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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.
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.
Run by a friendly mother-and-daughter duo, this restaurant hides in a back alley near Pattaya Beach Road. In addition to breakfast favorites like omelets and fried eggs, they serve all-day brunch with choices like club sandwiches, fried chicken wings, and avocado salad with chicken breast. Cheap local and international beers are available as well. The streetside tables are a peaceful breakfast spot, perfect for catching the morning sun.
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.
Pattaya's reputation as a top spot for sampling seafood is given fresh impetus at this lively restaurant. The venue is open daily for lunch, but it comes alive during dinnertime when gourmands flock to its seafood buffet (Wednesday through Sunday; B849 per person)—a kingly affair starring superfresh morsels served in an underwater-inspired space popping with eclectic artworks. Note that there is no a la carte dinner menu when there is a seafood buffet.
This authentic Thai restaurant in Pattaya's north serves double portions of stir-fries and other Thai favorites. Try tom yam pla krapong, white snapper soup with chili and lemon grass, or goong tod sauce makham, deep-fried king prawns tossed in tamarind sauce with kaffir lime leaves and fresh lemon grass. Take a sit at one of the teak tables with plastic chairs or bamboo salas roofed with Nipa palm leaves and mix amongst the locals.
For a different side of Pattaya, head north of the city to this beautiful, romantic seafood restaurant that sits right on the waterfront. The almost exclusively Thai clientele enjoys hand-picked lobster, tiger prawns, crab, oysters, and fish amid shimmering pools, palm trees, and sweeping bay views.
