Our roving trencherman reports on where he has been stuffing himself In these, our reviews of eating establishments, we have placed each in one of three categories, budget, medium range, and gourmet. These are meant to be fairly broad ranges based on facilities and the average meal price and are purely for assessing value for money. They do not reflect standards of cooking or service both of which are judged separately. In a budget eating establishment we would expect mostly fairly basic facilities and cuisine, it may or may not be air-conditioned, table decor will probably be fairly simple and the food offered mostly simple to prepare. We would expect to pay not more than 300 Baht (around 5 pounds) for an average 3 to 4 course meal including one beverage. In a medium range establishment, we would expect to eat in air conditioned surroundings, tables to be equipped with cloths and napkins, food served on good china and eaten with good cutlery, and the menu to offer a range of succulent offerings. We would expect to pay not more than 1000 Baht (around 15 pounds) for a 3 to 4 course meal complete with a carafe of house wine. In a gourmet restaurant, we would expect top class decor including table arrangements, a menu offering a choice of mouth watering offerings, and complimented by an extensive wine selection. Although not necessarily ‘money no object’ we would judge such an establishment more on it’s quality of cooking and service than on price. Often we visit restaurants as part of a group and when this is the case, we make allowances for this in judging speed of service. Name - Ole!; Location - South Pattaya, Soi Day-Night 2; Category - Budget. A Spanish sounding but actually German owned restaurant offering both air-conditioned and open terrace eating. Food Mostly European and Thai. Specialities - Set 4 course daily menu, ‘All you can eat’ buffet on Wednesdays. We went in a group of 25. We ate from the set menu, vegetable soup, salad plate, goulash and ice-cream. Price complete with 2 soft drinks, 240 Baht (around 3.50 pounds) Opinion - excellent value, simple food but perfectly cooked and efficiently served, especially considering the size of our party Name - Poseidon; Location - Jomtien Complex; Category - Medium Range. A German owned large air-conditioned restaurant downstairs from a boutique hotel of the same name. Food - Mostly European and Thai, an extensive a-la-carte menu. We went in a group of 15. We selected from the menu, tomato soup, followed by barbary duck in sauce, and finished off with fresh fruit salad and ice-cream. Price complete with 2 glasses of house wine and one sof drink, 700 Baht (around 10 pounds). Opinion - very tasty food cooked well and offering good value. Some of our party suffered with delays in service, but personally considering the numbers being catered for, your correspondent was not dissatisfied. Name - Aloha; Location - Pattaya 2nd Road near Royal Garden Mall; Category - Medium Range. A Hawaiian themed restaurant with cascading waterfalls outside. Food - Western with an emphasis on sea-food. We went in a party of around 10. Due to eating at an earlier engagement, we only selected a main course item, choosing stuffed crab washed down with a soft drink, and finished off with coffee. Price for this was around 350 Baht (about 5 pounds) and most menu offerings seemed to offer similar value. Opinion, based on this and one previous visit was that this restaurant offers something a little different from the norm, food is tasty and reasonable value for money. Service although a little tardy on this occasion was excellent on the previous visit. Name - Jamesons; Location - Nova Park Hotel on Soi Arunathai (behind Bangkok Bank on 2nd Road); Category - Medium Range (with budget daily specials). A recently opened large air-conditioned Irish theme pub and restaurant, run by the former manager of the similarly styled Shenanigans. Food - Western with Irish specialities and a special budget offering varying depending on the day of the week. Weekend carvery. We went in a party of 4 on a Tuesday evening and found the special of that day to be a 100 Baht (around 1.50 pounds) set menu of soup followed by pork chop (we understand this has now increased to 150 Baht). Quality and service were similar to what we had experienced previously at Shenanigans and this set menu offered excellent value for money. One of our party chose from the a-la-carte menu and although paying a little more, still seemed well satisfied. This is a welcome new addition to the Pattaya eating (and drinking) choices and although it is in a rather remote location we expect this to be more than compensated for by the owner’s unmatched reputation for creating a fun atmosphere.