Pupen Seafood Restaurant In Jomtien- UPDATED Feb. 19, 2014

[Evil Penevil 7,609]

I ate Saturday night at Pupen, the well-known crab and seafood restaurant at the far end of Jomtien Beach Road, as one of a group of 11 people (three farang males, eight Thai ladies) . I'd eaten there in the past, but hadn't been back for about a year. This time round, the food was just as delicious as I'd remembered it. And the blue crab was photographed as much as always.





The iconic photo from the Internet, not one I took:




Pupen, which I've been told means "live crab" in English, opened in the mid-1980's as a no-name restaurant with five beach-side tables. It's specialty was fresh seafood, with crabs kept alive in baskets lowered into the sea until needed. The restaurant expanded considerably through the years and now the fish and crabs are held in tanks. I don't know how many seats it has (500? maybe more?), but it's big. Most of the customers, probably 80%-85%, were Thais. The reminder were mostly Asian tour groups. I also saw some Russians, but not many other farang. The menus we got were in Thai except for the cover page. I always let my TGF order anyway, so no problem for me.

I was responsible for seven of the group and here's what we ordered:



The main feature was two kilos of crab at 560 baht per kilo.




I don't eat much crab (or lobster) for medical reasons, but the ladies had no problems in polishing it off on their own. We also had a lovely fried fish:




And a squid dish:




A coconut-based seafood stew (never had it before, but really liked it):




My GF wanted som tam and we also got a place of vegetables and herbs:







My lady doesn't think I eat enough vegetables, so she ordered the shrimp-veggie stir-fry for me:




We also had a bowl of tom khai gai that arrived towards the end of the meal, but I forgot to take a pic of it.














Some shots from the interior of the restaurant:













We got there at about 6 p.m. and didn't have a problem getting a table. The outside tables facing the sea were all occupied, but there were plenty of seats inside. However, by the time we left at 7.30 p,m,, the restaurant was quite full. I imagine it's nightmare to even try to get a table on a Thai holiday weekend. And forget about a beach-side table unless you get there very early.

I've read criticism of Pupen for the slowness of service and the rudeness of the staff. We certainly didn't have those problems on Saturday. The food came quickly and the waitresses and waiters were as polite and friendly as they usually are in LOS.

Total damages were 2, 650 baht, very reasonable for such a meal for seven people. Considering the two kilos of crab cost 1,120 and I had two SMLs and a watermelon smoothie to drink, the rest of the meal was cheap indeed. The ladies all drank water.

Bottom line: Pupen is one of the best places for fresh seafood in Pattaya. It loses a few points due to the lack of English-language menus and the hassle involved in getting to and from Pupen as well as the difficulty you might encounter in finding a table on a busy night.


Evil

Edited February 19, 2014 by Evil Penevil

[yorta2 664]

Great photos again, Evil. They sure made my mouth water, but I'll have to wait for some time before I'm back over there (only been back in Aust for 3 weeks). Thanks for the write up.

[RhinoTusk 4,901]

One of my favorite seafood restaurants despite some obnoxious ladyboy waitresses.

[Regyai 386]

They do seem to have a penchant for employing swathes of very young gender confused waiters (waitresses?)

 

But I don't think they deserve the 'obnoxious' epithet.. always very good at what they do and frankly always of a better standard of service there than some other 'high profile' seafooderies of that locale

 

 

 

.

[Gary 4,066]

My Thai wife totally agrees. If we are going out to eat seafood, she insists on this restaurant. We no longer even try other places. The wife knows what is fresh and what isn't. My taste buds are not that developed.

[atlas2 4,329]

A novel attribute of having a Thai wife I hadn't considered ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,A Substitute for my tired taste buds.

 

"Does this taste good to me?"

"Yes it does tilac...... But don't speak with your mouth full of poo......"

Edited June 3, 2013 by atlas2

[MM 6,562]

Atlas, you're on a roll today!

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

[atlas2 4,329]

I'm in England..............

[jacko 8,578]

I'm in England..............

If you are in the UK you should be on a balm cake rather than a roll!

[Nightrider 340]

If you are in the UK you should be on a balm cake rather than a roll!

Very north west UK .

I remember when i first moved to London in the early eighties , i went to my local bakers shop and in my strong northern accent asked the lady for half a dozen balm cakes and she said " you'll have to go to the chemist shop for that stuff love ". very funny .

 

PS.......Happy birthday Jacko......

[Regyai 386]

It would have been your (mis)spelling

[atlas2 4,329]

Holiday back in the balmy UK has been great........But....

 

Roasts, curries, Chinese take-aways, English breakfasts, (with pampered pig bacon), fish an' chips............Chocolate digestives, toasted buns, pate, mature cheddars, kettle crisps..........Doom Da and Rebellion bitters........ No exercise or sex has taken it's toll............ 3 Kgs more round the belly

 

My first month back will be spent living in Pupen and the likes, living on boiled fish and papaya bok-bok just to get back to the point where I thought I was a bit overweight!

[jacko 8,578]

Very north west UK .

I remember when i first moved to London in the early eighties , i went to my local bakers shop and in my strong northern accent asked the lady for half a dozen balm cakes and she said " you'll have to go to the chemist shop for that stuff love ". very funny .

 

PS.......Happy birthday Jacko......

Baps then, or maybe a stottie cake in the NE.

But I was playing with the 'balmy' double entendre'. I will be over there myself soon.

Many thanks for the good wishes.

Edited June 6, 2013 by jacko

[jacko 8,578]

Holiday back in the balmy UK has been great........But....

 

Roasts, curries, Chinese take-aways, English breakfasts, (with pampered pig bacon), fish an' chips............Chocolate digestives, toasted buns, pate, mature cheddars, kettle crisps..........Doom Da and Rebellion bitters........ No exercise or sex has taken it's toll............ 3 Kgs more round the belly

 

My first month back will be spent living in Pupen and the likes, living on boiled fish and papaya bok-bok just to get back to the point where I thought I was a bit overweight!

Well I am expecting the good weather to disintegrate when I arrive in a few weeks, it absolutely never-ever is good weather when I am there!

[Evil Penevil 7,609]

An update on Pupen:

I've been there a number of times since the OP, but the opportunity to experience a sunset didn't present itself until yesterday. It wasn't a particularly impressive sunset, but certainly a nice backdrop to a good meal. We arrived at 6:00 p.m., so there was no problem in getting a seaside table.









Catching the sunset:





Pupen itself was much like always.









It's a good idea to get there earlier rather than later. After we'd ordered, we watched five tour buses arrive over the course of the next 90 minutes, including two giant double-decker coaches full of Thais. Arrive at Pupen at 8.30 p.m. or later and a lot of best items including crab, may have already been sold out.

Here's what we ordered for a table of five:

Grilled squid, one of my favorites:



Tom yum goong (hot and spicy shrimp soup):



Crab, fresh, succulent and very tasty:



Sweet-and-sour whole fish:





Prawns steamed in salt:





A coconut-based seafood stew:



Pork and fish ball soup:



Grilled whole fish:





The total cost for five people, including drinks, was 3,500 baht. About 2,800 was for the food, 600 for drinks and a 100-baht tip. The food is always good at Pupen, but to beat the tour groups, get there before 6.00 p.m.

 

It was interesting to see the carts selling mango and sticky rice as well as dried squid outside Pupen. They seemed to be doing quite a business.

 

 

 

 

Evil

Edited February 19, 2014 by Evil Penevil

[BigDUSA 71]

Excellent seafood.

[Gary 4,066]

The last time we went there with a friend and his Thai wife, the place was totally packed and a long waiting line. We decided not to wait and went back towards Jomtien and picked another sea food place. It wasn't bad but not nearly as good according to both our Thai wives.

 

That was the first time I have ever seen it totally filled and a waiting line. I don't know what the occasion was.

[kikc69 45]

Taking a baht bus from Pattaya does it go directly past the restaurant? If so how far along the road is the place?

[statman208 41]

The Thai lady that took me there said Pupen translated to "spicy crab". Not saying she is right, only that it is interesting Thais translate it differently.

[Evil Penevil 7,609]

 

That was the first time I have ever seen it totally filled and a waiting line. I don't know what the occasion was.

 

Busloads of Thai, other Asian and Russian tourists probably have the most to do with Pupen being full on occasion. The two giant buses I wrote about in my update disgorged a total of about 150 people. Even without the tour buses it can get pretty busy on weekends and Thai holidays.

 

The Thai lady that took me there said Pupen translated to "spicy crab". Not saying she is right, only that it is interesting Thais translate it differently.

 

I heard it meant "live crab." The story was that back in the earliest days, when Pupen consisted of two or three fold-away tables, the old man who did the cooking kept the crabs alive in baskets in the sea. He'd haul in a basket as needed.

 

Evil

[jacko 8,578]

'Live crab' works better.

Edited February 20, 2014 by jacko

[Evil Penevil 7,609]

Taking a baht bus from Pattaya does it go directly past the restaurant? If so how far along the road is the place?

 

I don't think the regular baht buses run to Pupen, but I'm not sure where exactly on Jomtien Beach Road the final stop is. Probably you could give the driver some extra money to take you the final stretch. Usually there is a baht bus waiting outside Pupen that you can charter to get back to Pattaya. One night, when we'd gotten there late, there weren't any baht buses when we'd chek binned. We walked about 20 minutes north along Jomtien Beach Road until we could flag down a regular BB.

 

Evl

[papillon 695]

Not doubting the quality of the food nor the service or ambience but 2800 for five seems rather expensive to me.

 

Remember where you are.

[bigmick 839]

Not doubting the quality of the food nor the service or ambience but 2800 for five seems rather expensive to me.

 

Remember where you are.

 

Im not having a pop at you Papps, but this clearly shows you have not been to Thailand for a long time. Things like food, fuel, beer etc have gone up a lot in price over the last 18 months. This price EP quoted for what he and his friends had is reasonable.

[papillon 695]

bigmick, on 20 Feb 2014 - 12:51 AM, said:

 

Im not having a pop at you Papps, but this clearly shows you have not been to Thailand for a long time. Things like food, fuel, beer etc have gone up a lot in price over the last 18 months. This price EP quoted for what he and his friends had is reasonable.

 

I've made no secret of the fact that I haven't been to Pattaya for nearly two years now. You are there and I am not. I hear what you say regarding increase in prices and I believe what you say, however it still seems expensive to me.

 

Five Tour Buses indicates to me that it might well be so.

 

I've never been a Foodie especially a lover of sea food but I imagine a couple of fish, five crabs, a couple of plates of Prawns and some soup ingredients could be had elsewhere for far less than 2800 Baht.

 

I'm sure you know of such places?

 

Where do normal Thais eat simple food like that in simple places like that and how much does it cost?