Ribs and Wings.
Long gone are the days when a pub was a pub and you drank there after work with
some mates until sozzled and then crawled home. The social contact side is still
there, but in addition you need (these days) good food with a changing menu,
internet access, TV screens showing all sports and good attentive service.
So how did the Amari’s Tavern by the Sea shape up? Firstly, the venue. It is, as
its name implies, a tavern, with a large horseshoe shaped central bar and the
building is just across Beach Road from the sea and around 50 meters past the
Mantra restaurant. Tavern by the Sea? Yes it is: tick!
The tavern is in three distinct sections. There is an outdoor setting, al fresco
if you like, adjacent to Beach Road, where all the BBQs are set up. There is an
air-conditioned main area with the bar, plenty of seats, TV sets and the like
and then there is a mezzanine with its own bar, overlooking the outdoor setting.
Amari’s Tavern by the Sea has a large horseshoe
shaped central bar.
The Tavern has always had a good reputation for food, and in fact an American
friend claims that the hamburgers are the best in Thailand, and he is a
hamburger expert looking at his size (yes, you Ken). There is a standard menu,
plus there are rotating specials. The new menu is comprehensive, without being
overpowering and begins with breakfasts, both Thai/Asian and European.
Appetizers next with a strapped jacket potato with cheddar, bacon, spiced sour
cream and spring onions (B. 150).
Soups next, salads, pizzas and pastas, burgers and hot dogs, sandwiches, Philly
steak, racks of ribs, Thai cuisine, pub grub (fish ‘n chips), a kid’s menu,
desserts and drinks.
Amidst loud shouts from the kitchen, chicken fajitas come out steaming on the
hot plates, along with the tortilla wraps and guacamole, cheese, and cream dips.
Fun theater from the service staff as well as being fun eating.
One of the additions to the expanded Thai section was khao soy gai (spelled Kao
Soi Gai in the menu), which is the traditional Burmese curry dish, plentiful in
Chiang Mai, but difficult to find in Pattaya. This comes with fried egg noodles
in a plate of curry and chicken breast slices, along with fermented cabbage and
onion. A great Thai taste treat (even though it was imported from Burma) and at
B. 230 a meal on its own.
Tavern by the Sea? Yes it is: tick!
Pizzas? There 10 to choose from and the Pescatore, a seafood pizza with sautéed
prawns, mussels and fish with tomato sauce, basil and mild chili, sounded very
interesting.
The Dining Out team did this review on a Wednesday to review the Ribs and Wings
offerings. At B. 399 and all you can eat, this is not expensive, and for another
B. 50 you can have a glass of Heineken with the deal.
The way this works is simple. Finger bowls are brought first, and if you are an
extremely sloppy eater, then you get a bib as well! The ribs and wings are
marinated in different sauces and then put on the grill. Six different wings
(honey, sweet chili, garlic rosemary, plain, tandoori and BBQ) are delivered to
your table as well as two slabs of ribs. The meat just fell off the ribs, a
tribute to Chef Leonard’s preparation. When you want more, you just ask and it
arrives very quickly. The team found it a fun evening, and food should always be
fun!
We can wholeheartedly say that we enjoyed the Ribs and Wings. The expanded Thai
menu is also good marketing, with more and more Bangkok Thais coming down to
Pattaya for weekends.
The specials nights include an Indian Curry night on Mondays (B. 449), the Ribs
and Wings on Wednesdays (B. 399, or with a glass of San Miguel B. 449), and the
Churrasco nights on Fridays and Saturdays, featuring all you can eat with prawns
and pork ribs being just two of the favorites (B. 690).
Tavern by the Sea, Amari Orchid Pattaya, Beach Road, telephone 038 418 418,
email [email protected], secure
parking in hotel grounds, Tavern open seven days 11 a.m. until 1 a.m., special
on Wednesdays Ribs and Wings 6.30 p.m. until 10 p.m. '
