L'Auberge (Jomtien Phratamnak)

[ChiFlyer]

I had noticed a couple of favorable comments about this French Restaurant, so I decided to give it a try. Lots of pluses about this place and a few negatives IMO.

https://www.facebook.com/LAuberge-916302738496459/

I will cover the pluses first.

The food and house wine are very good. I ordered a glass of the middle of the road red (a blend of Merlot, Shiraz and Grenache) and it was very good. Not too pricey at 180 baht.

I had a salad as a starter. It was iceberg lettuce, smoked bacon, Roquefort, walnuts, tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Very good. Normally I do not care for iceberg lettuce, but in this case it provided a good backdrop for the strength of the other ingredients. The pic that follows is not fully true, as I had just started tossing the salad a little and a lot of the good stuff fell to the bottom.

For the main course I went with Beef Bourguignon and Scalloped Potatoes. The Bourguignon was good, but not quite at the same level as the rest of the meal. I make this dish at home and I like mine better. Also, for some reason I find that Beef dishes do not translate that well into local Thai cooking. Probably just me. The Bourguignon was not bad by any means, but like I said. The Scalloped Potatoes on the other hand were very good. I ground a little fresh black pepper onto them and they were darn good.

 

Service was very good. The staff was attentive without being annoying. The owner stopped by to say hello and ask if everything was as expected.

All in all, I like this place and will be back from time to time.

The one thing I did not like is that the restaurant is very near soi 4 on Phratamnak. I decided to walk in from Thappraya and lets say that walk can be a bit of a panic due to the traffic. I suppose one could cab or bike in and park on soi 4. Still being directly on Phratamnak the restaurant gets some street noise that distracts a little from how good the food is. Not a show stopper for me, but some might feel otherwise.

Both inside (air-conditioned) and al fresca seating are available. I would probably pass on the later due to the street noise.

Oh, I spent about 750 baht for the meal described here and I feel that it was fair value.

 

[Komando]

I've eaten there several times over the years.  I like their food.  I think the prices are fair and yes, there is street noise. 

Walking on Pratumnak Hill Road can be dangerous at any time; mainly because of insane motorbike drivers using the twisting and narrow Road along with buses, cars and trucks.  

I would recommend the restaurant for anyone interested in tasty food for a good price.

[Halfaboy]

I completely agree with the review. I use to eat there a couple of times per year and so far everything went oke.

I am a happy customer !

[KittenKong]

The best thing they do is the Sunday evening cold cuts and cheese buffet. Around 700B. Been several times to that. Hope they are still doing it as I want to go again.

[jimboh]

I have heard many positive things about this place but every time I have swung past in the evenings, it has been deserted.

[Halfaboy]

Saturday evening they did not do too bad....

I was there and had an excellent meal. Service was outstanding and had no complaint at all.

[Red-Devil]

 

I gave up on this resturant 2/3 years ago after a couple of dissapointing meals.  But after reading the OP's review I and

3 friends decided to try again,  and we were all well pleased that we did.  We all choose diferently from the set menu.

All starters arrived at the same time,  and when we were ready did the main course, perfet timing. Dessert was equally good.

All in with 2 bottles of wine we paid 4,400 Bht. 

[ChiFlyer]

I have made it by a couple of times recently. I tried the Sunday night cold cuts and cheese buffet. It is good, but not really my thing. Actually, we tried it by accident as I had forgotten that Sunday is the buffet night. It probably does not need to be said, but the Thai GF did not care for the buffet.

We went back again a few weeks later and I repeated the Beef Bourguignon and Scalloped Potatoes that I had tried earlier this year. This time the Bourguignon was spot on and the Scalloped Potatoes were really good once again.

[article22]

Just now, ChiFlyer said:

I have made it by a couple of times recently. I tried the Sunday night cold cuts and cheese buffet. It is good, but not really my thing. Actually, we tried it by accident as I had forgotten that Sunday is the buffet night. It probably does not need to be said, but the Thai GF did not care for the buffet.

We went back again a few weeks later and I repeated the Beef Bourguignon and Scalloped Potatoes that I had tried earlier this year. This time the Bourguignon was spot on and the Scalloped Potatoes were really good once again.

Do you not find that the heavier European meals don't translate well over here though? I struggle to eat them and they don't sit too well after.

It does look good though....thanks for posting.

[Halfaboy]

Want something different.... try the cous cous. Outstanding! 

[ChiFlyer]

46 minutes ago, article22 said:

Do you not find that the heavier European meals don't translate well over here though? I struggle to eat them and they don't sit too well after.

It does look good though....thanks for posting.

In general, yes they do sit too heavy, but the  better restaurants like this one seem to rise above that.

[ChiFlyer]

I stopped in at L'Auberge the other night. Food and service are still very good. No pics as they would be repeats. The Beef Bourguignon is now made with wagyu beef. It was delicious.

Not a lot of diners, but it  was a low season Monday night. I would advise not going any earlier than 7 PM as the construction has made the Phratamnak traffic really bad prior to that time.

They are offering some lunch specials of a set menu for around 400 baht that look interesting. I prefer not to eat that heavy that early in the day. They also have a dinner set menu for about 600. These are both described on their website.

https://www.facebook.com/LAuberge-916302738496459/

 

[Halfaboy]

One of my favorites (and yes, I am very critical). They also have a very good selection of wines. Most of the wines on the menu can be ordered by glas (thanks to an ingenious system keeping the oxygen out of the bottle).

Recommended, but as mentioned a little bit off the beaten track.

[ChiFlyer]

On 15/12/2018 at 17:57, Halfaboy said:

Want something different.... try the cous cous. Outstanding! 

I did try the couscous entrees that you like a few times. They are very good. I especially liked the sausage one, but it is just too much food for me. My favorite remains the Beef Bourguignon. The GF ordered the duck entree off of the main menu the other night. I tried a few pieces and the preparation was excellent. In Thailand they often do not sear off enough of the duck breast fat cap and if they do they overcook the meat. Not the case here. I will probably break up my standard order with an occasional duck entree and a few others.

Cafe des Amis and Au bon Coin also get the duck preparation right as well.

Edited October 23, 2019 by ChiFlyer

[Halfaboy]

My negative about the restaurant are the opening days. It's closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Very inconvenient. I rather see them closed (if at all) at Monday and / or Tuesday.

[ChiFlyer]

15 hours ago, Halfaboy said:

My negative about the restaurant are the opening days. It's closed on Wednesday and Thursday. Very inconvenient. I rather see them closed (if at all) at Monday and / or Tuesday.

It used to be Wednesdays only at L'Auberge. Sounds like that has changed. There are a fair number of the better restaurants in Jomtien that are closed on Wednesdays. Aquapazza, Gian's, L'Auberge, and Au bon Coin come to mind.

[ChiFlyer]

L'Auberge is scheduled to open at their new location on August 6th. They are moving to a 3rd Road location just West of Regional Land. Looking forward to checking it out.

 

https://www.facebook.com/LAuberge-916302738496459/?ref=bookmarks

 

[Czmate]

Seen that signs up not sure if open yet

 

[Halfaboy]

l'Auberge has opened on the 6th of August (see message ChiFlyer above).

[ChiFlyer]

Finally got my lazy butt over to the new location. The GF is not big on French food, but agreed to it the other night.

Fare is pretty much the same as the prior location. That is everything was very good. I just love his scalloped potatoes. Hit them with a little freshly ground black pepper and I am a smiling old guy.

The sign is hidden by a tree if you are coming from Thappraya. I mentioned this to the owner. There is a hotel next door with a purple sign that is easily visible. You can pull in between the restaurant and hotel and there is ample shared parking in the back. Google Maps has been updated for the new location.

Their business seems to be off. We were the only diners at 7 PM on a Thursday night.

Hope they make it through. This is a very nice small French restaurant.