The Dark Side is becoming ‘Lofty’

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Look for this sign.
Look for this sign.

New restaurants seem to be popping up all the time on the Dark Side (AKA East Pattaya); however, some of them are not de novo but are new iterations of a previous establishment. One of these is the Loft Resort on the shores of Mabprachan reservoir, which used to be the Peacock, then Shenanigans by the Lake and now The Loft Resort.

Being a small resort, The Loft has around six furnished rooms, plus an inviting swimming pool and a dedicated kids playground (under parental video cam supervision).

However, it is more than just a resort, with several beer garden areas as well as an air-conditioned dining room.

The Loft Resort is easy to find, being on Siam Country Club Road around three km from the Mitkamol intersection (AKA Chicken Cross Roads). Follow the road through under the new Pattaya overpass and then down the hill, with The Loft Resort near the bottom on the right hand side. Well signposted, so you won’t miss it. Plenty of parking outside too.

The menu is a detailed affair, but lacking in photographs. Next reprint? Not everyone reads English!

Being a Resort and Bar, beer prices are B. 75-80 (local bottles) plus on tap Guinness, Becks, Heineken, Tiger, Thatchers cider and “cask” wine at B. 140 per glass.

Being a resort, the menu begins with breakfasts (mainly traditional English B. 150-195) followed by Omelettes British spelling (B. 100-150).

Pizza Margherita.
Pizza Margherita.

Soups were all under B. 100 followed by starters such as spring rolls (B.100-150) and burgers (B. 170-210). Homemade pies are around B. 200. Pizzas are B. 150-240. Mains include imported steaks that were B. 550-625 while interesting items such as chicken stuffed with haggis (Hoots Mon) at B. 275.

The cuisines do not stop there as there are a couple of pages of Indian favorites (B. 280) followed by Thai dishes with most around B. 150.

We felt that the Loft Resort had a wide enough spread of dishes and none of them was over the top pricewise.

Chicken well wrapped up.
Chicken well wrapped up.

The two junior tasters ordered a Margherita pizza and a Chicken Kiev. Both were impressed by not only the food, but the size of the portions. I selected the chicken wrap which had a hefty amount of chicken breast as well as chips (chunky cut) and salad. Far too much for me, but I did take what was left to home for the next day. Our photographer could not get through all of her pizza either, but we all had a slice to share. It was excellent, as was the Kiev. The quality was certainly there.

We enjoyed our evening at the Loft Resort, the portion sizes were generous and the prices very reasonable. There are rotating daily specials making the evenings even more of a bargain. Sunday nights they have live music making for an enjoyable end to the week. The staff were very helpful as well, adding to the general fun ambience. Do try, it is worth it.

Fancy a dip in the pool?
Fancy a dip in the pool?

I was aware there was another “Loft” above where Indian Roots used to be situated further round the reservoir and to be honest was not really sure how all this worked. Turned out that the two Lofts were under the same ownership but worked together and not in competition. To make it even easier to try, they have a free mini-bus running between the two places, but the mini-bus will also pick you up and drop you wherever you wish to go in Pattaya. Free! Now that’s a great deal.

The Loft Resort, Siam Country Club Road (three km from Mitkamol (“Chicken”) intersection), parking in the grounds, open seven days, 9 a.m. till 10.00 p.m. kitchen closing, telephone 038 051 659 and for the free mini-bus 093 212 9969. (Photos by Marisa Corness)

A safe kids playground.
A safe kids playground.