Some days we forget just how lucky we are living in
Pattaya. We have, in the dining out scene, some of the best restaurants in
the world. And that is no exaggeration. We have, literally on our doorstep
for example, a restaurant that has won the New York Wine Spectator Awards
consecutively for the past eight years, and so good, that this restaurant
has been awarded the Best of the Awards of Excellence. Literally the best of
the best!
That restaurant is the Royal Cliff Beach Resort’s Grill
Room and Wine Cellar, and we visited to try their Gourmet Set of the Week, a
rotating set menu which features four courses as well as coffee or tea and
pralines to finish.
The
Grill Room and Wine Cellar are in the main building of the resort and as we
descended the stairway we were met by a most gracious hostess and were taken
to our table. Unseen hands pushed our chairs in, whilst a smiling waiter
brought the wine list. We sat back and just enjoyed the feeling of being
pampered.
Sitting there, you take in the ambience of the teak wood
everywhere. Totally unobtrusive serving staff and everything happening
without any fuss. Is this the perfect retreat? Is it the perfect restaurant?
A little more about the surroundings, if you have never
been there. The seating is in comfortable carver chairs at large tables in
alcoves set around the walls. There is also another area in the center, and
again cleverly set into individual alcoves. This restaurant would have to be
the ultimate venue in which to get down on one knee and propose. No woman
could ever say no in such surroundings.
But back to dining - and wining. The Wine Cellar attached
to the Grill Room is arguably the best in Thailand. Under the custodial eye
of Ranjith Chandrasiri, the president of the Royal Cliff Wine Club and the
Bailli of the local Cha๎ne des R๔tisseurs, some of the finest wines in the
world are lovingly cellared there. Bottles of Romanee Conti, collectors’
items at B. 300,000 are there to be ‘worshipped’ perhaps, but there are also
the Royal Cliff’s own labels for just a little more than B. 1000, and then
everything in between. The wine list has offerings from 15 countries, but
the maitre d’ who is a trained sommelier is on hand to advise. Ranjith
Chandrasiri takes your enjoyment of his wines very seriously.
The menu items are under the care of Walter Thenisch, the
executive chef of the Royal Cliff and after an ‘amuse bouche’ of a French
oyster, we began with a crabmeat salad on a dill-sour cream sauce, followed
by a pumpkin cream soup with basil oil. We enjoyed a bottle of the Royal
Cliff’s own label with these and then had a breather before the main course,
and ordered a bottle of Peter Papanikitas’ Australian Stonefish Cabernet
Sauvignon (B. 1200).
The main course was an Australian veal roulade filled
with herbs and pine nuts, with a Thyme flavored red wine sauce. But Walter
Thenisch had not finished his set menu there - the final course was a baked
warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream and fresh cream. Sheer
indulgence!
But that was not the final indulgence - that was coffee
with home-made chocolate pralines served on a wonderful platter. It was one
of those evenings you remember for years.
We had taken friends who had not dined in the Grill Room
before, and they were thoroughly impressed with the venue, the food and the
service. Whilst dining in five star resorts can be expensive, the Grill
Room’s weekly set menu is only B. 850, and at that is a bargain at the top
end (but remember that being a resort the prices are + +). We can fully
recommend dining out in the Grill Room and Wine Cellar. It is difficult to
imagine anything better.
The Grill Room and Wine Cellar (from 6.30 p.m. but closed
Tuesdays), Royal Cliff Beach Resort, 353 Pratamnak Road, Pattaya, telephone
038 250 421, email [email protected], website www.royalcliff.com. Secure
parking within the resort.