Jolly Friar

[Briankaplan]

Its has good fish and chips, when they have the atlantic cod, but sometimes they go for weeks and weeks without it

[China Garden]

Its has good fish and chips, when they have the atlantic cod, but sometimes they go for weeks and weeks without it

Hello, I am happy you like the fish & chips. There was a loooooooooong story behind the Cod but I am happy to say its "all sorted". Basically we offered one of the best deals in town, 140 baht for Atlantic Cod which we bought from Makro, Emborg 1 kilo bags (250g fillets)... perfect portion sizes, identical fillets etc etc... but hey presto the stopped selling it! We scoured al the Makro branches for any remaining stock and bought it up however it all arrived with freezer burn...we now have a life time supply of Cod for our fish cakes!

 

Since then we have a regular supply from KPK food but its almost twice the price and much larger so its cut in half, still a 250+g portion but selling for 200 baht, still perhaps the lowest price in town...

 

 

Ian

 

 

YaY .. finally made it to the Go Go section ! hehe

[Edge]

.......................................................

 

Since then we have a regular supply from KPK food but its almost twice the price and much larger so its cut in half, still a 250+g portion but selling for 200 baht, still perhaps the lowest price in town...

 

.....................................................

 

Except that 10-11 days ago there was no Cod and I had the last Halibut.

 

 

 

[China Garden]

HeHe Well there is definitely Cod today! I will keep a closer eye on it and hold more in stock... cheers for the feedback!

[kutetee]

HeHe Well there is definitely Cod today! I will keep a closer eye on it and hold more in stock... cheers for the feedback!

 

I missed your Cod twice in Feb/March. Please keep adequate stock as I am coming soon.

[China Garden]

I missed your Cod twice in Feb/March. Please keep adequate stock as I am coming soon.

*** NODS *** We aim to keep 50 kilo's in stock at all times, come on down its waiting!

[Doodie]

I'll be dropping in next week, I haven't had fish and chips in years!

[4Joker6]

Dined at Jolly Friar once during early May but was disappointed with the cod, but will definitely return to try both Jolly Friar & Chinese garden restaurant while staying at Chinese garden hotel.

[roppa]

Been there a few times now and enjoyed them,

the thai food is'nt bad either

[stickyfingers]

Hi Ian,

 

As regular customer and supporter of JF (I have reccomended to quite few people now in town over the last yr) I wil be bringing 3-4 ex-pat friends who havent been to JF before this Friday 1st July 630pm (ish) for fish n chip meals.

 

Just hope your regular crew are on form esp the excellent cooks and the smiley larger than life waitress who usually looks after me on friday nts ;-)

 

Keep up the good work & wil mention the china garden rest too as some of them maybe interestd in tryin that soon too ;-)

 

Cheers 4 now,

 

Sticky

[stickyfingers]

Hi chaps,

 

Well as stated b4 myself and friends met at JF on fri nt and in general they were quiet pleased with their fish n chip meals, good value compared to what they have tried at similar restaurants.

 

 

J Friar was quiet busy with steady amount of people comin and goin throught the doors.

 

As 4 of them hadnt tried the JF before they were happy but did mention that the chips were bit soggy/greasy,but belive this is problem in thai as u cant easily get crunchy big chips as they dont cook them well enough or long enough??

 

Did reccomend the China Garden so few of us wil try there this month as seems to be getting good reports form most boards so far.

 

Cheers 4 now,

 

Sticky

[Regor21]

I was there last night and have been many times but not for a while , but the staff were grumpy and unfriendly and also mucked the order up, maybe they are sick of working , they certainly need to take a happy pill last night , not a nice experience at all. just my 2bob , usually all ok

[pubstud]

I was there last night and have been many times but not for a while , but the staff were grumpy and unfriendly and also mucked the order up, maybe they are sick of working , they certainly need to take a happy pill last night , not a nice experience at all. just my 2bob , usually all ok

 

 

Yep agree 100%. I was there for lunch yesterday, the staff seem very unwelcoming, and they have been like that every time I been to the Jolly Friar (about 3 times now) Whoever the owner is he needs to get in there and kick some ass. The prices are good, very reasonable, and the servings are large, these are good points about this restaurant. But staff need to improve their attitue a lot. Also I think the staff have a TV down the back, I was trying to watch the BBC while I had my meal and there was some screaming Thai TV game show going on down the back. Seems like the lunatics are running the asylum in the Jolly Friar.

[China Garden]

Thanks for the heads up guys, I apologise about the staff's attitude and will sort it out straight away ! And check about the TV, I think it's Thai radio on one of their phone which is also unacceptable!

 

Ian

 

We called immediately any they will definitely be stopping the radio! The small girl in question has a pretty sour disposition naturally and I will consider firing her although she works well generally but her mannerisms are poor, sorry.

 

We did sack another girl called May a few months ago for the same problem, I will keep a close eye on it! I am glad you enjoyed the meal

[1ULSTERMAN]

called in today and staff all very good, the fish&chips were amongst the best i ever had

[pubstud]

On a couple of occasions on this forum I've made critical comments about Jolly Friar, however I'm happy to report I've been there twice this week, and also went once last week and I've noticed a great improvement. There's a new girl there - I chatted briefly with her and she said she's been there 3 weeks now - she's served me every time I've been recently and is a very pleasant and attractive young lady, a great asset to the restaurant IMO.

 

One of my complaints was the fish seemed wet and undercooked inside the batter, this has been fixed and both times I've recently had the dory in breadcrumbs it was tasty and well cooked.

 

Today I had the grilled salmon with mashed spuds and salad. An excellent meal. I thougherly enjoyed it.

 

So it's good to know the owner of Jolly Friar pays attention to the feedback on this forum and makes the necessary adjustments.

 

I will happily recommend Jolly Friar whenever discussing food in Pattaya. IMO the food is far superior to Goose's and cheaper too.

[China Garden]

On a couple of occasions on this forum I've made critical comments about Jolly Friar, however I'm happy to report I've been there twice this week, and also went once last week and I've noticed a great improvement. There's a new girl there - I chatted briefly with her and she said she's been there 3 weeks now - she's served me every time I've been recently and is a very pleasant and attractive young lady, a great asset to the restaurant IMO.

 

One of my complaints was the fish seemed wet and undercooked inside the batter, this has been fixed and both times I've recently had the dory in breadcrumbs it was tasty and well cooked.

 

Today I had the grilled salmon with mashed spuds and salad. An excellent meal. I thougherly enjoyed it.

 

So it's good to know the owner of Jolly Friar pays attention to the feedback on this forum and makes the necessary adjustments.

 

I will happily recommend Jolly Friar whenever discussing food in Pattaya. IMO the food is far superior to Goose's and cheaper too.

Thank you for updated feedback, I spoke have dismissed two girls for having bad attitudes or "yapping in Thai" so loud that if becomes intrusive to our customers. Both were given a chance to improve and both failed to listen... a third has bucked her idea's up since the first two were sacked (Jane, small slim girl). I hope this continues and I look forward to reading anyone comments on the service / food.

 

cheers

 

Ian

[pipoz4444]

Recently was in Pattaya and saw the advert on TV one night for Goose Fish and Chips on Pattaya 2nd Road. Advert looked good so I grabbed the TG out of bed, dressed her and we went down to Goose about 8.30pm

 

Walked in to Goose and immediately said to myself, this must be a sister shop to Jolly Friar, because the décor is similar, so told myself the food will be on par with JF. Well, I was sadly disappointed!!!

 

I ordered the Cod and Chips. The Chip wedges were absolute shit, overdone, dark and soggy. Nothing crisp about them. Peas were hard, tart ere sauce lacked any taste, and the Cod in batter was passable. Presentation overall was shit, not to mention it took over 30 min. Behind me was a table of 3 Brits (they ordered the same as me pretty much at the same time. I saw the women’s eyes roll back and he facial expression when their dished hit he table.

 

10 minutes into eating mine I pushed the plate back and paid the bill. As I paid mine the Brits were about to do the same, plates half finished.

Next day I went to Jolly Friar, 15-20 minutes to get the food (good), chip wedges were a bright crispy yellow (great), peas soft (properly cooked) and Cod soft batter excellent, all round a great meal.

 

If as I suspect Goose is a sister of Jolly Friar, then Goose Management has F….d up and not ensured the same high standard of Staff, and certainly got the wrong Cook. Not to mention the waiters didn’t have enough sense, to not serve it the way it looked.

 

I will stick with Jolly Friar any day, and as for the Goose, if they keep serving that shit, they won’t get repeat business.

 

Have scrubbed the Goose Restaurant of my list for good.

[tingtong_irishman]

Highly recommended fish and chips here, i will def be back at Christmas a few times

[midnightsun]

hello ian,

 

ate for the first time back in november 2011. outstanding and excellent fish and chips. the thai girl who took are order super attitude. her english was not the best but in time will get better. her attitude makes up for everything. she did everything possible to make our meal enjoyable. cant wait to get back. wish i had only found this place sooner.

 

how do you make them large chips so crispy? i have been trying ever since here in my home to make them.

[Chubzilla]

Recently was in Pattaya and saw the advert on TV one night for Goose Fish and Chips on Pattaya 2nd Road. Advert looked good so I grabbed the TG out of bed, dressed her and we went down to Goose about 8.30pm

 

Walked in to Goose and immediately said to myself, this must be a sister shop to Jolly Friar, because the décor is similar, so told myself the food will be on par with JF. Well, I was sadly disappointed!!!

 

I ordered the Cod and Chips. The Chip wedges were absolute shit, overdone, dark and soggy. Nothing crisp about them. Peas were hard, tart ere sauce lacked any taste, and the Cod in batter was passable. Presentation overall was shit, not to mention it took over 30 min. Behind me was a table of 3 Brits (they ordered the same as me pretty much at the same time. I saw the women’s eyes roll back and he facial expression when their dished hit he table.

 

10 minutes into eating mine I pushed the plate back and paid the bill. As I paid mine the Brits were about to do the same, plates half finished.

Next day I went to Jolly Friar, 15-20 minutes to get the food (good), chip wedges were a bright crispy yellow (great), peas soft (properly cooked) and Cod soft batter excellent, all round a great meal.

 

If as I suspect Goose is a sister of Jolly Friar, then Goose Management has F….d up and not ensured the same high standard of Staff, and certainly got the wrong Cook. Not to mention the waiters didn’t have enough sense, to not serve it the way it looked.

 

I will stick with Jolly Friar any day, and as for the Goose, if they keep serving that shit, they won’t get repeat business.

 

Have scrubbed the Goose Restaurant of my list for good.

 

 

I had a similarly unhappy experience at Goose's, but for different reasons. On NYE I was starving and in the mood for F&C but I was down near Central Festival, too far to walk to Jolly Friar! (my usual F&C restaurant) So I thought i would try Goose as I had read some positive things.

 

The sign on the wall said Large Pacific Dory, chips or mash, mushy or garden peas, salad, baked beans and bread and butter for 170 baht before 6pm. "Wow!" thinks I and ordered it. "Can I still get the special?" I ask.

"Solly. Finit already" I looked at my watch, it was one minute past six. "But it's one minute past?" "Solly...finit". Customer service at its finest! No problem, it was only 20 baht more for the full price same thing, so I ordered it anyway. Comes out and it's just fish, chips and peas, no salad, no beans and no bread and butter.

 

I think about pointing this out, but knowing what I know about Thais and customer service, I reason I would just be wasting my time. So I eat up (food was reasonable, but not as good as JF, though the chips were less oily and a little better IMO), pay up (didn't leave a tip) and leave, probably never to return.

 

Goose....well named!

[China Garden]

hello ian,

 

ate for the first time back in november 2011. outstanding and excellent fish and chips. the thai girl who took are order super attitude. her english was not the best but in time will get better. her attitude makes up for everything. she did everything possible to make our meal enjoyable. cant wait to get back. wish i had only found this place sooner.

 

how do you make them large chips so crispy? i have been trying ever since here in my home to make them.

 

I am happy the staff made you feel welcome at the Jolly Friar, we had a rocky patch with some service staff last year but they got the boot after feedback from the forums, its the "Land of Smiles" so lets SMILE!!

 

Peel the spuds, cut them in the thick wedges / slices. leave them to soak in water to remove some starch (or the go a nasty colour), then blanche them (part boil them), fry them at a low tempreture until they start changing to a yellow / gold colour then leave them to go cold, you could freeze them or just re-fry but at a much higher tempreture, that makes them crispy!!

 

Dont forget we now have the Lone Star Texas Grill next door to the Jolly Friar & China Garden just up the street, give them a whirl!!

 

We also opened a new branch of the Jolly Friar in Jomtein !! Near the Beach ... close to 7-11 on the corner

[3holer]

I am happy the staff made you feel welcome at the Jolly Friar, we had a rocky patch with some service staff last year but they got the boot after feedback from the forums, its the "Land of Smiles" so lets SMILE!!

 

Peel the spuds, cut them in the thick wedges / slices. leave them to soak in water to remove some starch (or the go a nasty colour), then blanche them (part boil them), fry them at a low tempreture until they start changing to a yellow / gold colour then leave them to go cold, you could freeze them or just re-fry but at a much higher tempreture, that makes them crispy!!

 

Dont forget we now have the Lone Star Texas Grill next door to the Jolly Friar & China Garden just up the street, give them a whirl!!

 

We also opened a new branch of the Jolly Friar in Jomtein !! Near the Beach ... close to 7-11 on the corner

 

Sorry;Newbie Question here.....Where is the Jolly Friar? I will be staying in soi 10 in Feb/March and love a good fish and chips!!

[particle]

Went March 2011, staff unwelcoming, but I didn't really care about that. Food unappetising and undercooked, I cared hugely. Not planning a return visit.

 

Good luck with the venture, I'm sure things have improved since last year - hopefully I was just unlucky.

[midnightsun]

I am happy the staff made you feel welcome at the Jolly Friar, we had a rocky patch with some service staff last year but they got the boot after feedback from the forums, its the "Land of Smiles" so lets SMILE!!

 

Peel the spuds, cut them in the thick wedges / slices. leave them to soak in water to remove some starch (or the go a nasty colour), then blanche them (part boil them), fry them at a low tempreture until they start changing to a yellow / gold colour then leave them to go cold, you could freeze them or just re-fry but at a much higher tempreture, that makes them crispy!!

 

Dont forget we now have the Lone Star Texas Grill next door to the Jolly Friar & China Garden just up the street, give them a whirl!!

 

We also opened a new branch of the Jolly Friar in Jomtein !! Near the Beach ... close to 7-11 on the corner

 

 

thanks ian... cant wait to get back for another meal