Sandbar by the Sea (last night)

[ChiFlyer]

I know we have an existing Sandbar thread, but it focuses mainly on the breakfast buffet.

I stopped in with my lady tonight and was just wow'ed by the band. They did a great version of "Smooth Operator" and then moved into "The Sultans of Swing". The band is listed as the Soulmates and appear to be a Saturday night regular. The band in general was great, but the guitar work on the Mark Knopfler material was incredible. The food was good as well.

 

[SirL]

3 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

I know we have an existing Sandbar thread, but it focuses mainly on the breakfast buffet.

Could you put up a link please?  I missed that thread.

[gusincebu]

We go to Sandbar for special occasions.. Love the music and the food.. Usually u need to book in advance on those band nights especially the Soul mates ones.
Soulmates.. Excellent German guitarist.. Helmut ..
Filipino singer, Filipino keyboard / singer.. Etc etc.
Also have Jazz bands, and specialty events, Tina Turner tribute, last Friday.


Sent from my vivo 1713 using Tapatalk

[T-T-T]

where is it ? sounds like a good night out. 

[davidge]

38 minutes ago, T-T-T said:

where is it ? sounds like a good night out. 

It’s on Dongtan Beach in Jomtien.

Turn right as you get to the beach, about 400 yards.

 

[KittenKong]

9 hours ago, SirL said:

Could you put up a link please?  I missed that thread.

http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/313710-sandbar/

 

[ChiFlyer]

48 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/313710-sandbar/

 

Here is another link that shows the band schedules. And we did get the last table last night at about 7:30.

https://www.facebook.com/sandbar.bythesea9/

 

[SirL]

2 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

Here is another link that shows the band schedules. And we did get the last table last night at about 7:30.

https://www.facebook.com/sandbar.bythesea9/

Thanks for the old Sandbar link KK.  Curious that the pics on the FB page seem focused on the bands, rather than pics of the food or (what I think is important) the menu.  IMO all restaurants should have pics of their menu easily reached via the Photos tab, so you can quickly get an idea of where the restaurant is pitched.

[KittenKong]

I hate FB and I dont have an account. It never tells me what I want to know and always tells me a whole load of stuff that I'm simply not interested in.

[davidge]

2 hours ago, SirL said:

Thanks for the old Sandbar link KK.  Curious that the pics on the FB page seem focused on the bands, rather than pics of the food or (what I think is important) the menu.  IMO all restaurants should have pics of their menu easily reached via the Photos tab, so you can quickly get an idea of where the restaurant is pitched.

I ate there once (breakfast). I’m not surprised they don’t want to publicise what they dish up. 

[SirL]

4 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I hate FB and I dont have an account. It never tells me what I want to know and always tells me a whole load of stuff that I'm simply not interested in.

IMO FB isn't ideal, but it's a step in the right direction.  What I use it for, for which it's useful, is putting out what the daily specials of the various restaurants, eg Retox, are that day.  What it could and should be good for is giving you a good general idea of what a restaurant you don't know is like.  So it should have general pics of the outside of the restaurant, the inside dining room, the menu including prices, specials of the day and so on.  This is perfectly possible, but often isn't done, and I think it would be helpfully persuasive for people considering an unknown restaurant.

 

3 hours ago, davidge said:

I ate there once (breakfast). I’m not surprised they don’t want to publicise what they dish up. 

The pics of the Sandbar breakfast (in the other thread?) didn't look as good as CP's, but I've never been there. 

[davidge]

26 minutes ago, SirL said:

 

The pics of the Sandbar breakfast (in the other thread?) didn't look as good as CP's, but I've never been there. 

I actually held back a bit in the other thread to avoid upsetting JH too much 

As he’s gone now:

it was honestly one of the worst ‘English’ breakfasts I’ve had in Thailand. Service was poor as well. I won’t be returning there (at least for brekkie) - though I appreciate the evening offerings may be better.

I think the breakfast buffet may be ok, if you turn up early. They had no idea how to prepare the cooked stuff though.

[SirL]

27 minutes ago, davidge said:

it was honestly one of the worst ‘English’ breakfasts I’ve had in Thailand. Service was poor as well. I won’t be returning there (at least for brekkie) - though I appreciate the evening offerings may be better.

I think the breakfast buffet may be ok, if you turn up early. They had no idea how to prepare the cooked stuff though.

I don't do English fried breakfasts at all, the CP style buffet, perhaps with an omelette and maybe bacon etc, is what I want.  Sandbar looks to be too far for a Pattaya-based guy for breakfast, but I was thinking about the Wednesday 6pm tapas buffet for B250, whether that would be a fun CC way to do an early evening meal(??)  Can anyone advise on what the tapas buffet is like, and whether you could eat enough to make a meal of it?  

Is this the Wednesday buffet?  I'm not sure.  (pics from Sandbar FB)

Edited March 25, 2018 by SirL

[KittenKong]

Those photos look like tapas to me, or at least "finger-food" which is what tapas usually ends up as outside of Spain. Probably cant go very far wrong for 250B.

[SirL]

17 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Those photos look like tapas to me, or at least "finger-food" which is what tapas usually ends up as outside of Spain. Probably cant go very far wrong for 250B.

Yes having free run of that lot at 6.15 or 6.30 on a Wednesday for B250 seemed like a good idea to me, but I'm not sure if there are restrictions or some sort of catch, or indeed if those tablefuls are the Weds buffet at all.  All info welcome.

[jimboh]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 07:57, SirL said:

Thanks for the old Sandbar link KK.  Curious that the pics on the FB page seem focused on the bands, rather than pics of the food or (what I think is important) the menu.  IMO all restaurants should have pics of their menu easily reached via the Photos tab, so you can quickly get an idea of where the restaurant is pitched.

So true. Its a classic fail of so many restaurants, not posting menu on websites or outside their premises.

[davidge]

15 minutes ago, jimboh said:

So true. Its a classic fail of so many restaurants, not posting menu on websites or outside their premises.

I think, in terms of websites, it’s got a lot to do with them not wanting to post prices as they’d have to update the website every time they put prices up. You’d think it would be easier with Facebook but as I don’t use it I can’t really be sure.

I agree with what you say about not having menus outside. I was waiting for a friend so had a look at the entrance to Gian’s for a menu and there wasn’t one. My first thought was they must be so expensive they don’t want to put prices outside, so I haven’t been there. From a subsequent review on here, I don’t think they are more expensive than similar restaurants (eg La Bocca) but not having a menu outside put me off trying them.

[SirL]

3 minutes ago, davidge said:

I think, in terms of websites, it’s got a lot to do with them not wanting to post prices as they’d have to update the website every time they put prices up. You’d think it would be easier with Facebook but as I don’t use it I can’t really be sure.

I suppose restaurants change the dishes on the menu quite often, perhaps more often than they change prices.  On FB it would just be a matter of putting up a new photo of the new menu - ie about as complicated as a bargirl putting up her latest selfie.

[jimboh]

From my experiences of restaurants around Pattaya. the more established ones seem to have menu set in stone, very rarely see changes to main menu. For sure, daily specials will vary.  If a new place starts up, then there is always that fine tuning to be done.

Yes, Gians does not display menu and one is left wondering whether it is just bog standard Italian or pimped up items. Another one just up the road is Aquaplazza, near wooden box. Just not going to take the chance, especially with TG in tow. 

[latestarter]

I agree with most of the earlier comments. The breakfast is just OK and the service a tad surely. Totally different at night. I only go on band nights and have been very happy with both the food and the music. Loved the Tina Turner night.

[KittenKong]

2 hours ago, davidge said:

I think, in terms of websites, it’s got a lot to do with them not wanting to post prices as they’d have to update the website every time they put prices up. You’d think it would be easier with Facebook but as I don’t use it I can’t really be sure.

A properly made website should be very easy for the end user to update photos and content on. Every bit as easy as FB and much more flexible. But I suspect that cost puts many business owners off here. Website designers in Thailand seem to charge a lot for doing a very poor job. They also overcharge for hosting. So one can see the attraction of FB.

[SirL]

9 hours ago, KittenKong said:

A properly made website should be very easy for the end user to update photos and content on. Every bit as easy as FB and much more flexible.

But a properly made website costs a lot more to set up than a FB account, and what is "hosting"?...  And you've got to work out how to find a website designer guy, it's all so difficult for someone who's really just a chef.  FB is so much easier as a way to establish an online presence.

[Kahoy]

1 hour ago, SirL said:

But a properly made website costs a lot more to set up than a FB account, and what is "hosting"?...  And you've got to work out how to find a website designer guy, it's all so difficult for someone who's really just a chef.  FB is so much easier as a way to establish an online presence.

You probably want to look at Trip Advisor as well. If you get serious about a website, find a wordpress guy. They should be cheap as chips unless they are ripping you off. You should be able to get a very nice website done in wordpress for around $200 in Thailand. The hardest and most expensive part is the images. If you provide them it shouldn't me more than a couple of days work. You can also host a wp site for free at wp.com but shared hosting on GoDaddy or similar should be about $2 a month (figures pulled out of my arse). Even if you wanted dedicated hosting (faster and you get your own domain name such as sandbar restaurant.com.th) it's only $5 a month on digital ocean. A wordpress site should also have links to facebook and trip advisor plus search engine optimisation built in.  

[ChiFlyer]

On 3/25/2018 at 01:43, gusincebu said:

We go to Sandbar for special occasions.. Love the music and the food.. Usually u need to book in advance on those band nights especially the Soul mates ones.
Soulmates.. Excellent German guitarist.. Helmut ..
Filipino singer, Filipino keyboard / singer.. Etc etc.
..........

Just as a note, I stopped in at Hemingway's for lunch today (not a bad Cesar Salad IMO).

Anyway, they have a poster up that the Soul Mates play there on Thursdays. Might stop in tonight for a drink and a set.

 

[ChiFlyer]

I am coming home, to Jomtien I mean. I have been away since May 1st. I looked at the Sandbar's FB page and was pleased to see that the Soul Mates are still in the night time music lineup. Really like the band. I noticed that there is a scheduled night for the Soul Mates Duo. Anybody know what that is?