Cafe des Amis

[davidge]

I'm probably going to get some grief for this, so here goes:

My first visit here. Location not the best. Really need transport or to use a taxi. I directed the taxi there easily enough but the one collecting me got lost so I had 6 Soi dogs for company while he tried to find me. Yes, you could walk down from Thappraya but it's a narrow dark Soi.

Asked to sit down and wait while they tried to find me a table, as I didn't have a reservation. Pretentious claptrap. 2 tables occupied when I arrived, 2 when I left. Hardly rushed off their feet.

Interesting choice of music and louder than you generally find in restaurants. Mainly 1940's/1950's stuff???

Service was ok but not impressed that they cleared everything off table and cleaned it ready for next customer while I was still finishing my wine.

The appetiser was a small slice of duck in orange sauce. It was neither warm nor cold. Meat was tough and sauce unpleasant. Really appeared the chef couldn't be bothered or was taking the piss.

House red wine was good and served at correct temperature. Nice bread.

I chose 'Not a Greek Salad' as starter. Sorry, more pretentious claptrap calling something that. I thought the menu said it came with rocket and some other things but it was a large slice of watermelon with feta cheese on top, a couple of pistachios, some halved cherry tomatoes that were either partly dried or had been cooked, some fresh Mint leaves with Mint sauce added. Although the cheese and watermelon was an interesting combination I really couldn't taste anything except Mint.

For the main course I had lamb fillet. It was served on a bed of asparagus with dauphinois potato, crushed peas and carrots. There was a red wine (I think) jus. The lamb must have been seasoned before cooking as it tasted quite salty. The jus was slightly bitter. The veg was fine, though the asparagus was slightly overcooked. The dish as a whole was quite heavy and I struggled to finish it.

The total bill was around 1300 baht.

I'm aware this restaurant gets very good reviews from most people but I found the meal to be extremely disappointing.

I can't see myself going back anytime soon.

[Houten Kop]

Thanks for the review.

I too hate that “reservation” bullshit.

About ten years ago we arrived a tad early in the evening at Sugar Hut on Thappraya Road which was completely empty.

As we had not “reserved” (which I very seldom do) they did not let us in.

Never been back.

At Manhattans Steakhouse, also on Thappraya Road, we first had to sit, wait and drink at the bar, which I refused.

Gone tits up since.

To be honest, Pattaya is not the place for wining and dining for hours.

[ChiFlyer]

On 7/19/2017 at 0:23 PM, davidge said:

I'm probably going to get some grief for this, so here goes:

My first visit here.

      .......

I'm aware this restaurant gets very good reviews from most people but I found the meal to be extremely disappointing.

I can't see myself going back anytime soon.

I am a little surprised. Oh, I do agree that they are a little pretentious. Sorry to hear about your not so great experience. I have been here 4 times and the food has been excellent. Maybe it is a low season problem. The pics are from a date night with a special Thai Lady Friend.

I had the Roast Duck and it was excellent.

My friend had the Salmon. We usually try a little of each other's food and the Salmon was very well prepared.

 

I agree that the wine is served correctly and also the house Pinot Noir was very good for a House Wine.

If you decide to give Au Bon Coin a try, you need a reservation. Some of us refer to the owner/chef as the Soup Nazi. Hmmm, not being an American, you might not understand the Seinfeld reference. Think petulant genius. He requires a reservation, else no soup for you, but the food is excellent. His Meringue dishes are really good (Grouper was out of this world). Oh, and take a taxi to that one. I would use Google Maps to show the driver where we are going.

If you are looking for a dependable taxi drive, send me a PM. There is someone I can ask.

[davidge]

5 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

I am a little surprised. Oh, I do agree that they are a little pretentious. Sorry to hear about your not so great experience. I have been here 4 times and the food has been excellent. Maybe it is a low season problem. The pics are from a date night with a special Thai Lady Friend.

I had the Roast Duck and it was excellent.

My friend had the Salmon. We usually try a little of each other's food and the Salmon was very well prepared.

 

I agree that the wine is served correctly and also the house Pinot Noir was very good for a House Wine.

If you decide to give Au Bon Coin a try, you need a reservation. Some of us refer to the owner/chef as the Soup Nazi. Hmmm, not being an American, you might not understand the Seinfeld reference. Think petulant genius. He requires a reservation, else no soup for you, but the food is excellent. His Meringue dishes are really good (Grouper was out of this world). Oh, and take a taxi to that one. I would use Google Maps to show the driver where we are going.

If you are looking for a dependable taxi drive, send me a PM. There is someone I can ask.

I'm aware most people really rate it but I'm a difficult bugger to please - and I'm not going to say it's good just because others say so 

Obviously, I'm expecting higher standards from somewhere like this compared to, say, P&W or Rosie's and judge accordingly. To be honest, if I'd cooked that lamb myself I'd have been disappointed in it & the salad was just plain odd. Didn't work at all as a dish.

Thanks for the taxi offer. I'm finding Grab & Uber pretty good, it's just this one driver listened to his sat nav instead of using his brain.

[pattaya669]

You should have informed the owner of your complaints. I've been there so many times and sometimes they do miss things. But they happily cover it up and I got my VIP card cause giving constructive criticism. Which your review could be on the table for discussion as it is detailed information of your experience. He is a very very generous and understanding owner. So please try again and have a talk with him if you not satisfied with something. He gave us (8 people) free dessert, coffee and shot/drink of our choice on the house cause he didn't had any cake which I wanted! 

[phate]

The best score goes to the Location and Atmosphere that Breath ....... Finally a Place in Pattaya where you do not feel screaming and scooping maybe because on a sideway and maybe because they try to keep  this perfect happy island intact .the music selection in the background that has accompanied and rejoiced every single occasion. the famous Duck a l'orange and then a great Thai soup with coconut chicken and a perfect potato puree without lumps and great  consistency. prices a little higher than the average but always very low compared to the European Standard so recommend it better if in the company of its partner since romantic atmosphere is part of this unique  restaurant.

[davidge]

9 minutes ago, phate said:

The best score goes to the Location and Atmosphere that Breath ....... Finally a Place in Pattaya where you do not feel screaming and scooping maybe because on a sideway and maybe because they try to keep  this perfect happy island intact .the music selection in the background that has accompanied and rejoiced every single occasion. the famous Duck a l'orange and then a great Thai soup with coconut chicken and a perfect potato puree without lumps and great  consistency. prices a little higher than the average but always very low compared to the European Standard so recommend it better if in the company of its partner since romantic atmosphere is part of this unique  restaurant.

Can't help thinking it may be a good idea if you wait until you actually visit Pattaya before putting 'reviews' on here.

Getting rather annoying.

[phate]

2 minutes ago, davidge said:

Can't help thinking it may be a good idea if you wait until you actually visit Pattaya before putting 'reviews' on here.

Getting rather annoying.

it's a friend of mine, but if there are problems I dont post anymore

[davidge]

8 minutes ago, phate said:

it's a friend of mine, but if there are problems I dont post anymore

They all sound like press releases from not very good PR companies that you found on Google

 

[TWD]

Always had a good meal there Davidge, sorry about your experience. As said above the owner bends over backwards to accommodate if anything is wrong. On a recent visit he suggested a wine which my friend really didn't enjoy. Without hesitating we were given a different (and more expensive) one for no extra charge.

Thing is some people pay for pretentiousness almost as much as for the food, and when a knife is out of alignment or the napkin not placed on your lap with a flourish, he gets demoted two stars on TA. So he doesn't really have much of a choice.

As for reservations they do have two sittings and are frequently full for the second one. So checking on availability isn't a game there, they really do have to work out if there's time for you to eat before the prebooked people arrive.

It's a tough game, the restaurant business, from the classy places to the bistros and diners, they are all working their butts off to earn a couple of bucks these days

[BeerBelly]

For the longest time, I didn't go to CDA because I didn't have anyone to go with and didn't want to sit at a table alone. I finally asked the owner if I could eat at the bar, and he told me many single diners choose to eat at the bar. So now, I'm happy to go without reservations because I prefer to sit at the bar.

[whitespider - RIP]

Shame to hear you didn't have a good time. Every time i have been there its been spot on and the owner is always there and usually makes an effort. Couple of notes

The "appetizer" is usually a freebie and although i agree they are very small I don't have high expectations of free stuff.

Secondly - the Greek Salad. I have this every time I go and to be fair i am pretty sure it is called "not a Greek Salad" or words to that effect. It certainly does say very clearly on the menu what it actually is.

[Cerberus]

14 minutes ago, whitespider said:

Shame to hear you didn't have a good time. Every time i have been there its been spot on and the owner is always there and usually makes an effort. Couple of notes

The "appetizer" is usually a freebie and although i agree they are very small I don't have high expectations of free stuff.

Secondly - the Greek Salad. I have this every time I go and to be fair i am pretty sure it is called "not a Greek Salad" or words to that effect. It certainly does say very clearly on the menu what it actually is.

Glad to hear you can afford to eat there young man. My main problem here and some other places is this two sittings business, need more room? enlarge do not pressurize diners into eating as if they were in Mcdonalds.

When we go out for dinner we have no idea how the conversation will flow or what we may select to eat, this is Pattaya and if I am going to spend 10k + on a dinner for two I do not expect to sit there watching the clock to see if my time is up, or shorten the time between y courses.  

I expect to be served with professionalism, my food to be cooked freshly and to given standard and the wine to be at a temperature suited to my taste. Lastly and most importantly I expect to be able to enjoy the company of whosoever is with me without limitation on our conversation due to timed sittings. My own opinion is that "sittings" is merely the restaurant putting its needs before that of its clientele. As I said before more clients that table availability, increase your seating area or inform people you are full on the evening concerned and concentrate on serving those to the highest standard so as to always be in such a situation.    

[hauhinbin]

Every restaurant has a bad day ...eaten there a few times 4/5 excellent  1/5 so-so .Will be going again 

[BeerBelly]

1 hour ago, whitespider said:

Shame to hear you didn't have a good time. Every time i have been there its been spot on and the owner is always there and usually makes an effort. Couple of notes

The "appetizer" is usually a freebie and although i agree they are very small I don't have high expectations of free stuff.

Secondly - the Greek Salad. I have this every time I go and to be fair i am pretty sure it is called "not a Greek Salad" or words to that effect. It certainly does say very clearly on the menu what it actually is.

That is not an appetizer, that is an amuse bouche which is kind of a pre-appetizer.

[davidge]

25 minutes ago, BeerBelly said:

That is not an appetizer, that is an amuse bouche which is kind of a pre-appetizer.

Yes, I know what it is. I didn't want to use French on the forum as some BMs have enough trouble with English 

Anyway, it certainly didn't amuse my mouth or perk my appetite.

[davidge]

58 minutes ago, hauhinbin said:

Every restaurant has a bad day ...eaten there a few times 4/5 excellent  1/5 so-so .Will be going again 

At the prices they charge (in Pattaya!) I'm not prepared to give them a second chance, especially as the location is a bit of a P.I.T.A. anyway.

[Jay Wobble]

This place has a fantastic reputation and is very popular with local expats, but at a price. I've always had great meals with good ambience although service can be slow. However recently as they're busy the cost really doesn't justify anymore when there's others nearby just as good and easier to get to, especially if you don't have your own car. 

[bar stool]

4 hours ago, whitespider said:

Shame to hear you didn't have a good time. Every time i have been there its been spot on and the owner is always there and usually makes an effort. Couple of notes

The "appetizer" is usually a freebie and although i agree they are very small I don't have high expectations of free stuff.

Secondly - the Greek Salad. I have this every time I go and to be fair i am pretty sure it is called "not a Greek Salad" or words to that effect. It certainly does say very clearly on the menu what it actually is.

A small free appetiser is usually called an “amuse gueule”.

[ChiFlyer]

My Thai lady friend wanted to try beef steak. I noticed that Cafe des Amis now serves steaks, so we gave it a try.

Short story -> damn good steak. They have four choices, 3 filets and a ribeye. We went with the middle of the road filet and it was very good.

btw - this was 4250 baht with tip. Every so often you have to spend it like you have a little.

Here are a few pics.

Complementary Appetizer.

Oysters

Steaks

Irish Coffee to finish.

[davidge]

You should have taken her to the Hemingway’s Monday night steak special and saved a few baht 

Would have lowered her expectations as well 

 

[ChiFlyer]

11 minutes ago, davidge said:

You should have taken her to the Hemingway’s Monday night steak special and saved a few baht 

Would have lowered her expectations as well 

 

We had fun.

[piehead]

have eaten many times and find it very good . pain in the arse to get to. i tend to use Beefeater and steak &co these days.