Pattaya restaurants and food
Life often revolves solely around food in Thailand, with work and duty merely filling the time in between. Pattaya restaurants offer plenty of choice. Thai cuisine has a worldwide fashion-food appeal these days, and in Pattaya there are a huge selection of vendors and restaurants which allow you to try everything the country's street stalls and kitchens have to offer. Pattaya's international popularity is reflected in its vast selection of international restaurants serving food from all around the globe at prices to suit all palates.
See list of recommended Pattaya restaurants
In Pattaya, restaurants and food vendors are everywhere. Local cuisine is catered for at a range of budgets and restaurants serving French, Japanese, Italian, German, Scandinavian, and Korean food are commonplace. There are also a large amount of hamburger joints, steak places, and curry houses while in the centre of town there is a whole street serving Arabic cuisine. Visitors from the U.K. wont be disappointed to know there is also a local 'chippy' serving a host of deep-fried delights.
There are also a number of delis and coffee shops serving food in Pattaya while most guest houses will have their own restaurant, as will all the hotels. What all this amounts to is something of a dining extravaganza which is one of the main attractions of visiting Pattaya.
Tom Yum Goong seems to win the tussle with Somtam (green papaya spicy salad) to be the Thai signature dish. This delicious hot and sour soup is a fragrant blend of spices, herbs, mushrooms, lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal (a sweet-sour, salty and bitter blended soup curry), usually served with prawn (goong) but also available with your choice of meat, or cooked vegetarian. A good phrase for willing foreigners not too keen on spicy food is mai pet which means not spicy .Most Thai people deem westerners somewhat allergic to chilies anyhow, but if you feel daring, reverse the phrase and just say pet. There is an enormous variety of Thai dishes and ingredients and we have dedicated a whole section to this. Complete guide to Thai food.
Budget rating approximately
$ dishes 50 - 100 baht; quart of beer 80 baht; whiskey shot 100 baht; cocktails 120 baht
$$ dishes 100 - 200 baht; quart of beer 100 baht; whiskey shot 120 baht; cocktails 140 baht
$$$ dishes 200 - 500 baht; quart of beer 120 baht; whiskey shot 140 baht; cocktails 160 baht
Street vendors in Thailand operate under cramped but pretty hygienic conditions, and this is where you'll find the cheapest food. Grilled and fried chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and kebabs are among the favourites.
Pattaya doesn't exactly offer the most authentic Thai dining experience, where steakhouses and international menus cater to the foreign crowd instead of the charming Thai eating houses with their live music, water features and whiskey girls.
It would be almost impossible to list all the restaurants in Pattaya for there are so many, but below, you'll find a selection of recommendations.
Recommended Restaurants in Pattaya
Sugar Hut Restaurant: attached to up-market hotel of the same name, set in topical gardens, expensive, but worth the money. 391/18 Moo 10, Tabphaya Road, Pattaya, Tel: 038 364 186,251 686, Fax: 038 251 689, Email: sugar-hut@cnet.net.th, Open Hours: 07.00-24.00 $$$.
Bruno's: renowned restaurant serving classy reasonably expensive French cuisine, over 150 wines available. 306/63 Chateau Dale Plaza, Thappraya Road, Pattaya, Chonburi 20150, Tel: 038 364 600-1, Mobile: 081 861 5612, Fax: 038 364 602, Email: reservations@brunos-pattaya.com $$$.
Queen Victoria Inn: authentic traditional English pub, with excellent international menu and a good selection of imported beers on tap. Live music and carvery on Sundays. 437/137-8 Soi Yodsak (Soi 6), Pattaya, Chonburi 20260, 038 425 418, 362 523, Mobile: 086 060 6210, Fax: 038 424 941, Email: mail@queenvicpattaya.com $$.
Lobster Pot: huge restaurant serving all things seafood, specializing in lobster and tiger prawns. Walking Street Opposite Pattaya Soi 14, South Pattaya, Tel: 038 426 083, $$.
Rice Mill: popular Cantonese restaurant which offers an all-you-can-eat buffet on weekends for 249 baht. Royal Garden Plaza, 218 Beach Rd., Pattaya, Chonburi 20260, Tel: 038 421 120, $$.
Royal Cliff Beach Hotel: huge complex containing ten restaurants, including the delicious Maharani Indian restaurant. 353 Phra Tamnuk Road, Pattaya, Chonburi 20150, Tel: 038 250 421, Fax: 038 250 511, 250 513, Email: info@royalcliff.com $$$.
Vientiane Restaurant: Laotian influenced cuisine serving South East Asian food from Indonesia and Thailand. 68 Moo.10 South Pattaya Rd, Pattaya Chonburi, Tel: 038 411 298, Fax: 038 373 374, Open Hours: 11.00-24.00, $$.
Shenanigans: big bar and restaurant serving traditional pub-style fayre, and appropriate drinks. The Avenue Pattaya, Unit D201, 399/9 Moo10, Pattaya 2nd Road, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi 20150, Tel: 038 723 939-40, Fax: 038 723 941, Email: info@shenanigans-pattaya.com $$$.
Tips Restaurant: over twelve set breakfasts served in this popular inexpensive restaurant. 22 Pattaya Beach Road, South Pattaya, Chonburi, Tel: 038 423 418, Open Hours: 07.00-24.00, $.
Pig and Whistle: British pub grub served in ample portions from well-trained staff. 217/34 Moo10, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Tel: 038 361 315, Fax: 038 361 272, Email: contact@pigandwhistlepattaya.com, info@pigandwhistlepattaya.com $$.
Ali Baba: good quality Indian restaurant with a fine selection of authentic dishes. 1/13-14, Pattaya Central Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi, Tel: 038 361 620, $$.
Ciao: decent pizza and pasta in this established Italian restaurant in the centre of town. 4 Pattaya Klang Road, Pattaya, +66 (0) 38 710 614, $$.
Alt Heidelberg: variety of German sausages and imported sauerkraut dominate the menu, good location. 273 M.10, Pattaya Beach Road, South Pattaya, +66 (0) 38 421 258, $$.
PIC Kitchen: for classy Thai food in a traditional atmosphere with floor seating and subtle decoration. Soi 5, Pattaya 2 Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi, Tel: 038 428 374, 428 387, Fax: 038 422 773, Email: picpih@loxinfo.co.th, picpih@pih-inter.com $$.
JJ Pizza Bar: decent authentic Italian pizza cooked in wood fire ovens, reasonably priced. 325/85 M.10, Soi Pattayaland 2 (Soi 13/4), Pattaya Beach Road, South Pattaya, +66 (0) 38 424 128, $$.
Pectopah: one of several Russian restaurants in Pattaya, with good soups and pies. 205/8-9 M.10, Pattaya 2nd Road, South Pattaya, +66 (0) 38- 429 662, $$.
Updated and correct: November 2008
Traveller tale: Pattaya culinary guide
Each visitor to Pattaya will find a restaurant serving his or her favourite cuisine...more
