Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

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Gaybutton
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Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by Gaybutton »

Last night RichLB, another friend, and I tried the Tapas restaurant in Pattaya's Jomtien Complex. We absolutely loved it! The restaurant is spotlessly clean. The kitchen is an open-view kitchen. The ambiance is beautiful, tasteful, and relaxing. The service is attentive and excellent. And the food is high quality and absolutely delicious.

The tapas choices are Spain's answer to Chinese dim sum. The photo menu has two full pages of choices ranging in price from 60 to 110 baht each. Every one of them is, in my opinion, a "must try." You could easily make your entire meal on those alone. But that's certainly not all. The menu has a wide selection of entrees and there is also a set menu offering two different choices. I tried their Camembert Chicken Kiev from the set menu. For 320 baht they first served me a small spinach and cheese casserole that wasn't just good, but I mean really good! The Chicken Kiev and its sauce was fantastic. Next time I go, and I can assure you that will be very soon, it will be difficult for me to resist ordering it again, but I will resist it because I want to try their other items too. The set menu dessert is a very nice fruit salad.

I had ordered two of the tapas items as an appetizer. From the photo menu I thought these were going to be tiny portions, but they're much larger than I expected. Between those and the Camembert Chicken Kiev, even I couldn't finish and I ended up taking about 2/3 of it home.

Between the two tapas items (I had two of the 110 baht items), the set menu, and water, my total bill came to 590 baht. There is no service charge or added VAT. Tipping is at your own discretion.

The Tapas restaurant is located where the former Pagoda restaurant used to be, directly across the soi from Ganymede.

This is an excellent restaurant and I can't recommend it highly enough. Tapas is well worth trying if you are in Jomtien Complex and I think it's even worth going out of your way to get there. I think many of you will readily agree with me once you give it a try.
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Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by RichLB »

This was the third time I had been to Tapas and I underline everything GB said. And he's not kidding about the serving size of the tapas - as good as the main courses are, next time I'm just going to order 2 or 3 of the tapas and I bet I won't be able to finish eating them all. A really fine restaurant!!
bkkguy

Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by bkkguy »

Gaybutton wrote:The tapas choices are Spain's answer to Chinese dim sum.
there is tapas and there is tapas and there was little on the East Tapas menu when I was there last weekend that reminded me of tapas as I know it from a dozen different tapas restaurants in other countries - but I admit not in Spain so I will leave the "authenticity" debate to one side, but given that I had gone to a tapas restaurant and was ignoring the tapas menu, the entree and main I selected were OK, the service was OK and the chef/manager loudly dressing down the waiters right in the middle of the main dining room for talking on their mobiles was certainly a mixed blessing

the next night I went to L'Arc, also in Jomtien Complex - the difference in price was trival (including drinks) but the ambience is totally different and the food style is totally different but I will take a friendly French lady in jeans who obviously knowns and understands the food served (as does the chef and to some extent the unobtrusive Thai waiter) and the quality of the food served for the price compared to my experience at East Tapas

horses for courses, as they say

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Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by Gaybutton »

bkkguy wrote:there is tapas and there is tapas
You've got that part right. To see why you're right, look at the following article: http://spanishfood.about.com/od/discove ... qtapas.htm

I looked up tapas on Google images and many of the photos that came up were exactly like the menu we looked at and all three of us greatly enjoyed what we were served. I certainly did or I wouldn't have written this post and I don't think RichLB would have concurred.

The article begins with the following:
Question: What are Tapas?
Tapas are snacks, canapés or finger food that originated in Spain. Tapas come in many different forms and can vary from town to town! But, what are they?

Answer: Tapas can be practically anything from a chunk of tuna, cocktail onion and an olive skewered on a long toothpick, to piping hot meat with sauce served in a miniature clay dish - or anything in between.
patexpat

Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by patexpat »

I whole heartedly endorse this recommendation. Three of us ate there a couple of weeks ago and over ordered somewhat spectacularly, as the portions were MUCH more than any other Tapas style place I have eaten. Delicious too and very varied menu. We'll be back!
bkkguy

Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by bkkguy »

Gaybutton wrote:I looked up tapas on Google images and many of the photos that came up were exactly like the menu we looked at
this page made my mouth water - and yes I also recognise some items from the menu at East Tapas

the main difference I suppose is about 10% of the tapas images from google are served on bread but this style of dish seems to dominate the East Tapas menu - I am not saying thier selection is not tasty or enjoyable, it is just that many of what I consider to be the classic tapas items that I enjoy were not there so I was disappointed

the tapas selection there will be to some people's tastes but it is not to mine, you and others will go back, I will not - I am sure the management at East Tapas has done their homework on ingredients available locally and what they can profitably serve to their target audience, they don't have to please everyone - but I thought the advantage of forums was you could see a variety of opinions about a restaurant

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Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by Gaybutton »

bkkguy wrote:I thought the advantage of forums was you could see a variety of opinions about a restaurant
It is. And your opinion is in place. I haven't deleted anything you posted. What's the problem?
bkkguy

Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by bkkguy »

Gaybutton wrote: It is. And your opinion is in place. I haven't deleted anything you posted. What's the problem?
I never at any point implied that you were deleting my comments, I just rashly posted a slightly negative opinion about a favoured restaurant, your response was a very broad definition of what tapas is, my response was the menu at the favoured restaurant is perhaps limited - you are the one that seems to be treatened by this, not me!

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Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by Gaybutton »

bkkguy wrote:you are the one that seems to be treatened by this, not me!
Yes, I feel very 'treatened' by you. You post a hell of a lot of negativity on this board. Is there anything you don't argue and whine about? Sorry, my friend, but we're not going to turn this topic into yet another argument. If you have something you want to say about this restaurant, then say it. If you want to argue with me, send me a PM. Anything else other than posts about this restaurant appearing on this thread will be deleted.
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Re: Tapas Restaurant - Jomtien Complex

Post by lvdkeyes »

We debated between Tapas and La Bocca tonight. We will try Tapas soon and give my opinion afterwards. Having been to Spain a couple of times and being escorted around what my Spanish friends considered to be the best tapas bars, I think I have a basis for an educated opinion. Yes, I know what is said about opinions. No need for anyone to state the obvious.
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