Sunday Roast is here again
by Miss Terry Diner
In just 14 months, the Queen Victoria Inn has been
making strong inroads into the Pattaya society, especially for those with
a British background. After all, Queen Victoria herself was a very
powerful British monarch. However, probably even more powerful these days
is the effect of TV, and “soaps” in particular. One long running
serial is The Eastenders, and fans of this British series will recognise
the fa็ade immediately - a faithful copy of the Queen Victoria Inn
from the telly (other than the fact that the TV pub is on a corner, so
some poetic license was used to “straighten” it).
Since our last review, the pub enlarged three months
ago, taking over the premises next door, but has retained the same
atmosphere of a British pub, with much use of wood panelling, horse
brasses, cigarette cards displayed under glass and lace curtains at the
windows looking out into the ‘wonderland’ of Soi 6. The central bar
has been retained, with booth style seating along the window wall and a
new ‘sports’ area for pool and darts around the corner. The staff are
still wearing uniforms and the Maitress d’ was exceptionally smart in
her dark jacket.
While the a la carte menu is still on offer, we had
come on a Sunday to try their new Sunday Carvery. This runs from 11 a.m.
till late evening and is advertised at only 290 baht, making it, on paper,
a fairly inexpensive way to eat out on a Sunday. Bottled beers are around
B. 65, while house red or white wine is only B. 75 per glass. Kilkenny
draught is also available at B. 140 for half a pint or B 280 for the full
pint.
The carvery is situated in the “new” section of the
pub, adjacent to the bar area and has one glassed in section with the
roast meats and the bain marie hot boxes for the vegetables and the
soup. On our Sunday, the soup was a tomato and vegetable and this was
served with French bread and some wrapped butter pats. The soup was hot!
So important, but so often forgotten. Top marks there, but I wish the
restaurants in Pattaya would refrain from using butter pats - always
frozen and impossible to spread. The answer is either margarine or
temperature controlled butter!
The covered meat selection included roast chicken, ham,
pork and beef with dumplings and Yorkshire puddings. The vegetables (which
may change with market availability) were, on our Sunday, cauliflower with
cheese, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots and mashed potatoes,
with gravy in the last food warmer. There was also an apple crumble and
custard for dessert.
On our table were the usual condiments, plus HP sauce,
vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salad cream, tomato ketchup and Colman’s
mustard. (There has to be something there that you fancy!)
Our Dining Out Team of three started with soups all
round, and all round were satisfied. So next it was time for us all to
attack the carvery proper. The chef dispenses the items you choose onto
your plate, and in my case, I found I was telling him to stop, rather than
adding more. The quantity served depends upon your appetite.
The roast chicken was not dried out, nor the other
meats, and the veggies were again kept at a good temperature. We like our
selections and none of us had room for the dessert. By the way, the plates
have a shallot decoration, and more than once I tried to cut it with my
knife. The management have not left a shallot on your plate, though it
appears that way!
The Dining Out Team left the Queen Victoria Inn more
than satisfied. The carvery had a good choice of items, the food was
correctly cooked and served and the price was much lower than we expected.
The Sunday Carvery represents excellent value and if you are looking for
traditional British food in “traditional” British surroundings, we can
highly recommend the Queen Vic on Sundays.
The Queen Victoria Inn, 437/137-140 Soi Yodsak (Soi 6), North Pattaya,
telephone 038 425 418, fax 038 424 941, email [email protected]
