(Q) Better Restaurants in the Hua Yai and Na Jomtien areas

[ChiFlyer]

Na Jomtien - A la Campagne

A mixed review once again.

https://www.alacampagnepattaya.com/

also

https://www.facebook.com/alacampagnepattaya/

I will not post pics of the place, as the web sites have many.

Overall I like this place, but I like it for the ambience. I was unimpressed with the food we ordered on our first try.

Even though it is jurisdictionally in Na Jomtien, it is a 15 minute at most Bolt ride from Jomtien. The complex has multiple restaurants, but one can not cross order except at the bar.

• Somtom Village - serves mostly Isan Thai food, but has a side Western menu.
• The Tea Factory - serves mostly Western food.
• There is also a bar called the Rouge where one can order from either restaurant, but the bar was closed the night we went.

Pluses:

• A pleasant overall decor with well manicured gardens.
• Good service.
• Very deep menus. There are well over 100 items on the Thai menu at Somtom Village with 26 of them being variations on Somtom.

Minuses:

• The Mrs rated their vaunted Somtom a "mehh". She is hard to please when it comes to this dish. She took most of it home for proper seasoning.
• I was unimpressed with most of the food that we ordered. I will give individual reasons why with the pics. 
• Be aware that they are including a 10% service charge on your bill and adjust any tip accordingly. 

A few pics and comments:

As we are leaving

 

We ordered some of their also vaunted Japanese Oysters to start. Despite my instructions to bring these first they arrived after the other dishes. Might have been a Thaiglish communication on my part. Also, I did not like the oysters, as I prefer the smaller French version. These cost 450 for 3.

 

As previously stated the Mrs rated the Somtum she tried as a "mehh". Here is a pic.

 

The Mrs also ordered fried pork belly. This was good. Obviously not the healthiest of foods, but it was tasty.

 

I ordered Lamb Chops. Not that great.

 

All in all, I like the place, but need to reconsider what I am ordering. The pics of their hamburgers look great.

 

[ChiFlyer]

Bang Saray - The Beach Restaurant

I noticed that this low key casual place was getting some complimentary reviews. We decided to give it a try,

https://www.thebeachbangsaray.com/

It is located on the North end of Bang Saray Beach Road directly on the Ocean. They have a parking lot. Unless you have additional stops to make, it is advisable to come into Bang Saray on the North exit road. This avoids a lot of traffic.

This is a pleasant inexpensive place with ok food. Service is well short of amazing. Still we are likely to go from time to time because it is laid back in a nice location.

The menu is deep and they have a surprisingly ok moderately priced wine list. We bought a bottle of a French Bordeaux for 1100 and it was not bad. Our total bill including the wine was close to 1800.

A few pics

The view from our table.

 

Inside of the restaurant

 

We ordered a few Spring Rolls as an appetizer. Not that great, but also not terrible.

 

The Mrs ordered a Som Tom Salad, as she frequently does. She said the ingredients were fresh and good, but she boxed it up to work on the seasoning at home. This is not unusual.

 

I wanted to order a Pocket Pita, but it was not available. I switched to a Pork Chop. Plenty to eat for sure and the sauce was quite good, but I find that the quality of Thai restaurant Pork Chops in general is not great. I will likely go with Thai food next time.

 

All in all a pleasant enough place, which earned a minor spot in our restaurant rotation.

 

[tsmith18]

On 08/06/2023 at 22:41, ChiFlyer said:

Roikhan on Hwy 1008

I was browsing Google Maps for restaurants near our house and I noticed Roikhan. The reviews were well above average, so the Mrs and I decided to give it a try. She had also heard some good things from some Thai neighbors.

https://www.facebook.com/RoiKhan.Restaurant/

We were wow'd. It is a smaller place, but very pleasant. The food was well beyond good. It was obvious that the attention that was being given to what was being brought to the table was top notch. Service was good without being pesty.

They serve an eclectic combination of Thai and Farang food. We stuck to the Thai side of things for our first visit. They have beer and wine, but wine must be bought by the bottle. We ordered a French Cab blend at about 1100. It was better than drinkable. 

Some pics

Outside seating

Goldfish Pool

Inside Seating

 

The Mrs ordered a spicy Thai Beef Salad - it was good

 

I ordered a smoked duck salad - it was very good - the Japanese Sesame dressing (one has a choice of 8 dressings) was also very good.

 

A view of the restaurant as we were leaving

 

Total bill was 1500 with a large chunk of that being the wine.

Obviously we really liked this place.

 

YES Roikhan is great, the missus and I ate there Saturday night. Service, food, ambience, were all great.  And wine not TOO overpriced.  I also chose the “more than drinkable” French Cab blend (1100 baht) and indeed it was. 
 

looking forward to trying some of the others in this thread. It’s nice to get out of crowded Jomtien Beach once in awhile. 

PS I read, at your age you now drink wine instead of beer, your lady is very choosy about her Somtom, and she “always tries to get the greens into you.” 555 I have those same experiences. 

[ChiFlyer]

On 10/08/2023 at 00:00, ChiFlyer said:

Na Jomtien - Srinuan Seafood

This is another beach front Thai Seafood place.

https://www.facebook.com/Srinuanseafood

.......

Nice enough place and a good location (for us) with good fresh seafood, but the Mrs is at best luke warm on it. We will get back now and then, but our ratings of the Thai Seafood places in the area are:

1. Mum Aroi Como far and away
2. Kind of a tie between Preecha and Srinuan. I rate them dead even, but the Mrs. prefers Preecha.
3. Like I said a tie
4. Aow Talay on the Bang Saray piers. Others seem to prefer Ruan Talay. I think they are about the same really.
5. Pupens

Oh - Srinuan has live tanks as do many of the others. On the way out the Mrs. noticed that one of the tanks held young groupers. That is unusual. 

The Mrs and I went to Srinuan for Loy Krathong. All of my earlier comments still stand, but I will add the following:

• They did not have my preferred Grouper dish, but the Ocean Perch variation was almost as good. If one is expecting Grouper, it would be best to call ahead. 
• The service remains great. The Mrs. bought a Krathong. The waiter did the steep (5 meters?) walk with the lighted Krathong over some steep slick rocks to get it into the Ocean for her. He got a decent tip for that. Pic follows.
• I did not notice this on our earlier visit, but they do not have fans. This could be a problem on a windless night, which Loy Krathong was this year out this way.

Pic -> Our Krathong not getting any wind assistance to get away from shore.

[ChiFlyer]

Na Jomtien - Drifters

Back when I first started investigating restaurants in this area, a few people recommended Drifters. We tried it tonight.

https://drifters-beach-cafe.business.site/

I felt there were some pluses and minuses with regard to Drifters.

Pluses

• Very laid back casual atmosphere directly on the beach
• Decent enough Aussie bar food
• Inexpensive
• A good choice of beers. Also wine is available
• Friendly staff

Minuses

• Like I said Aussie bar food (just not my thing)
• Car parking could be better
• Narrow roads in and frequent large tour buses to deal with

We ordered a bottle of less than great Shiraz for 1100. The total bill was under 1600. 

All in all, I can see why some like the place, but it is just not our thing. If someone could recommend what are the better food choices at this place, I would be interested.

A few pics.

 

The Mrs.ordered Pad Thai Kung

 

I ordered a Pastrami sandwich and Fries. The sandwich was disappointing.

 

 

[ChiFlyer]

I have previously written a complementary review of the Mum Aroi out near Buddha Mt. We met up with a few of the Mrs' mates for a NY Eve lunch today. The compliments stand, but we tried a couple of items on the menu that were really good. I thought I would pass on a couple of recommendations.

I tried their Salmon roll. It was delicious.

 

A few side dishes. Again observe the quality of the Fried Rice with Crab. Kaou Phat Poo.

 

A gorgeous looking Som Tom Salad

 

A Fried Fish dish in a very spicy Isan Sauce.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by ChiFlyer

[ChiFlyer]

Rimpa Lapin - Na Jomtien

https://www.facebook.com/rimpalapinpattaya?_rdc=1&_rdr

The Mrs had been opposed to trying this place, but did a 180 on that for date night this week. It turned out that the previous time she was there was a packed night during high season. We gave it a try tonight and we were both pleased with both the food and the service.

A couple of words of warning.

• The entrance road from Sukhumvit is currently in terrible shape due to construction. Take it very slow through here or risk losing an oil pan.
• The stairway down to the lower seating is a bit steep and older more wobbly legs might want to avoid them.

The food and service were both very good. The bill including a bottle of wine was close to 2000.

Some view shots.

 

I had fried pieces of Grouper in a Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce. Very tasty.

 

The Mrs ordered a fried Pork Knuckle and it was surprisingly good.

 

We will repeat, after the entrance road work is done. We will also make a reservation next time to sit a little higher up.

 

[rioman]

15 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Rimpa Lapin - Na Jomtien

https://www.facebook.com/rimpalapinpattaya?_rdc=1&_rdr

The Mrs had been opposed to trying this place, but did a 180 on that for date night this week. It turned out that the previous time she was there was a packed night during high season. We gave it a try tonight and we were both pleased with both the food and the service.

A couple of words of warning.

• The entrance road from Sukhumvit is currently in terrible shape due to construction. Take it very slow through here or risk losing an oil pan.
• The stairway down to the lower seating is a bit steep and older more wobbly legs might want to avoid them.

The food and service were both very good. The bill including a bottle of wine was close to 2000.

Some view shots.

 

I had fried pieces of Grouper in a Sweet and Sour Chili Sauce. Very tasty.

 

The Mrs ordered a fried Pork Knuckle and it was surprisingly good.

 

We will repeat, after the entrance road work is done. We will also make a reservation next time to sit a little higher up.

 

Is there something else other than above pics and bottle of wine as 2000b seems quite extreme?

[duke main]

On 30/06/2023 at 08:48, ChiFlyer said:

Just for the sake of easy reference I thought it best that I cross reference my Bacco Beach review here as well.

 

Nice review of Bacco Beach. I agree that the food is good, not great. What I appreciated was the owner(?) coming over to assist with the wine selection.

Easily one of the best bottles of wine I've had in Thailand. I think the price was slightly under ฿2000 so not cheap, but I didn't feel ripped off. It's probably been a year or so since we were there so I hope they still have it next time.

[ChiFlyer]

2 hours ago, rioman said:

Is there something else other than above pics and bottle of wine as 2000b seems quite extreme?

Personally, I do not see that 2000 for a very good meal with an excellent view and a decent bottle of wine as being extreme. You get what you pay for.

[rioman]

2 minutes ago, ChiFlyer said:

Personally, I do not see that 2000 for a very good meal with an excellent view and a decent bottle of wine as being extreme. You get what you pay for.

I agree you get what you pay for -  where you choose to pay for it.  Personally, I am glad the heat in Thailand steers me away from drinking any wine there, let alone wine that would cost me much less elsewhere.  I think the food in your picture in a very nice place in Pattaya/jomtien area would not even cost 700b.

[ChiFlyer]

20 hours ago, rioman said:

I agree you get what you pay for -  where you choose to pay for it.  Personally, I am glad the heat in Thailand steers me away from drinking any wine there, let alone wine that would cost me much less elsewhere.  I think the food in your picture in a very nice place in Pattaya/jomtien area would not even cost 700b.

Wine is seriously overpriced in Thailand restaurants, primarily due to import taxes. I have a medical condition where I can not drink beer. Hard liquor at dinner time does not appeal to me. I do enjoy a little alcohol with my dinner. The only choice for me is wine and yes it does not go well with the hot and humid weather. At a seaside restaurant like Rimpa Lapin where there is a good chance of a pleasant sea breeze (like on the night in question) wine works well enough.

The near 2000 bill was driven by a bottle of wine that was a little more than 1100, so we paid about 800 for the food. 450 of that was for the pork knuckle, which was quite large and very nicely done. The pic of the grouper (figure 350) is a little misleading in that I ate about half of it before I remembered to take a pic.  Grouper is usually more expensive than say ocean perch (aka barramundi), which is also not bad IMO.

Like I said Rimpa Lapin is more than decent. IMO the best Thai seafood place is Mum Aroi out near Buddha Mt. Mum Aroi has three other locations, one is on 3rd Road. There are a couple of posts about Mum Aroi in this thread.