When asked to review a brand new restaurant the first thing I do is have a look on their social media. However, Grill Plate on Pattaya 2nd road had only just opened and was in its “soft opening” stage. So there wasn’t much yet to see on its Facebook page. Looking at the photos I thought it might be a fun place to go for cake and coffee or even a special brunch. But we were going for dinner – so I wondered how much choice there would be? Well let me tell you the answer to that question was a lot! A tremendous selection of dishes came our way with some real star performers amongst them more than exceeding my expectations.

Greeted with a very passable house red “The Hidden Sea” Cabernet Sauvignon we were off to a good start! This was accompanied by a lovely cold cuts plate comprising cheese, charcuterie, walnuts, grapes, pickles and crackers and quickly followed with 2 plump beautiful presented oysters.It was at this stage that I began to suspect we would be in for something special! What I’ll say right away is that the sauces served with every dish were delicious.

Starting with the oysters which were accompanied by a very good Mignonette sauce as well as a slightly spicier Thai green sauce – this I decided to hold on to for later.Then came a soft and succulent Burrata with delicately seasoned salad tasting of an excellent Balsamic and again spiced up with some sweet little tomatoes, more walnuts and best of all some more Parma ham. This was quickly followed by the dish I will certainly be going back for, the Grilled Tiger Prawn on perfectly cooked pesto pasta. I would have been more than happy to finish my meal at this juncture but there was more to come served by the attentive and extremely friendly staff.

Let’s take a break from the food for a minute though to also describe some of the general ambience.Grill Plate has floor to very high ceiling glass windows that as the sun goes down make for a great backdrop as the street lights become more visible. Bose speakers suspended from the hIgh roof provide perfectly pitched music, not too loud but lively and fun to go with the elegant, young diners that were there on the night we visited.

That’s if you’re eating inside, there is also a terrace by the outside open kitchen and a cocktail bar. So back to the food and we hope our photos say it all as steak with al dente steamed vegetables and grilled, extremely tasty fish just show you a little of what you can find on this extensive menu. Another dish I really recommend is the smoked salmon with dill that will also be on my return list.

Then just as we had to say our goodbyes and thank yous to the charming staff the excellent cocktail mixologist insisted he show us what he could do. Well it would have been rude to refuse so we chose a classic: Margarita, always a good test and something a bit more adventurous: an Amaretto Sour. The Margarita test was passed with flying colours being not too sweet or too sharp and let me tell you the Amaretto Sour was a heavenly blend of frothy, whisked egg whites and perfectly balanced flavours.

Also we loved the decoration which matched the desserts we were offered. Fear not dear readers if like us you fall at the last hurdle don’t worry the final course can be boxed up ready for you to take home and enjoy with a good coffee the next day.

Grill Plate is on Pattaya 2nd Road close to Alcazar and across the road from the Airport Market. I urge you to go and try their really excellent fare yourself.
Telephone 060 428 9154 to make a reservation

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