Pattaya Thai Restaurant Review

Unpretentious authenticity

I can find no other way to describe Pattaya Thai Restaurant other than this: Traditional Thai food at its best. This is the kind of restaurant that makes me feel comfortable as soon as I step in the door, and wholly satisfied and refreshed upon departure.

Pattaya is family owned and run. It is a quaint small restaurant jammed beside Hog's Breath Café and the latest pawnshop to open on the corner of Spence and Sheridan St. I arrived at their door at 9:30pm and was worried they would turn me away. But instead I was greeted with warmth and seated under the restaurant feature - a thatched roof adorned with tropical plants. The restaurant was completely empty except for one other table - a lonely sight. This restaurant deserved to be filled with patrons.

Everywhere you look, THAI screams out at you. The waitresses and chefs are all Thai. The menu is solely Thai, without a hint of western influence. This is a refreshing change from many restaurants that purport to include virtually every world cuisine into their meals. I even bumped my head on the thatched roof because my Australian height was un-Thai like.

I ordered the curry puffs at $5.90 as an entrée, and the combination seafood and vegetable curry at $15.90 for my main. The ingredients used were obviously fresh, and my meals were prepared on the spot by the chefs in the tiny kitchen out the back. There is absolutely no pretence about this restaurant. The meals aren't doffed up to look like they belong in an art gallery, but if there was a gallery devoted to subtle flavours they'd be the starring exhibit. The authentic Thai food includes a unique balance of hot, sour, sweet, salty and bitter flavours that strike every taste bud on the tongue.

On the front counter of Pattaya is a small picture of the Late Majesty King Rama the 5th. I'm told this leader was renowned for great reforms to Thailand in the late 1800s. The Pattaya restaurant owners say King Rama was also the country's greatest patriarch, siring 77 children (44 girls, 33 boys). I'm unsure if this king is revered for his national reforms or his national procreation, but if eating this clean and refreshing cuisine can lead me towards this ideal then I'll be back for more.

Pattaya Thai Restaurant offers take-away, delivery, and dine-in. I believe it is an unknown gem among the dozens of fine restaurants in the Cairns CBD. If you're looking for a simple and friendly place to grab a meal, give Pattaya a shot. This is dining without affectation.

- Diner Diller

Pattaya Thai Restaurant	Cairns CBD
Pattaya Thai Restaurant is a family run Thai restaurant in the centre of the city. Authentic Thai food is exceptionally high in quality, and great value for money.
cuisines: Thai features: A la carte, BYO, EFTPOS, Take Away, Visa review: Unpretentious authenticity (21/3/2003) contact: (07) 40515748 | 62 Spence Street
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