Jomtien has become a culinary paradise of late, with many
new restaurants springing up. However, there are many others that have been
well established in that area, and The Continental Bakery and Restaurant is
one of these. Why have you not seen this restaurant before? Quite simply,
because it is so small that with one blink of an eye coming down Thappraya
Road you will have missed it! It is a single shophouse, on the left going
towards Jomtien, immediately after the Thepprasit Road intersection, and
three doors down. Blink twice and you have missed it!
Outside there is a small pavement cafe section, where
diners can watch the world go by. Inside the restaurant is air-conditioned,
with a bakery section on your right as you enter, with fresh breads on
display and many different cakes kept under refrigeration. On your left is a
newspaper and magazine section, with the current Pattaya Mail for its
customers to read while waiting for food. There are only six granite topped
tables, with comfortable cane chairs, so you may even have to wait for a
table. The atmosphere is busy but homely. It is not the Ritz, nor does it
pretend to be.
There are two menus. A breakfast one (with the items
available all day) and a dinner menu. Both are photographic menus, a very
good idea in the multicultural world of Jomtien/Pattaya. In these cases a
photograph is worth very much more than the proverbial 1,000 words.
The
breakfast menu has 13 dedicated breakfasts ranging in price from B. 85-160,
with most around B. 100. The reasonable prices continue all the way through,
with the Ploughman’s Platter only B. 75, or burgers, with fries at B. 65.
There are also several Thai food items B. 55-75. Cakes can be found in this
menu too - all 21 choices! The cakes and breads are all baked fresh daily.
The dinner menu is equally as comprehensive, with the top
being a steak with peppercorn sauce or mushroom at B. 220. These come with
many different styles of potato, ranging from french-fries, hash browns,
mashed, croquettes and roesti.
Other choices include fish, chicken and pork with most
under B. 179. An English fish and chips is offered at B. 120, English
toasties B. 55-75 and four types of pasta come in at B. 105 each, including
Lasagna, Spaghetti and Fusilli.
Heineken beer is B. 55, or house wine B. 65 per glass.
It was in the middle of the day when we called and Madame
chose the super club sandwich, which was a triple-decker, made from very
fresh bread and with fillings of beef, ham, chicken, cheese, lettuce and
onion. It was indeed very filling!
I decided to try the Scottish breakfast, which came on a
large (and hot) plate, with two eggs, hash browns, a potato scone, bacon,
baked beans and a sausage, and looked just like the photograph in the menu.
There were also several slices of crusty bread, a pat of butter and
marmalade. There was only one word to describe it - wonderful! A completely
clean plate was returned to the kitchen. The coffee was great too.
To survive in the competitive world of the food business
you need to be able to offer good food at a reasonable price. The
Continental Bakery and Restaurant certainly does that. The food was
excellent (and little touches such as the hot plates were amazing in a
little suburban restaurant) and the prices were more than reasonable. It
comes then as no surprise that this tiny restaurant’s customer base has
been growing for the past three years. (It has also opened more outlets in
Pattaya City and also on Koh Samui.) The Continental Bakery and Restaurant
deserves all the success it has had, and I apologize in advance to patrons
if they find it even harder to find a seat after this very positive review!
A great little restaurant. Very highly recommended. You
will not be disappointed.
The Continental Bakery and Restaurant, Thappraya Road (on the left
outbound, three doors past Thepprasit Road), Jomtien, telephone (for orders)
01 557 0912. Street parking only. Open 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
