Pattaya Restaurants

Consistent with its developed tourist infrastructure, Pattaya has an enormous selection of restaurants available, which include both traditional Thai and western establishments. It would be perfectly possible to spend a week in the town and eat the cuisine of a different country every day.  Certainly, many visitors and expats are happy to dine out on favourite creations such as pizza, pasta, steak and burgers.

Local cuisine

The local cuisine in Pattaya is perhaps not the most authentic as far as Thai cuisine goes, as many establishments tend to cater their food towards western pallets and the fieriness of traditional Thai dishes is often replaced with a mild heat at best.

Street vendors, however, continue to offer fairly typical Thai food.  If you want to try a genuine classic, then the spicy papaya salad known as som tam is a must. This national favourite sees young, unripe papaya beaten by pestle and mortar into which garlic, tomato, carrot, sugar, lime, soy sauce and copious amounts of fresh chilli are added; the result is a sweet, sour, salty and extra spicy dish that is enjoyed by Thais at any time of the day.

Other favourites worth checking out include the equally spicy tom yum kung (hot and sour soup with shrimps) and the three shades of Thai curry; red, yellow and green, each with its own degree of spiciness. For dessert, check out seasonal favourites such as mango with sweet sticky rice or year-round creations such as banana or pumpkin in coconut milk.

Where to eat

Western establishments are abundant in the town and restaurants such as Brunos, offering French cuisine; the Queen Victoria Inn, offering traditional English food; and La Piola, offering Italian fare are just a few of the many venues where you can sit among other tourists or expats and enjoy a conversation in English while you appreciate food that doesn’t necessarily require an asbestos mouth to be eaten.

If it’s traditional Thai food you are looking for, then you can try your luck grappling with the language barrier at the cheaper places, where generally only the locals eat, or you can head for one of the restaurants at a reputable hotel such as the Dusit or the Sheraton.