Entainment

BOSCO'S Sure there are many Irish boozers now in Thailand but what sets Bosco’s apart is that it has seriously brought a slice of Ireland to Thailand, I can’t remember ever visiting an Irish pub with so much memorabilia.

Indeed Bosco the landlord also known as Declan has been brewing this idea for some time, concluding that most Irish pubs that open abroad are not a proper reflection of what a traditional pub constitutes in Ireland. And after a very short period of opening the word has got around and many Irish and other nationalities are putting their heads through the door to see what it’s all about, something the Irish and Spanish guests told us when we were there.
It’s not a huge pub but every bit of space has been put to good use with walls lined with Irish provincial flags, Hurling and Gaelic Football team shirts and caps, and replicas of the most prestigious cups the teams can win taking pride of place behind the bar. The collection has cost the landlord much time and money with a huge vintage mini car collection, pictures of famous Irish writers, painters, race horses and also some of the coffin ships where so many died trying to escape the potato famine. The centre piece of the collection are various uniforms that were worn by different regiments of the Irish Army, Navy and Police, some of which the gaffer has worn himself, during a stint in the Navy. If you entrance through the second door you’ll see a picture of a hand puppet called Bosco which is from a famous TV program that aired around Ireland in the late seventies and early eighties, the landlord got his nickname from this puppet. Next time we visit we’ll have to ask why as the puppet has a flaming mop of red hair and the landlord, well he doesn’t. Anyway Bosco the man, not the puppet, is as friendly as can be and whoever walks through the door will be as welcome as a stripper at a stag party, in the pubs short life they have already acquired a bunch of regulars which we attribute to the genuine friendliness offered by Bosco along with the pubs relaxed atmosphere and intriguing decor. And if you’re as historically ignorant as me then Bosco can fill you in on the significance of the pieces on show and share a few yarns over a pint of Guinness or John Smiths, there’s also cocktails, many spirits, and beers starting at 50 Baht per bottle.
On the food menu you will find an adequate choice of pub grub but not too much as this is predominantly a pub with food, not a restaurant with beer, so what you are offered are sandwiches, all day breakfasts, omelettes, burgers and a few other pub dishes. However, they hired two very accomplished chefs from one of Pattaya’s most prestigious hotels so the food is consistently well above normal pub grub standards. The sandwiches starting at 80 Baht are excellent, and the burger with egg, bacon, cheese and mushrooms is one Elvis would be proud of. Big daddio breakfasts are just 150 Baht with OJ and tea or coffee, while a smaller version still with the beverages is 95 Baht. As my friend already guaranteed me, and I would like to do the same and say if you try the food you will not be disappointed, and if you go in for a few beers we also believe you will come out a happier person, we rolled out at 2am very happy, and slightly inebriated I might add.

Bosco’s
Central Pattaya Road
Pattaya
Tel: 089 251 6550
Open 8am to 2am

Molly Malone’s
Irish Pub

Molly Malone’s right at the heart of Walking Street offers you that homely pub atmosphere that Irish pubs seem to achieve so well with miles of wood panelling, stone floors, and rich dark green furnishings that conspires to a warm feeling that just puts me as ease as soon as I enter such a premise. The friendly staff always compliment such environs as much as a cold pint and at Molly’s the staff are the smiling kind and the beverage list of draught beers, bottled beers, cocktails and spirits extends even further the warming welcome.
On tap you can choose from a superb line up of beers that include, Heineken, Tiger, Stella Artois, Leffe, and an old favourite of mine Hoeggarden. A great pint of Guinness is guaranteed and if you like cider which seems to be a very in drink at the moment then they also have Strongbow on tap and Bulmer’s in a bottle. Fans of mixology will enjoy many cocktails and cheapskates myself included, will delight at a happy hour that runs from 10am to 9pm with four draught beers to choose from at 150 Baht per jug or 59 Baht for a glass. Sport lovers apparently appreciate a good beverage as well and Molly’s with it’s many, many TV’s is a popular stop for all sporting events, and after the endurance of your favourite sports match you’ll need to replenish with some hearty Irish or international nosebag. And Molly Malone’s be it in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket has a solid reputation for good pub food that is priced very competitively especially with the many specials offered like the daily special at 199 Baht for they’re typical enormous serving.
Friday’s special when we visited is Fish and Chips which needs no explanation apart from maybe the fish which is a huge delicious whole fillet of John Dory that along with chips is served with my Thai wife’s favourite mushy peas. The Beef and Guinness Pie we also tried was simply superb, packed with beef, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms, swimming in a fantastic gravy and topped with an over sized pie crust. Even the normally non beef eating Thai’s couldn’t resist this one with my four year old eating machine son quite literally trying to lick the remnants from the bowl. So after surprising ourselves and devouring every last morsel we opted to finish with Apple and Rhubarb Crumble with custard, which is just classic and in my view is possibly the best thing to ever come out of Britain (or Ireland). Then with a full belly it’s time to sit back and enjoy the merriment with a few pints of the black stuff and a quite excellent band that get their thing going about 9.30pm. And the day after the night before you can return to Ms Malone’s from 10am till 4pm for a stomach settling breakfast for just 99 Baht which includes Bacon, 2 eggs, tomatoes, homemade hash browns, toast, tea or coffee.

Walking Street
South Pattaya

Tel: 038 711 094-5
www.mollymalonespattaya.com
Open: 10am to 2am

Mooore Bar & Grill

Designed in a kind of modern urban style its difficult to put Mooore into a category, sports memorabilia, pool tables, darts and flat screen TV’s give the impression of a sports bar but then live music and swanky furniture hint at possibly something else. Being the writer for The East of Siam maybe I’m just thinking too much though as whatever genre Mooore fits we thoroughly enjoyed sitting there and were still motionless quaffing assorted beverages for sometime after we finished eating.
What is very clear about this place though is that coming from the Marriott Group the service is absolutely 5 star as you would expect whereas the prices fall down into somewhere like the 3 star mark. A terrific local T-Bone steak I enjoyed was just 400 Baht and the buffet lunch they serve is a remarkable 249 Baht. Daily evening specials include free Margarita’s for ladies on Thursday after 7pm and on Mondays choose anyone of three English main courses for just 150 Baht.
An open show kitchen is where the food is prepared so whether its pizza, tacos, burgers, bangers & mash, Italian or Thai you can keep tabs on chef while he works his magic. To share with friends the Sate comes highly recommended and the Tandoori Chicken Pizza is cooked with cheddar cheese which gives a great combination of flavour. Drinks are also quite fairly priced for such a place with a bottled local beer just 90 Baht and many, many delicious exotic cocktails around 160 Baht. Also the wines are excellent and the drinks menu includes a huge whiskey and spirit selection and a lengthy list of imported beers and ciders.
Dare I say that once you’ve tried More you’ll back for More and More and Mooore.

Moon River Pub Open 6pm to 2am

It’s a classic in Pattaya and if you’ve been in Pattaya for any length of time it’s most likely you’ve had more than a few memorable evenings here.
The interior is a little like a log cabin to me as the walls and bar are built with logs while the whole pub is drenched in pub style memorabilia. The lighting is perfectly dim with beer light boxes giving a little extra illumination which creates a cracking atmosphere for fun and frivolity. Each night except Mondays a live band from the Philippines plays until 1am and they have been so popular that the management have quit rotating the bands and made them resident much to the delight of many regulars. The covers they play are well on the money and requests are welcome. The seating is comfortable and the stage is central so that everybody gets a view, and in front of the stage is a dance floor which is more often than not occupied by hip swaying revelers. For beverages you can choose from some great cocktails that are prepared by proper bottle spinning bar people and the wine list has more than a few decent options which are well priced. The Moon River Smile is one of the signature cocktails, a tasty blend of brandy, orange Curacao, maraschino, lemon, orange and pineapple juice that are served in a pineapple, and judging by the speed my Thai wife drank it, it is very popular with the ladies. Also popular with many guests are the beer towers that are 1, 2 or 3 litres, the tower comes with a tap fitted so that you can keep pouring your beer at the table, although the staff are usually there to do it for you. The draught beer is Heineken, Chang, or Erdinger, any of which can be bought by the litre for your tower. On the food menu you will find a very complete menu of Thai and Western dishes that are consistently excellent which you kind of expect from somewhere that’s been so popular for so long.We tried a very excellent Mixed Grill Skewer that included sausage, beef, chicken

and pork, along with a hunk of corn, chips and a tasty salsa dip. The beef tacos were also excellent and also very nicely presented, although if you would like something more healthy then you might want to try the salmon or many seafood dishes.
The crowd at Moon River Pub seems to me to be mostly middle aged couples and groups some of whom dress up for the occasion, however it’s a relax affair so jeans and t-shirt will not be frowned upon.

Thai Garden Resort
Pattaya Nua Road Pattaya
Tel: 038 370 614-8

Pattaya Beer Garden The recently opened Pattaya Beer Garden personifies the old real estate adage, location, location, location, occupying an exceptional spot over the sea with uninterrupted views of Pattaya Bay and the many attractive and interesting moving and motionless things that buzz or dwell around the water and land. Sure you can enjoy equally fine views of Pattaya from somewhere like the Dusit Thani but you sure as hell won’t be drinking beer at 45 Baht a glass of Tiger or 65 Baht for a Heineken with premium spirits like my best mates Jack, Jim and Johnny also just 65 Baht. And as you wile away the hours during sun up you can be sure that the evening sunset and night time panorama is even more enchanting with star light over head and the quivering headlights of the cars chugging down the Beach Road. And to give sunset hour even more sparkle you can enjoy the sunset special between 5.30pm and 7pm which is a tasty colourful cocktail with a plate of very nice Thai Hors D'Oeuvres for a very friendly 200 Baht. As the bar has three open sides you can enjoy refreshing sea breezes in a fetching open plan design that features a huge rectangular bar with high chairs and a succession of tables at different levels around the perimeters mostly right next to the sea. It’s a real chill out place and as there are no working girls employed you will not be hassled and can get on with enjoying the company of friends or the broad spectrum of music videos that play out on the televisions. Apart from incredibly well priced beers and spirits you can also enjoy inexpensive cocktails still using premium ingredients with a range that goes from mildly intoxicating to blow your head off into the sea strength, shooters are 90 Baht. For wine drinkers then there’s a perfectly decent menu with bottles for less than a 1000 Baht and House wine 90 Baht per glass. If you check out the website you’ll also see some good reviews of the food as the menu covers a good range of dishes again well priced with offerings such as breakfast, sandwiches, steaks, pasta, pizza, lots of Thai food and much more.We haven’t given the menu a proper grilling yet but were impressed with our shared order of Pork Cordon Bleu, and Pla Kung a delicious spicy herby Thai prawn salad, and our kid gave top marks for the Bolognese and he knows his pasta.This is a place we will certainly return though and with the reassurance of the open kitchen so you can see what’s cooking we will provide a more substantial food review next time.