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Much of Pattaya feels like Little America, with McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC next to each other in the Royal Gardens Plaza mall, and other familiar names nearby. But Pattaya has access to just-picked produce and seafood fresh from the gulf, so you'll have no trouble finding worthwhile local cuisine. Fancier, if not necessarily better, restaurants can be a refuge from the noise and crowds at the simple beachside places.
Belying Pattaya's slightly unsophisticated reputation, this romantic fine dining haven tucked away in a residential district between Pattaya and Jomtien oozes Gallic class. The food helps to elevate proceedings with choice offerings including premium steaks and showstoppers such as Japanese scallops with red corn in coconut sauce.
This sleek, modern restaurant overlooking the Dusit Thani resort's expansive pool and shimmering Pattaya Bay offers an "international skewers" concept with a wide variety of Chinese, Thai, and Western takes on grilled meat, seafood, and vegetables on skewers.
The concept—one familiar to western visitors, especially those from North America—is not exactly authentic to Japan or any country for that matter. But Benihana's take on Japanese-style teppanyaki has proved to be an enduring formula. The template is followed to a tee at its Pattaya outlet with flamboyant chefs cooking up a storm before diners' eyes.
