GayThailand Forum : Restaurant Warning - GayThailand Forum

I have just returned from dining at the relatively new Montecristo restaurant on Soi Day Night. I won't complain about the 390 baht set menu (salad, chicken breast and desert) even though it seemed pretty expensive for what you got. Nor will I complain about the 25 minutes it took to get our bill after finishing eating - these things happen in the best of restaurants. However, I am still irked at being charged 80 baht for a small plastic bottle of water. I think that sets a new record for gouging. Who checks the pricing on water when eating at a middle of the road restaurant.

Thanks for the heads up Rich!

Never see many customers there. Sounds like the quality is no better than CAB or Le Petite Planete at double the cost?

Is nam neung gaew (free glass of water an option)?

But to answer your question, I always check beverage prices. A real pet peeve of mine is American menus that list beverages without prices.

Astrrro, on 16 March 2010 - 09:46 PM, said:

I was with RichLB this evening, along with two other friends. There is no free water. It's only the bottled water, the same bottled water you can get at any 7-Eleven for 10 baht. I concur with RichLB in everything he said. I think most people know I am very reluctant to criticize gay and gay friendly venues, but this was my idea of outrageous. I'm sorry, but the equivalent of US $2.50 added to your bill for a small water is ridiculous. I ate there only a couple weeks ago and the water was 50 baht, and I thought that was kind of steep then. Now it's 80 baht for the same water. We even called the owner over to see if there was some mistake. He said yes, it's 80 baht. I asked if he realizes this is far more than just about any restaurant in the entire city charges. All he said was "Sorry," and walked away.

I don't know what happened. A couple weeks ago the food was outstanding and the prices were reasonable. Now the food was mediocre at best, bland, and too small portions for the price. We had trouble getting the attention of the waiters. We couldn't get them to even glance in our direction even when we would call out for them. And we really did have to wait a good 25 minutes for the bill. And then we only got the bill after RichLB got up, went to the owner, and asked for it. Also, three of the meals were supposed to come with coffee. It was never even offered. We didn't ask for it because we were afraid we would have another long wait before it would be served. A couple weeks ago customers were given a welcome drink upon arrival. This evening none was offered.

Two weeks ago I would have listed this restaurant as one of my favorites. Now I doubt I'll ever go back. What happened?

I dont know why you did not go to Chez Vickie, I past it tonight and it seem to be doing well, Ill maybe going there some time this week, myself, so Ill let you know what its like GB

HeyGay, on 17 March 2010 - 02:50 AM, said:

Maybe because GB went to Vicki two weeks ago and posted his review on this forum? Your going to have to run faster to keep up with GB!

HeyGay, on 17 March 2010 - 02:50 AM, said:

One reason is Chez Vickie is closed on Tuesdays. You passed it last night and it seemed to be doing well? That's interesting. Last night was Tuesday. You don't need to tell me what Chez Vickie is like. I've been there a few times already, the latest only three nights ago, and it is one of my favorites.

A second reason is because during the Take-Care party raffle I won a dinner at Le Montecristo. Last night I wanted to use my voucher. One friend wanted the paella. Another friend had never been there and wanted to go with us.

Now you know why I didn't go to Chez Vickie . . .

Overly expensive drinks at moderately priced restaurants has always been one of my pet peeves.

I used to be a regular, for example, at Poseidon. However, when Casa Pascal took over, they increased the price of the diet coke to 100 baht. I called Mrs. Pascal over and told her I thought this must be an error; she simply shrugged. Diet coke is about 12 baht in the supermarket and 45-65 baht in most restaurants. In fact, Bruno's, Manhattans and Mata Hari all charge less than 100 baht. I have stopped dining at Poseidon even though I live right across the street. I often refer to the place as, "Poseidon, Home of the 100 Baht Diet Coke". By the way, diet coke in the mini bar at the Poseidon Hotel is only 35 baht!

Yes it was Monday, I past by, well Ill be there and hope it is still up to your very high standard, Ill let you know?

This thing about price gouging via water and soft drinks is on my "I Don't Get It" list. Why do these restaurants do that? If they raised the food prices a little bit, most likely no one would notice. Don't they think people check their bills? Do the owners of these restaurants think nothing of it when they go out to restaurants and find themselves victims of price gouging? I'll bet they're the first ones to raise holy hell when it is they who are the victims.

What's wrong with these people? As I said, if their food prices were a bit higher, I doubt I would really notice the difference, but when I check my bill and see that I'm being obviously ripped-off, then that's a restaurant that never gets my business again.

For some strange reason, I tend to get a little annoyed when I find myself in a restaurant that is overcharging in the first place, serving too small portions, mediocre food, along with having to wait nearly half an hour for the bill (and that's after trying to get a waiter's attention for a good ten minutes) only to find I have been price gouged for my beverage and then brushed off if I dare to bring it to the attention of the owner. I know it will probably take a great deal of thinking to understand why I don't come to your restaurant anymore, but give it a try.

Some people say you're paying extra for the ambiance. As far as I'm concerned, to hell with that. I've never understood why fancy surroundings justifies excessively high prices in the first place, especially when I can go elsewhere and get food just as good for half the price, and often the food in these high priced places isn't all that great.

Sorry, restaurants, but that's not for me. I'll give my business to restaurants that have comfortable surroundings, good food, good service, and reasonable prices. In case you hadn't noticed, there are a hell of a lot of restaurants in Pattaya besides yours. I'll be eating in the ones that aren't rip-offs, but I'll be sure to give a friendly wave toward your restaurant if I happen to be passing by on my way to a different one. I'll be happy to do that right up to the day you close for lack of customers.

Quote

Quote

If you won the dinner voucher then the dinner was free.
How can a free dinner be a rip-off?

gay_grampa, on 17 March 2010 - 07:39 PM, said:

Are you kidding me? Yes, mine was free, although a glass of water cost me 80 baht. My friends all paid full fare and I would have to pay the same if I ever go again, wouldn't I? I too had the experiences I listed above and the fact that mine was free doesn't alter the prices being charged compared to what you get. But I don't have to worry. I'm not going again. Neither are my friends.

The issue isn't the fact that mine was free. The issue is the experience we endured and the negative changes that occurred in less than three weeks.

Maybe you are technically correct that I wasn't ripped off. Now ask those who were with me if they felt ripped off.

If you feel that the prices are reasonable, then by all means go and I hope you enjoy it.

To me, the most disappointing thing I experienced was the "I could care less" attitude of the owner. Believe it or not, I was uncharacteristicly polite when leaving the restaurant and my goal was to give helpful advice. I actually want restaurants in Pattaya to survive and prosper. As I was explaining that we were shocked at the price of water, the 25 minute wait for a bill, and the over priced chicken breast with mushroom gravy poured on it, the owner elected to banter and laugh with his farang partner and ignore what I thought were reasonable complaint. An apology and a thank you would have been more appropriate and what I would have done if I were running a restaurant and a dissatisfied customer had taken the time to inform me of my place's inadequacies.

Gaybutton, on 17 March 2010 - 08:31 PM, said:

Dear GB,
I think you are describing trendy restaurants that are supposed to serve what is euphemistically called "nouvelle cuisine" the world over.

Xian

xiandarkthorne, on 17 March 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

If that is the case, I'd like a list of those restaurants. That way I'll know where not to go. If overpriced mediocre food, with too small portions and lousy, indifferent service is the trend, include me out . . .

xiandarkthorne, on 17 March 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

Gee, I don't think so. I had to Google "nouvelle cuisine" to find out exactly what it was and the shortest definition I found was:

Nouvelle Cuisine's menu highlights entrees such as Duck, Chateaubriand, Quail, Pork, Monkfish... Every dish provides additional sophistication with an elegant sauce you are sure to enjoy.

There are some restaurants in Pattaya that meet that definition but even those don't charge 80 baht for a bottle of water. Calling a place a French Restaurant and offering nothing French and over pricing standard fare hardly meets the definitions of nouvelle cuisine I found.

I thought nouvelle cuisine was a fad from the early 80's that faded out quickly.

lvdkeyes, on 18 March 2010 - 01:46 AM, said:

Ha ha...so did I. But I guess calling it something else doesn't change what it is, does it? Lousy food in small portions is still lousy food in small portions no matter what you call it or where you serve it.

My strategy for avoiding costly water is to only order wine at the table and sneak in a bottle of water which I swig down in the men's room. Tacky but thrifty!

kokopelli, on 18 March 2010 - 11:00 PM, said:

Well, that's certainly a novel approach. The trouble is we didn't know the price until we received our bill and none of us had checked the price on the menu. It never occurred to us that this particular restaurant was going to charge two to four times the price that you find for the same water in any other restaurant in all of Pattaya.

The criticism being heaped upon me at the moment includes people comparing the price we paid for water and food to prices one would pay in the USA and elsewhere. In case the critics hadn't noticed, we're not in the USA. Saying, "Prices in Thailand are much less than in the USA" is about as invalid a criticism as I've ever encountered. The issue isn't the actual price. The issue is this one restaurant charging much more for the water than any other restaurant my friends and I have ever been to in all of Thailand, and we've been to plenty, including the expensive gourmet restaurants. If most other restaurants were also charging 80 baht for a small bottle of water, then we wouldn't have anything to complain about, would we? That would be the expected price.

It wasn't just the price of the water. What set me off about this was the attitude of the management coupled with the fact that we couldn't get our bill. There were only three other tables occupied at the time and there were two waiters. It took us ten minutes just to get a waiter to even glance in our direction, despite signaling and one of my friends calling out to him. Then it took nearly 30 minutes to get our bill. It would have taken even longer, but one of my friends finally got fed up and went over to the owner, who was paying no attention to anyone other than the small group at his own table, and asked him to get our bill for us.

Then, when we saw the price of the water, the owner was standing right there at our table. I asked him if that is correct. He said yes. I then pointed out that this is far more expensive than anywhere else in Pattaya and I asked him to explain why he is charging that price. Instead of answering, he just said "sorry" and walked away. If the critics want to be treated like that, that's their business.

While the critics are busy telling me how wrong we were, I'll remind them that in the entire history of my presence on the message boards, this is the first time anyone has ever seen a post from me lashing out at an individual restaurant. I think I'm perfectly justified. None of the critics were there with us, but they're sure quick to ridicule. Meanwhile, I don't doubt for an instant that most people would have reacted as we did if they endured the same experience.

"Go on, tell me about it, Cole. Tell me about how if it was you, you'd have done it different."
- Robert Mitchum to John Wayne, 'El Dorado'

Gaybutton, on 19 March 2010 - 12:49 AM, said:

It does seem that patrons become invisible when time to pay the bill in many restaurants in Thailand which is most frustrating.

As for the water situation, best to invite Jesus among your guests especially if you like wine and fish.