Seafood BBQ Buffet at Hotel Mercure (update June 3, 2015)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I tried the seafood BBQ buffet at the Hotel Mercure. It's a once a week event, only on Saturday nights. It cost 600 baht per person for an extensive buffet of seafood and non-seafood items. It's very pleasant to sit by the pool and dine on a cool night.

The seafood part included grilled-to-order river prawns, rock lobtsers and crabs as well as raw oysters, steamed mussels, Swedish-style cured salmon (gravlax), "seafood salads and fish dishes.

There plenty of other main dishes besides seafood, including beef, chicken and baked ham; sides with potatoes and pasta in several forms; about 10 different Thai dishes and three or four different soups. There was an extensive appetizer station with prepared salads and "make-it-yourself" ingredients and antipasto, cheeses and breads. The buffet also featured farang-style desserts and a lot of fresh fruit.

It was definitely a seafood-lover's paradise. I can't eat much shellfish because my system doesn't tolerate it well but my companion was hugely pleased she could eat as many oysters as she wanted, same-same with crab and river prawns. However her efforts were modest compared to some people I saw there who ate oysters by the dozen. One guy loaded a plate with more than half of the slices of gravlax on the serving tray. He took the portion marked by the green arrow on the tray. This happened just a few minutes after the buffet opened.

The positive thing was the staff kept re-filling the trays and bowls of the popular items. They didn't run out of anything, at least while we were there.

We timed our arrival for the start of the buffet at 6.30 pm, which was a good thing. We got the pick of the dishes while they were still fresh and relatively unmangled. At about 7.30 pm two bus loads of Chinese tourists arrived and swept over the buffet like a swarm of army ants, devouring everything in sight. We were already on dessert by then so it didn't matter. But I sure wouldn't want to have walked in after them.

A couple of the side dishes- baked marcaroni and the potato salad- were delicious, as was the baked ham.

The spare ribs were good but the beef and chicken so-so. The Thai food was very good, too. Since I don't eat that much seafood, I had a lot of small portions of the other offerings. I plan on trying the Mercure's "ordinary" BBQ on Friday night in hopes the side dishes hold the same quality as on Saturday.

I would definitely return to the seafood buffet with a Thai lady who enjoys seafood but it doesn't make much sense for me to go on my own. Drinks were modrately priced for a hotel with a bottle of SIngha 80 baht. The Mercure is located on Soi 15 between Soi Bukhao and 2nd Road, a stone's throw from the backside of the Avenue Mall and next door to the Pattaya Bay Resort.

Evil

Edited June 3, 2015 by Evil Penevil

[ZARIS 20]

Looks excellent. Bit of a bargain @ 600bt.

 

Thanks for posting.

[aussiechic 209]

Yes that's a good price looks good, look forward to the report on the BBQ.

[jimmac 66]

Thanks for the review. Great pics. Did the oysters have the desired effect on your lady friend?

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

Looks good.

[bigbadbaz 69]

The Mercure is the hotel I stay in on my visits to Patts. It's 18 months since I was there but I'm sure there was also a 'meat BBQ' on another night possibly Weds or Thurs, another massive spread and very tasty.

[Patna 3,802]

Looks fantastic. Guess that will be my destination next Saturday.

[jacko 8,813]

Looks fantastic. Guess that will be my destination next Saturday.

Yeah, we get the leftovers at the Expats Club breakfast the next morning!

[Gonzo 419]

Yeah, we get the leftovers at the Expats Club breakfast the next morning!

Good picture report by Patna as usual. The leftovers at the Expats Club are not exactly my favourite breakfast. I might take the TGF to the seafood buffet when we return to Thailand in October from Oz. A similar buffet over here would cost at least three times as much.

[MM 6,562]

Good picture report by Patna Evil Penevil as usual. The leftovers at the Expats Club are not exactly my favourite breakfast. I might take the TGF to the seafood buffet when we return to Thailand in October from Oz. A similar buffet over here would cost at least three times as much.

 

Made a small correction above.

[MM 6,562]

I'll be going there tonight! Thanks for the report, Evil.

 

Anyone else care to join?

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

I'll be going there tonight! Thanks for the report, Evil.

 

Anyone else care to join?

 

I would, but it's Coop's birthday party at the Chik N Coop Bar tonight. I don't want to miss out on his American food.

 

Evil

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

A quick update after having eaten four times at the Mercure Saturday seafood buffet. It's definitely a good idea to get there at 6.30 pm when the buffet opens. Last night I went with a friend and his companion at 8.00 pm and the buffet tables had just about been picked clean. I would have gone elsewhere, but my friend had promised his companion a seafood buffet and didn't want to disappoint her. He spoke with the Thai staff and they promised the serving platters would be refilled. We saw that some of the antipasta platters and the salad bar was being replenished, so we decided to take a chance.

 

After finishing our "starter plate," we saw there was still no seafood (oysters, crab, shrimp, clams, sushi, smoked salmon)on offer. At that point, my friend asked to speak to the manager, who turned out to be a young farang guy. My friend rather forcefully complained about the lack of the "good stuff" on the tables and how we had been promised the platters would be refilled. The manager apologized and did his magic in the kitchen. In a few minutes, all the food we'd asked for reappeared on the buffet in a quantity sufficient for three people.

 

The manager rectified the situation, but without his help, I doubt we would have gotten a good result. The non-seafood hot dishes had also been picked over and weren't replenished, but we didn't care so much because they weren't the buffet's main attraction. I also think the quality of the non-seafood hot food has slipped over the past two months.

 

All in all, the buffet remains decent value for money at 600 baht, but only if you partake heavily of the seafood.

 

Evil

[MeGoDanceNow 4,281]

Looks like a great feed and a bargain. I'll definitely hit it before the "group of asians" descends.

[flashkiwi 24]

Thanks, I will put that on my list for my March trip.

[Gabor 296]

Not cheap ( caaling it bargain is ridiculous ) at all to compare with thai foods, but still nice efforts and loook delicious... maybe worth a try...

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Along with some friends, I tried the Friday night "traditional" BB Q buffet at the Mercure.. The Saturday seafood buffet had ranged from OK to excellent and I was curious how the Friday buffet would stack up in comparison. The seafood buffet costs 599 baht (only Saturdays) and the Friday BBQ went for 300 baht, which turned out to be good value for money.

 

There was an impressive salad and "antipasto" table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outdoor BBQ section was set up in the same fashion as the Saturday seafood buffet, so i didn't take too many pics. You had a choice of Thai and farang warm dishes, plus BBQ meats (beef, pork, chicken, sausages).

 

 

 

The charcoal grilled Thai beef was surprisingly tender and full of flavor. The roast chicken was the real hit, juicy and very tasty.

 

 

 

The dessert section was also impressive:

 

 

 

 

The flan was particularly good:

 

 

 

My friend really enjoyed his banana pancake:

 

 

 

 

 

There weren't that many guests:

 

 

Bottom line: Definitely worth 300 baht. The salad tale and dessert section is what really makes this buffet. But like with every buffet, get there as close to opening time as possible. The Mercure buffets start at 6.30 p.m.

 

Evil

Edited June 2, 2015 by Evil Penevil

[yorta2 693]

Thanks again, Evil. Looks pretty good.

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

Thanks again, Evil. Looks pretty good.

 

Yes, it is pretty good. On the whole, the Mercure buffets offer a good choice of tasty dishes, even if each and every one of them doesn't exactly scale culinary heights. q

 

The problem with most of the 199-baht (or cheaper) buffets in Pattaya is that the food is terrible. A lot of inedible food isn't at a buffet isn't value for money but quite the opposite. It's better to pay a bit more and get food you're happy to be eating.

 

Evil

Edited June 3, 2015 by Evil Penevil

[indian_reviewer 0]

thanks evil. i have always read ur threads and they have been very infomative with pics , helps guys like me find and explore new places .

 

THANKS again