Soi Buakhao Buffet Bistro Near Action Street

[Evil Penevil]

(from Facebook)

The Soi Buakhao Buffet Bistro is a newly opened establishment that claims on its exterior sign to be more than just a restaurant. It's located on Soi Buakhao south of Soi 15 and 100 meters past Action Street.  I went last night at 7.00 p.m. for the buffet dinner, but didn't see any sign of a beer garden, live music or DJ. I doubt the one ceiling-mounted TV at the front of the bar will attract many sports fans.  According to SBBB's Facebook page, the live entertainment gets underway at 10.00 p.m. 

Perhaps they have plans for expansion, but it would be difficult to fit all those activities into the  existing premises. The enclosed restaurant section seats a maximum 32 customers at eight tables for four. There's also an area at the back which appeared to be the staging area for the buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner), but I guess it could also be used for live music.

However, last night it wasn't a dinner buffet in the sense most of us use the word. The picture from the FB page is misleading.  Only Indian dishes were offered and there weren't trays of food from which diners serve themselves as many times as they want.  Instead, it was a "mix and match" variation that I remember from the Chinese restaurants in the U.S. when I was a child.  Basically, it's "Pick two from Column A and two from Column B" on the menu, plus rice, roti and ice cream for 199 baht. There are no columns, but you choose two starters and two curries from a limited buffet menu.  There's no farang or Thai food on the buffet menu.

As my starters, I picked chicken tikka and a spring roll, but was told the spring roll "wasn't available."  At the suggestion of the manager, I had the vegetables Manchurian instead. Apparently it's the creation of Chinese restaurants in India to appeal to local tastes. From the list of curries, I picked  the butter chicken and the chicken tikka tawa masala.

Everything came at the same time on one plate.  There was no difference in portion size between the starters and curries.  Those bowls may look small, but they hold quite a bit and I was full at the end of the meal.  All of the dishes tasted pretty good,  particularly the vegetables Manchurian.  It was a new one for me; I'd never even heard of it before. It consisted of "vegetable balls" made from shredded carrots, cabbage and red pepper;  minced onion and spices that had been fried, then simmered in a tomato-and-soy based gravy.

Bottom line:  I don't eat much Indian food, so I won't be rushing back for the dinner buffet.  However, I had no complaints about the meal I got.  Since SBBB is close to where I live,  I may go back to try a farang or a la carte Indian dish.  If the menu is correct, it's the same choice of dishes at lunch and dinner, but the lunch menu is 40 baht cheaper. That's a common offer in Indian and Chinese restaurants in the U.S. to attract diners throughout the day.  SBBB also has a breakfast buffet for 120 baht.

It's possible SBBB plans to switch to a traditional buffet once business picks up, which will be a hard struggle in its current location.  If it sticks with the "pick two" model, then the owner should state this clearly on the FB page as the pic of a long row of serving dishes is misleading for now, but would become deceptive should there be no change in the future.

Below is the a la carte menu taken from FB:

 

 

Evil

[Thaifix]

Great review. i DO like Indian food so would give it a try based on that. Likewise never heard of the Manchurian thing.

[striderman]

there is zero chance of this place surviving. if you want to visit make it soon

[docbunsen]

Good report as ever but I won't be visiting this place im sure.

[PBear66]

Thanks i struggle to find an indian i like in Pattaya and this looks a great idea.

Not a good location and poor advertising however suggest it won't be around for long. Hope i am wrong.

[SirL]

Good review, thanks.

As alternatives, the cheap central Indian restaurants that are currently being enthusiastically written about in the FB groups are

Everest https://www.facebook.com/Everest-Indian-restaurants-pattaya-594465357388928/

Five Star J  https://www.facebook.com/fivestarj/

Little India https://www.facebook.com/Little-India-333498786813690/

[KittenKong]

4 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

 

 

If you ignore the entirely erroneous label of "buffet", that looks like a reasonable - if limited - lunchtime Thali for 150B, with the advantage of being able to select what it consists of. I would try it at that price.

That said, I also expect the place to close soon.

Anyone who wants real value for good Indian food should get on the bus for Bangkok and go here:

https://www.novotelbangkokploenchit.com/offers/indian-curry-lunch/

Then contemplate just what a rip-off Pattaya Indian food prices are.

[striderman]

[Guest]

9 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

If you ignore the entirely erroneous label of "buffet", that looks like a reasonable - if limited - lunchtime Thali for 150B, with the advantage of being able to select what it consists of. I would try it at that price.

That said, I also expect the place to close soon.

Anyone who wants real value for good Indian food should get on the bus for Bangkok and go here:

https://www.novotelbangkokploenchit.com/offers/indian-curry-lunch/

Then contemplate just what a rip-off Pattaya Indian food prices are.

There are some great value buffets in the hotels in Bangkok. Prepared by skilled chefs.

[davidge]

21 minutes ago, weblo said:

There are some great value buffets in the hotels in Bangkok. Prepared by skilled chefs.

With many offering discounts if you book through Eatigo. Friend just got 50% off buffet at Marriott Thonglor.

[roger buttmore]

Thanks EP.

This is pretty close to where I live too and I love Indian food, so I'll more than likely be giving it a whirl pretty soon.

Let it be known; I read more Evil Penevil posts than anyone else's, by some considerable margin, and I really appreciate them and the time and effort it takes.

I eat every day.  I don't chase prostitutes every day 

[Autoroam]

Sorry.

After reading that post which alleges that indian restaurants serve you food that comes in pre-packed pouches, and just reheat them and mark it uo 4 times, I cannot look at indian food the same way.

The fare above looks a bit like that. Thanks to the OP for taking the trouble tho.

[jpmelville]

Another place with 200 items in the menu. That's not going to be quality stuff/survive long. When these dudes will learn?

[jiz]

6 hours ago, jpmelville said:

Another place with 200 items in the menu. That's not going to be quality stuff/survive long. When these dudes will learn?

Yep.

Puts me off the place when the menu goes on and on and on.... and no customers in sight.

Unless they run off to the market when I place my order, I'm expecting old food. I'd probably just order a fried egg or some rice if I ended up in here.

A short menu (especially in low season) is the way to go, no?

 

 

 

[benny31]

On 06/08/2018 at 05:19, davidge said:

With many offering discounts if you book through Eatigo. Friend just got 50% off buffet at Marriott Thonglor.

Good tip m8, cheers

[Marcus85]

Just the cluster fuck on the signs alone is enough to not step foot in the place. 

[Evil Penevil]

On 8/5/2018 at 22:15, SirL said:

Good review, thanks.

As alternatives, the cheap central Indian restaurants that are currently being enthusiastically written about in the FB groups are

Everest https://www.facebook.com/Everest-Indian-restaurants-pattaya-594465357388928/

Five Star J  https://www.facebook.com/fivestarj/

Little India https://www.facebook.com/Little-India-333498786813690/

Just to clarify one point: Five Star J isn't an Indian restaurant.  It serves vegetarian and vegan food inspired by dishes from many countries.  Some of the items on the menu are suitable for Jains and others who follow diets that go beyond the rules for "ordinary" vegetarian/vegan diets.

Evil

[striderman]

18 hours ago, Marcus85 said:

Just the cluster fuck on the signs alone is enough to not step foot in the place. 

[Saddic]

Very cleaver of them... avoiding advertising what they really are... Just another Indian high priced restaurant...

[Kreggerz]

I don't think 200 baht for their type of buffet (choose four items including bread and rice) is high priced. I'll try it for sure. Their regular menu prices are a bit lower than mid-level prices in the local market. 

Check out this promotion at another Indian restaurant. 50 percent off possible and their regular prices are mid-level.

https://eatigo.com/th/chiang-mai-pattaya/en/r/suruchi-indian-restaurant-3346

 

 

 

 

[Kreggerz]

OK, I tried it.

Here goes. I do know Indian food so I'll grade the dishes. 

For the starters I got chicken tikka (C-) and vegetable manchurian (B).

For mains I had the classic chicken curry (D) and the dal tadka (D).

Asked for very spicy and instead got very salty particularly on the dal. The gravy for the chicken curry and dal was very similar. 

Includes rice (C) and a bread. The menu says roti but I asked for nan (D).

I was allowed to substitute some yogurt for the ice cream dessert which I didn't want.

Water was 30 baht.

Music was loud. 

I won't be rushing back but it was plenty of food and can't complain much for the price. I may even go back sometime and try some different dishes like the butter chicken and roti. I liked the manchurian. I won't ask for spicy again. Maybe that will avoid the salt problem. 

I like their buffet concept. Too bad I didn't like their food more. 

[PBear66]

I found the tikka centre on bukahao not bad on my last visit. Had really only chicken tikka, dal and nan but at least it was fresh and very tasty.

Reasonable price. 

[KittenKong]

10 hours ago, Kreggerz said:

I don't think 200 baht for their type of buffet (choose four items including bread and rice) is high priced.

Go and try this: https://www.novotelbangkokploenchit.com/offers/indian-curry-lunch/

Then come back and tell us if you think prices in Pattaya are correct. As far as I'm concerned there is simply no comparison at all: Indian restaurants in Pattaya are all way overpriced.

By the way, the 249B meal above includes 5-star service, a 5-star setting, a location bang in the middle of one of the most expensive areas of Bangkok, air-con and free water. Soi Buakow it is not.

[Kreggerz]

Sure, but we're not in Bangkok are we? So we do the best we can here.

I plan on trying that eatigo 50 percent on Surichi. I checked their menu before and they have a great variety there. 

You can also get 50 percent off at Karma. Their food can be quite good. 

[KittenKong]

7 hours ago, Kreggerz said:

Sure, but we're not in Bangkok are we? So we do the best we can here.

That's true, but even factoring in the cost of a return bus trip to Bangkok + BTS travel to Ploenchit (about 300B) that curry lunch is still better value for money than anything that Pattaya can offer in the way of Indian food, as far as I'm concerned.

Eatigo is indeed about the only way to get reasonably priced Indian food in Pattaya. I tried Karma with Eatigo but whilst the food was OK at 50% off, it did nothing to improve the very mediocre presentation and service. And of course in most cases, the Eatigo discount only brings the price down to what it should be. For example, at Karma a 50% discount on their Thali brings it down to 150B, which is what the restaurant reviewed in this topic charges at lunchtime anyway. Still, I wont look a gift horse in the mouth too closely.