Samis

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Gaybutton
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Samis

Post by Gaybutton »

There was a review in the August 9 Dining Out section of the Pattaya Mail about Samis International Restaurant (see: http://www.pattayamail.com/diningout/sa ... rant-29206 ). This is a very small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant, very near where I live, on "The Dark Side." I agree with every word in the review.

This evening, lvdkeyes, his boyfriend Wichan, and I gave it a try. Believe me, it is everything the review said it is. If you want atmosphere, you won't find it here, but if you want surprisingly good quality, wonderful food, then if you're ever on "The Dark Side," I highly recommend stopping in.

I'll let lvdkeyes post his thoughts himself, but for me, I thought it was outstanding and the prices are incredibly low for what you get. I started with the pea soup, which was excellent. It is served with a generous piece of warm, crusty French bread. My main course was a goulash, which comes with a salad and mashed potatoes. They will readily substitute any of their other sides for the potatoes. At lvdkeyes' recommendation, I had the Swiss dumplings - excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire meal. Between the soup, main course, and the water, my bill was 264 baht. Plenty to eat, very good quality, and certainly reasonable prices.

If you prefer, he also has a set menu.

The owner, Sami, is Thai, but much of the food is Swiss-German. Sami's wife is the one with the experience and training in that style of cooking. They also have a very good Thai food menu. Wichan had Thai food and he gave it a definite 'thumbs-up.'

Sami's is closed on Wednesdays. His opening time is 12:00 noon and he closes around 10:00 - 10:30pm, depending on how many customers he has. If this evening was any indication, he is not lacking for customers. Most of the tables were filled.

In the Pattaya Mail article, the GPS coordinates are incorrect. The actual coordinates are: N 12° 55' 20", E 100° 55' 48"

There is also a good set of reviews on Trip Advisor. See: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Re ... vince.html

I had a surprise when Sami came to take our orders. He recognized me. It turns out he used to be at the old Olé restaurant and then moved on to the Dolphin restaurant. Once he told me that, I remembered him. Now he has this restaurant of his own and I think he'll be very successful. I'm delighted he's so close to my place. I can easily be there in less than 5 minutes and from now on, I'll be a regular.
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Re: Samis

Post by lvdkeyes »

I agree with GB that this a a place to go for good food at very reasonable prices. I had the goulash soup to start. Delicious and served with excellent warm crusty French bread. For my main course I had beef roll with red cabbage and the Swiss dumplings substituted for the mashed potatoes. I have had this dish in other German restaurants in Pattaya and this was, by far, superior. The red cabbage was not as sour as some places which was perfect for me. My bf had Thai chicken soup and rice. Sami told him the chicken was free range. Wichan said it was very good. I would skip desserts. Wichan had a banana split and I had what they called peach Melba, but it was only ice cream with 2 canned peach halves. The ice cream tasted like Wall's which is my least favorite ice cream in Thailand. The bill for the two of us was 649 THB. Without the desserts it would have been 409 THB. A real bargain for very tasty food and pleasant service.

There was another table of 6 or 7 farang, one of whom had a birthday. They brought a very attractive cake with candles and the whole staff came to the table to sing Happy Birthday.
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Re: Samis

Post by Gaybutton »

If you have not been to Samis new location, actually much closer to Soi Neurnplabwan than the old location and much larger, on the same soi on "The Dark Side," I highly recommend giving it a try. His menu now includes several more items, includes Thai items, and there are also daily specials that change every week. The wait staff is excellent, very friendly, and most speak acceptable English. Sami is always there and his English is nearly fluent.

Along with plenty of open air seating, he also has an air conditioned dining room.

Image

https://www.facebook.com/newsamisrestaurant/

GPS coordinates: 12.925722, 100.930807

The easiest way to get there is to go to the Pattaya Klang intersection on Sukhumvit. If you are northbound, immediately after passing Pattaya Klang, take the first U-Turn and go back to the next Soi. That is Soi Neurnplabwan. Go up Soi Neurnplabwan until you come to Soi 28, on the right. Turn on Soi 28 and look for the Sign for Sami's on the right.

Last evening, Tuesday, a Thai friend and I went to Samis and discovered a new feature. Along with ordering from the menu, now on Tuesdays there is a buffet. That's what we had. Everything you can imagine: breads, soup, ham, German sausages, beef burgers, Irish Stew, several casseroles, chicken dishes, Thai dishes, and much more - I just can't remember them all. And if you still have room for dessert, the buffet includes both an ice cream bar and a fruit salad bar - and you can go back for more as often as you wish.

You'll see some photos of the buffet on his Facebook page. Those of you who remember his buffet at the old Dolphin restaurant and the restaurant that was near Sunee Plaza (I don't remember the name), the buffet is very similar, but includes even more selections.

It's an excellent value. Including water to drink, the bill was 324 baht per person - good quality an excellent value. I don't know how he does it at that price. If you enjoy wine with dinner, Samis also has a wine selection.

Samis is very popular. Whenever I've been, there is no shortage of customers, but he has plenty of tables and you should be able to get a seat. He does take reservations if you give him a call. If the parking lot is full, there is plenty of parking directly across the street.

Samis is open every day. He was even one of the few restaurants open during all of Songkran. That's where we ate on Pattaya's "Big Day," April 19.

Don't be surprised if you find me having dinner at Samis, especially on Tuesdays . . .
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Re: Samis

Post by 2lz2p »

Based on the recommendations, I recommended Sami's to a friend who lives within minutes of their location (I posted on the Suggestions thread about joining my friend and his partner at Suggestions). I rec'd an email with the following comments
. . .we tried Sami’s. Excellent! Swiss German with good home cooking type meals and easy on the pocketbook.
and
Quite busy, which is always a good sign. I much prefer this kind of restaurant to Suggestions…
So, I am looking forward to giving it a try in the near future.
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