone to keep in mind in that TRHT is primarily a sports bar and pub that serves foods, not just a restaurant.  On the plus side, the rules against smoking inside are strictly enforced.

 

Moreover, TRHT is beginning with an all-you-can-eat Sunday carvery for 395 baht.  The single plates with remain at 199 baht 9plus 30 baht for lamb).  I haven't tried the Sunday roast at TRHT, but some others were critical of its initial offering.

 

 

Evil

[J1066]

I stopped by for a drink with my girls few nights back. Very quiet but service was slow. Staff going around seems busy doing stuff but not actually looking at the customers to see if they need serving.

 

I wish it good luck. But it had nothing special to draw me back

[marino28]

went there few days ago. Had the special of the day. At 199 thb very good, and a big portion.

 

I will go again. 

 

 

I agree that the service is a bit slow, but for me is not a problem.

[thinkingallowed]

Ham Hock.jpg

  

WTF is that?

Looks,like shit.

Was my last meal in Pattaya on my Christmas trip and I wasn't very impressed.

Usually try to have something safe on my last night and as I've tried a few of Evil's recommendations in the past I thought I'd give this a go.

Soggy Yorkshire pudding spoiled the whole thing.

[Taa_Saparot]

Stopped by yesterday and noticed that all the beer has increased in price.

[piehead]

We tried this place last week. I had the ham hock , it was dry and tough and I left most of it. Didn't complain because there was only Thai staff on. Over the years I have learnt complaining to Thai staff is a waste of breath.because this is one of simons pubs we gave it a second chance. I had the beef stew which was just ok. Service was slow it was after 9 o'clock with live music playing and it was pretty dead.

[spidey]

As a fan of Retox, Soi Honey, I've found that the standard of food there has steadily declined since it first opened so decided to try so took the opportunity to try Robin Hood for Sunday lunch.

Ordered a large Stella. Waitresses came back after 5 minutes, "No have Stella ", (normal for Retox - 50-50 change of Stella ). Not a problem, ordered large Paulaner. 5 minutes later, waitress came back and said, "Need to order drink from menu". I pointed to Paulaner on the menu, "OK". Another 5 minutes later and my drink arrived.

Asked for carvery and told "You can get now" pointing towards the cavery. Explained that I wanted to eat with my TGF and son and would wait until their food arrived. She then explained that the large carvery included soup and sweet. Thinking that this was the difference between small and large, I ordered the small carvery. TGF ordered Tom Yam Goong and son ordered Kow Pad Goong.

Within minutes, a plate of Sunday roast was presented to me. No opportunity to go to carvery and choose for myself. Was very average, roast beef way overcooked and tough and small portion of tepid vegetables. Asked for horseradish sauce and after a conflab between 3 waitresses, a small pot was brought to the table.

I tucked in and had finished my meal before the TGF and son's food arrived. Something that is fairly common in Thailand, but as I'd told the waitress that we wanted to eat together, was quite annoying.

Tom Yam Goong was a relatively small portion and virtually inedible, very heavily salted and GF could only manage to eat half of it.

Kow Pad Goong was OK but probably the most expensive in Pattaya.

Explained all the problems with the food to the waitress, as she collected the plates. Waitress made no comment.

On leaving, spotted the duty manager (Aus/NZ?) outside having a cigarette. Took our complaints to him. He explained that the waitress was new and didn't have good English, which wasn't the problem as TGF had explained everything to her in Thai. Made no excuses for the food other than to say that we should have returned the Tom Yam, which would have been pointless as the stock is made in bulk and any replacement would have been equally salty.

Overall service very poor, food poor and seriously overpriced.

On a positive note, very nicely furnished restaurant with good ambience, only marred by the fact that we were sat near the doors, which the staff kept wide open which negated the air con and we were uncomfortably hot.

Shame really as it has the potential to be a great place to eat.

[mmaaarrrkkk]

As a fan of Retox, Soi Honey, I've found that the standard of food there has steadily declined since it first opened so decided to try so took the opportunity to try Robin Hood for Sunday lunch.

I thought the same during my early Jan visit but didn't want to say anything till I gave it another chance during Songkran!

 

Hope the owners are reading this and do something before Retox is no more toxing!