by Miss Terry Diner
Is it possible to have a fine dining experience, with all the trappings of
service and presentation, and dine inexpensively? Up till last week, I would
have said the two were almost mutually exclusive. That was until the Dining
Out Team went to Casa Pascal to try Pascal’s new a la carte menu. We can now
tell you it is possible. Very possible!
Before the review of the new menu, first a brief mention of the
surroundings. If you have not been to Casa Pascal, then you have been
missing out on one of the best appointed restaurants in Pattaya (and the
toilets are simply the best)! Large tables, some alcoves for up to 10
diners, comfortable chairs, highest quality glassware and friendly and
attentive staff. Personal service with an enthusiasm for their profession
describes them accurately.
The
restaurant is located up a small soi from Pattaya Second Road. It is on the
right, not far after the Royal Garden Plaza/Marriott Resort and Spa on the
left. Look hard for the Casa Pascal sign. The restaurant is next to Ruen
Thai, an old established Thai restaurant. Parking is plentiful, and Casa
Pascal offers a valet parking service, to make this even easier!
So to the new menu full of surprises. The first is that the old charges of
“plus plus” are gone. The price that you see includes the compulsory
government VAT, and service charges are left to the discretion of the diner.
What you see is what you pay!
The next surprise was the actual prices themselves, in the fact that they
were just so reasonable. You can have a starter and a main and still get
change from B. 800. In one of the top restaurants in town! This menu puts a
new slant on fine dining.
Of course, there is always the thought that if the cost is lower, are the
portions smaller? The answer is no. Portions are not smaller, and many items
are larger than you get in similar up-market restaurants. And the
presentation of the dishes is spectacular. It is still very fine dining.
Interestingly, the wine list is not over the top either. The house white is
eminently quaffable and at B. 1,000 per bottle is a great performer. Most
other bottles, from the old and new worlds, are only around B. 2,000.
We decided to share a nine selection appetizer, which comes in a special
nine place plate. The smoked fish with the lemon was excellent, though the
remaining eight were also very good and included beef carpaccio, graved lax,
shrimp cocktail, marinated mushrooms, ratatouille, Greek tzatziki and an
Italian seafood salad. This is a real starter to perk up any jaded palates.
It can also be ordered as a vegetarian dish.
Madame was feeling like a soup, and the Madras curry soup with mango sounded
interesting, and it came piping hot to the table (something many restaurants
seem to have forgotten). It was fabulous. The mango off-setting the curry.
This is a real stunner, and at B. 190 an epicurean bargain!
Knowing Pascal’s reputation with goose liver, I went for the pan-fried
choice. It must have been a large goose! Again a very large portion and very
artistically presented.
We were similarly impressed with our choices of main dishes, and Khun Yok
and her crew knew when to assist and when to withdraw. Staff training in
silver service is an ongoing process every day, and it shows both in the way
the food is brought to the table, and in the handling of the wines.
It was a very surprising evening at Casa Pascal. The food showed the
culinary depth of Pascal Schnyder, and we enjoyed it all. Try the nine
selection appetizer and the curry soup with mango was brilliant. Finally,
enjoy counting the money left in your wallet on the way home.
Casa Pascal, 485/M10, Pattaya Second Road almost opposite the Marriott
Resort and Spa (next to Ruen Thai), Pattaya City, reservations (recommended)
038 723 660, email [email protected]. Secure valet parking and
limousine pick up if required. Open seven days 11 a.m. until late. Lunch
menu till 2 p.m. High season Sunday Brunch from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. By the
way, Casa Pascal also does outside catering.
