Cafe Ritz and Bruno's

[Neal]

Well if you have been keeping track of the out and about restaurants in Pattaya I went to two and thoroughly enjoyed them.
The first was Cafe Ritz. Now as you may have already gathered, I tremble when someone tells me that we are going to a set menu place to dine.
Well I have to say that other than the economy style bread, the food was very good. I had the liver and onions and enjoyed it. Service was good and I was shocked about the amount of people who were trying to get in and turned away. On this particular night there was a table of about 8 that were pretty loud and it was difficukt to hear the person I was dining with but then again, hey, he doesn't say much I need to hear anyway! :evil4: JUST JOKING DEAR. Reminds me that I still owe you for dinner! It was all of about 355 baht and we left him an extra big tip because they were runing their hoo haa's off!
A definite place to call for advance reservations and gets 3 1/2 stars from me! I will go back.

Tonight I went to Bruno's. They are running a special with a Canadian lobster and Canadian Black Angus beef! Freddie did me a favor and brought in a few oversized lobsters and a few Alaskan King Crab Legs!! Unbelievably delicious and I had not had US/Canadian shellfish in over 2 years! Too much to eat but I forced it. Just so you know the lobsters were awesome and you can talk to Freddie and double up on lobsters and nix the beef although when I shared a bit from my b/f it was awesome also. legs can be specially ordered.

Well those were my two around town restaurants and as you know I don't get out much.If you can do, try them out and tell them where you saw the right up! :alc:

[martin911]

Cafe Ritz is one of my favorite restaurants in Pattaya -- but i dont think you would need to label it as a set menu place -there is a good selection amongst all starters/mains/desserts
Its very popular -and as for people being turned away as you saw the night you were dining--thats a very regular occurrence -its a pretty small place to start off with
The owner is a retired British Navy chef so the food is pretty much of the whole and hearty type -- roast meats with gravy/ yorkshire puddings etc
And @355 baht its good value -the lemon cheesecake is to die for

I havent been to Brunos for a few years now but i do remember they had a divine Parmesan soup

Fuck ive just realized this board might be in danger of starting to go down the dangerous path of the other old foggies board -and start swapping recipes etc -
Lock it before it gets too late DB :laughing3: :laughing3:

[joe552]

The location of these restaurants would be useful for those of us who don't know them :dontknow:

[stevehadders]

Cafe Ritz is in the Jomtien Complex, with Brunos on the main road from Pattaya to Jomtien Thepprasit(?) Road on the left hand side. Brunos more upscale (their sea food and steaks are divine and their wine list is amazing), with Ritz being more basic but filling and tasty fare. I like both places

[joe552]

thanks, steve :notworthy:

[Neal]

I am sorry Joe552 slipped my mind. Anyway, yes, Bruno's is definitely upscale and fine dining and on Thepprasit Road on the way to Jomtien on the left across from Gian's.

As far as the Rits it is extremely small and you need to know exactly where it is. You are right, I opted out for the recommended blueberry cheesecake with ice cream for what sounded even more awesome which was the lemon cheese cake and ice cream and it definitely did not let me down.

Next I heard a lot about Gian's for Italian food but this one near Jomtien that namakrak suggested or Toscano's will be some of my next.

Oh btw, did try Mantra's finally! Their Sunday buffet including shrimp, Phuket lobster and Australian prime rib was excellent. Pricey for many at about 1,800 per person but sometimes you just have to splurge a little as you only live once and for some of us, we are getting nearer and nearer! :crybaby:

[lexusgs]

Cafe Ritz does offer great value. For some reason when I take a friend (Thai) with me he now tends to sit down for a chat. The guy always makes me laugh with eccentric sense of humour.
While we are talking about the same area Indian by Nature is another gem. I enjoy Indian food and this place is just great for the quality of the food in superb surroundings. Service is good
too.

[Neal]

Strange, I ate at Indian by Nature a few years ago and the place was empty except what seemed like was the family. Everything I wanted they did not make. I love korma and I love lamb saag and they did not offer either. a big disappointment for me. :dontknow:

[lexusgs]

What's strange? Like I said I find the place a real gem. Owned by a wealthy Indian family that don't need to make a profit. Same people who have just got into Condo development in Pattaya.

[Neal]

Well sorry, should not have said strange. It is just that different people have different likes I guess. I expected one thing which I felt were dishes I readily have been able to order and eat. Some people will find it great because it isn't the same old same old. Not for me.

My local Indian restaurant where I did get the dishes I liked started getting (at least to me) sloppy and making the lamb saag from lamb that was chopped up. Meaning they did not take time to debone it so you now have to sit there and pull away the meat from the bone. Don't know if that is just being lazy or it looks like you are getting more meat or quantity but I don't have the patience to do that.

When I went to the Shang in Bangkok it was fantastic because they have a much bigger budget and can do just about anything they want. The lamb cubes were plentiful, the hummus great and there were many different vegetarian as well as meat dishes. They also had a huge Indian buffet. If anyone ever has tme, I would definitely recommend it. The Shangr-la on the river in BKK.