DINING OUT - ENTERTAINMENT
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The Grill Room and Wine Cellar

The Grill Room and Wine Cellar

Setting new standards - and not just in Pattaya!

The Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s Grill Room and Wine Cellar has always been one of my favourites, as far as fine dining is concerned, and this restaurant has now been given one of the world’s top accolades, the “Award of Excellence” from the Wine Spectator magazine in the US. With international acknowledgement as a world class restaurant, we felt we should return and see whether fame had changed this Royal Cliff outlet.

Madame and I dined with the president of the Royal Cliff Wine Club, who is also the resident manager of the Royal Cliff Grand, Ranjith Chandrasiri, and his lovely wife Chitra. We met in the Piano Bar, and shared a bottle of the Royal Cliff’s own label sparkling white wine, but even before we began, it was obvious that this was going to be a special evening, with exemplary service from the staff at the Piano Bar making us welcome.

We wafted down the sweeping staircase to the Grill Room, passing the Wine Cellar, to our reserved alcove table. We were met by three service personnel who greeted us as if we were the most important people in the world, silently ushering comfy chairs under our bottoms, lighting candles and making sure we were relaxed.

The restaurant itself is in the main building of the resort, and is in a large “L” shape, with much use of natural wood on the walls and the ceiling, while overlooking a grassy garden area outside. It has a hushed, unhurried air to it, again heightened by the completely professional and yet friendly and very competent service staff.

Our orders were taken, and repeated back faultlessly, and we began with a complimentary plump mussel in the shell with a hint of coriander, just enough to whet the appetite for what was to come.

The soup I had chosen as a starter was a Scampi Bisque flamed with cognac. The flamb้ trolley was wheeled to our alcove and the food theatre played out perfectly. I loved the ceremony and loved the soup. A good choice, believe me.

A word or two about the menu. Like all good restaurants, there are always changes, so take the time to peruse fully. Cold appetizers are generally in the 200-300 baht range, including a smoked mackerel with pepper and trout fillet on cranberry-horseradish sauce at B. 220. Soups are around B. 150, followed by warm appetizers around B. 220.

Dedicated fish dishes and the lamb grills are around B. 300-600, with the combination of tenderloin of grilled pork and pan-fried rock lobster at B. 350 looking very interesting. Mains are around B. 550, and of course there are many dessert choices.

Being with the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s wine expert, Ranjith, does have its advantages. We began with an Australian chardonnay from Tyrells Wines, a Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay, 1998 vintage. A superb wine. This we followed with a Sally’s Paddock red from Victoria, Australia. This was a most complex wine made from Cabernet sauvignon grapes, plus Merlot, Cabernet franc and Shiraz, and was decanted at the table, again with much ceremony.

The evening was totally memorable. The food was superb and the service likewise. The ambience is probably without peer in Thailand, and on reflection later, I believe that this stems in no small part from the fact that everyone dines in ‘private’ alcoves. You may be in a restaurant, but you are dining only with those at your table, not with all the other diners in a large ‘eating hall’ no matter how nicely appointed. You cannot help but be impressed with this restaurant. (The Wine Spectator people were impressed enough to present it with their Award of Excellence!)

I would recommend that you do, as we did, start at the Piano Bar and glide down to the Grill Room and Wine Cellar to enjoy what will be a fantastic evening. An example of the world’s best, right here in Pattaya. Not a cheap evening, but the best never is. Highest recommendation possible.

The Grill Room and Wine Cellar, Royal Cliff Beach Resort, 353 Pratamnak Road, Pattaya, telephone 038 250 421.