Food carts, food markets, standard restaurants, food courts - the choices are simply endless!
Shopping and eating out in Pattaya go hand in hand and all form part of a unique Thai experiences.This Pattaya Restaurant Guide will guide you through your Pattaya dining experience. If you would want to know more about Thai cuisine in general our Thailand Food and Cuisine Guide will give you all the information you need.
Food & Cuisine in Pattaya
On the whole, restaurants in Pattaya are slightly more expensive than in the rest of Thailand. Nevertheless, Pattaya offers a wide assortment of cuisine - American fast food joints, Italian pizzeria, seafood speciality restaurants and innumerable eateries specialising in Swiss, French, German, and other European fare. You'll also be delighted to find that KFC, Burger King and McDonalds have a flourishing trade here.
If you are up for experimentation, go global! Try the bud-tingling Thai, Scandinavian, Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Korean food.
Nightlife
Pattaya has the reputation of veering over to the 'wild' side. However, contrary to public opinion, the much talked about nightlife in Pattaya is not all about sex. It is a great place to let down one's hair and simply relax with a few drinks and dancing. If you like watching people, you can just sit back and observe the many different kinds of people flocking to these places.
'Lady Drinks,' usually purchased for employees, are about 50 % more costly both in the go-go and beer bars. Often, the real price is posted on the wall or in the drinks menu.
Beer bars
The beer bars or 'bar-beer' in Pattaya are particularly famous with tourists. They are usually managed by 'bar girls', most of whom are commercial sex workers 'on hire'. However, most visitors do not pay the 'bar fine', the sum paid by a client to the bar so that a girl can leave with him. In fact, the larger part of the clientele is comprised of casual visitors, who only come to have a drink.
Pattaya has a number of open-air beer bars. The most reputed ones are found along Walking Street, Soi 7 and Soi 8. There are also a good number of them all along the Beach Road, the Second Road and the Soi Buakhao. At Jomtien and the southern corner of the Naklua Road too, you'll find quite a few bars.
The official closing time is supposed to be 01.00 a.m. However, in practise, most bars in Pattaya close any time between 1.00 and 2.00 a.m. In some places, they even close as early as midnight. But 'closing' is a rather tenuous word in Pattaya, since it only involves turning off the non-essential lighting and music! So, you'll find that in practise most of these bars are open 24/7.
Go-go bars
Most go-go bars in Pattaya are found along the three main streets of Pattayaland and Walking Street. They are also found in the vicinity of the main beer-bar areas. They usually open up at about 20:00 hours and close up around 01:00 or 02:00 hours.
While sightseers are free to visit these bars, they are not allowed to take photographs. There are prominent signs discouraging tourists from taking pictures and some bars even ask you to deposit your cameras with the security staff before you enter.
Walking Street
Had Walking Street been called the 'Walking, Eating, Shopping, Dancing, Drinking and Ogling Street', it would have been more aptly named! There are over 100 beer bars and around 30 go-go bars here. In the side-sois leading eastwards towards the Pratamnak Road, you will find even more bars.
The best time to visit Walking Street is during the evenings, though you won't be disappointed with a daytime visit either. There are scores of restaurants, so even if you are not interested in the bars, you can always meander along and experiment with the exciting cuisine!
The street gets packed when the discotheques empty out, so keep a sharp look out for pickpockets. If you want to visit only one go-go bar, Soi Diamond's 'Super Baby' is a great bet. It has earned itself the reputation of featuring some of the most attractive girls in Pattaya and is considered a mandatory stop among Asian tourists. While this is not really true any longer, it is still worth the visit simply because it is so conveniently located and gives you a chance to experience the typical go-go bar.
Pattayaland
The subject of many a postcard, Soi Pattayaland is truly an unforgettable sight at night. The twinkling lights that look so good on camera attract hundreds of visitors. Strangely, however, the area only has eight go-go bars, half a dozen beer bars and the Penthouse Hotel.
The best time to visit is during the evenings, before 01.00 a.m., when the lights go out. The streets are deserted during the day; so if you are planning to visit then, be prepared to encounter a ghost town!
Soi Yodsak (Soi 6)
To call Soi Yodsak Pattaya's most colourful and infamous street would be no exaggeration. There are over 50 bars here, which open up at about 13.00 hours and close around 01.00 hours. The best way to experience it would be to walk down during the day. The mid-afternoon is a great time to visit; take a stroll from end to end and savour the aura of the place!
Many visitors who come in from the south walk from one end of Second Road down to the end of Beach Road and then hire a songthaew on the way back.
