Pattaya Beer Garden - WTF?!

[Shivers]

Ate there again for lunch. You had bad luck Shivers - the place is the same as it always has been. Go back for another try! TIT - sometimes things aren't perfect. PBG is not perfect, but no other place has similar atmosphere location and food at that price level.

 

Different staff at lunch? Different chef? Same chef but not so busy he can concentrate on preparing proper meals? Who knows. But I'm not going to wager 1000 THB (my typical bin when my wife and I eat there) to give the place another chance this soon. If I ever go back, it won't be for a few months to give them plenty of time to sort out whatever the problem is.

[PattayaPete]

Shivers, I'm sorry you had a bad experience at The Beer Garden. We work hard to ensure that everyone has a good experience every time but obviously we failed on this occasion.

 

The number of meals we have been putting through over the past month has been phenomenal. Well in excess of 1400 meals every day. Previously we topped out at 1,000 meals a day but with the new kitchen up and running we have managed to get the food out faster which has resulted in an even higher through put. I tell you this not as an excuse but to highlight the pressure that the staff are under during the very busy Christmas New Year period.. With the new kitchen operational from November we have hired extra chefs and they certainly had a baptism of fire. Now that things have quietened down a bit we will be expending extra effort to ensure all staff meet the required standard.

 

I can't guarantee you will get perfect service and food every time although that is what we aim for. If we screw up just a tenth of 1 percent of the meal we do that would still be a couple of bad meals every day. My aim is to have zero errors every day and we will continue to try to reach that standard. When we fall short it really irks me but all so spurs me on to try and get it better.

 

I can guarantee you that if you are not satisfied you don't have to and should not pay. We have a printed guarantee in every menu saying that if you are not happy we will either put the problem right or give you a full refund. The duty managers are under strict instruction not to argue with customers about this. If the customer is not happy they don't pay and that's that! I do know that a spoiled night out is not necessarily fixed by it being free but it does go some way to compensate customers who are not happy and more importantly it brings the matter to the managers and then my attention. I know you don't wish to return but if you do sometime, drop me a PM and I'll organize a free meal for you and your group.

 

Regor21. The story of the banger and mash (as apposed to the bangers and mash) is an interesting one and thanks to your complaint come to my attention through the manager. When this meal was originally designed the banger was huge. At least the size of 3 normal sausages and I really liked it. However I rarely order it at the Beer Garden as I always have sausages for breakfast. When your complaint came to light I immediately ordered it and much to my surprise the huge banger has some how reduced in size to the diminutive object you complained of. We still order the same banger from the same supplier but somehow it is now three times smaller than it used to be.

 

One frustration of working with Thais is that they are too accepting of things and tend to roll with whatever comes their way. A huge reduction in the size of the sausage did not set off any alarm bells with the head chef who just carried on producing the same meal without bringing it to my attention. Duh! Needless to say the meal has been redesigned and now delivers a reasonable amount of sausage. Drop me a PM if you would like to try it again on the house of course. I owe you a beer or two for bringing this to my attention as well. It could have gone on for months and without a complaint I would never have known.

 

Finally, just a word on hygiene standards. We work hard to maintain a very high standard and in fact have the kitchen examined by an outside company every six months to ensure we are up to scratch. We also have an open kitchen which can be seen by all customers. As we do such a large number of meals everyday our food supplies are delivered everyday and so are absolutely fresh. We could still be the victim of a bad supplier but we do everything possible to ensure we maintain the highest food integrity. People get sick in Pattaya every day and we occasionally get the blame. It is of course impossible to prove what caused a stomach upset. Usually though it won't be caused by the last meal you ate. It often takes 24 hours for tainted food to make you ill and can take up to three days. I can assure you though that we take hygiene seriously and do our utmost to ensure all food is fresh and prepared in a clean healthy environment.

Edited January 19, 2012 by PattayaPete

[LRanger]

Nice location, the service is variable.....but when we are in good company who cares really.

[Shivers]

Thanks for the response Pete. I'm well aware not every meal can be perfect. It's a shame, but just not possible (at ANY restaurant). But, the service of your evening staff seems to have declined over the past few times I've been there (can't find our waitress, no other waitresses will assist us, taking away the condiments before we've completed our meal and without asking, refusing to let us exchange a meal for a new one or for a properly cooked same one, etc). I don't wish anything to be free...just for it to be what I ordered (or similar enough).

 

I'm well aware this is Thailand, so I don't expect the service to be the same as in the west. Neither do I expect the quality of farang meals being cooked by Thais to be the same as it is in the States. If I wanted all that, I'd go back to the States, not stay here. But, I think it says a lot when my non-complex Thai wife (who's never been to the west) is offended by both the waitress and the meal.

 

Given the location of the PBG, I'm sure I'll eventually return to check it out. As I said previously, we've eaten there quite a bit since I moved here last July (every 2 to 3 weeks since the baby was born, but more frequently before that). Although it will be a while before I go back again, which will give the wait staff a chance to rotate out or learn/practice following the policies you've set for them, and for the chefs to brush up on their cooking. I can't say my wife will be with me when I return though...she's pretty stubborn when she's made up her mind about something (as I think most Thai women are).

[ProjectXXX]

kudos to the owner of the beer garden stepping up. best of luck to the OP and the business owner.

[FROST MEDIC999]

Now just of late i have noticed a few Managers / Owners coming onto this Forum and taking note of disgruntled Punters . This really pleases me and long may it continue

[Stumpdog]

Good response by Pete. I have been a patron of his places over the years and he always runs a quality outfit. You can complain if something does go wrong and it will be resolved. That's not something you can always say about Thai places. I once sent a glass of wine back at a Thai place and nearly had world war 3.

 

I like PBG and I'm sure Pete will review the comments on this thread and ensure a tight rein is kept on things.

[MrLek]

It's great feedback for Pete as Shivers always comes across as a straight shooter and not a troublemaker at all. I went there a bit on my trip and found the food excellent but the service was sloppy but i just figured TIT and went with it. The feel of the place is awesome and where else can you get such good food with open ocean views? I had the squid dish a few times with salted egg and it was great plus my thai girl ordered lots of whole fish dishes when we went there and they were all awesome.

 

 

Double Penetration Phuket/Pattaya 11/12

[steamer]

Eaten there a few times and never had any issues really but the food is average at best both fallang and Thai.

 

Not sure if the step near the toilet has been fixed but I remember almost falling flat on my face a few times there.

[One hung low]

just returned, and spent a lot of time at the garden. i had read on the forum before i left that someone had recieved poor service. i went there daily for 2 weeks and the service was great. i was served immediately after sitting every time i was there. value for food and drink seemed to be quite good. overall location and view were second to none. i liked the music and videos- seemed to be the tunes that i grew up with. continue the good work and i will see you next trip.