Food Park at Central Festival (updated Dec. 17, 2019)

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

The Food Park on the lower level of Central Festival shopping mall on 2nd Road has been redone.  Whether it is an addition to the old Food Park or a replacement for it remains to be seen.

The new version is slicker, more comfortable and has a better layout than its hugely popular predecessor.  I took these photos at about 8.30 p.m. on Sunday, July 14.  The Food Park was busy, but there were plenty of seats available.  The old Food Park was often rammed, even in low season.

It's also more expensive.  I couldn't see any Thai dishes for 45-50 baht; the cheapest seemed to be 90 baht, but I read elsewhere there are 60 baht dishes.

The space that housed the old Food Park is still under wraps, but the ads that block off the construction indicate it will be food oriented. Maybe the old Food Park stalls with mediocre but very cheap food will return.

I haven't eaten yet at the new Food Park, so I can't comment on the quality of the food.

I'm not a fan of shopping mall food courts as better Thai food is available at the same low prices in any number of hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Pattaya.  However, I will eventually give the Food Park at Central Festival a try.

Just by way of comparison, this is what it used to look like at the old Food Park.

  It was packed every day with a mix of Thais, foreign tourists and resident ex-pats.

Evil

Edited December 17, 2019 by Evil Penevil

[biggles 509]

GF and I were regulars at the old park. Dropped in last week and surprised how small and expensive the new one is. As you say you can eat in a small local place for less, without the crowds. I won't hurry back 

[jacko 8,822]

The way I heard it the old place was to be closed for renovation and remodeling with an increase in size, and the  replacement at the other end of the Mall would be temporary. It would be surprising to have 2 places. I get the impression of a change in format in the slicker and more comfortable. I was wondering if there would be a change of focus, too and more representation of other oriental styles being introduced, ie Korean, Japanese and Malaysian, in a way copying the one in T21, and playing to the audience. Hardly surprising the improvements have come with an increase in prices, it was often busy and the opportunity to make more was there. The shopping part of the Mall I often found quiet. 

I expect it will do okay, despite better prices for Thai food being plentiful, being in the AC while eating is preferable. 

Great Report EP, was beginning to wonder where you were. 

Edited July 19, 2019 by jacko

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

57 minutes ago, jacko said:

The way I heard it the old place was to be closed for renovation and remodeling with an increase in size, and the  replacement at the other end of the Mall would be temporary. It would be surprising to have 2 places. I get the impression of a change in format in the slicker and more comfortable. I was wondering if there would be a change of focus, too and more representation of other oriental styles being introduced, ie Korean, Japanese and Malaysian, in a way copying the one in T21, and playing to the audience. Hardly surprising the improvements have come with an increase in prices, it was often busy and the opportunity to make more was there. The shopping part of the Mall I often found quiet. 

I expect it will do okay, despite better prices for Thai food being plentiful, being in the AC while eating is preferable. 

Great Report EP, was beginning to wonder where you were. 

Eating his way back to PT apparently. Agreed a good report.

BTW, is the food court above the Royal Garden Plaza still there? I used to enjoy the sunset with a meal up there.

[jacko 8,822]

1 hour ago, midlifecrisis said:

BTW, is the food court above the Royal Garden Plaza still there? I used to enjoy the sunset with a meal up there.

I haven't been up there for ages. I only pass through when traffic on Beach Rd is heavy, and I decide to get to Walking St via Second Rd. 

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

37 minutes ago, jacko said:

I haven't been up there for ages. I only pass through when traffic on Beach Rd is heavy, and I decide to get to Walking St via Second Rd. 

I will have to see for myself in a few months.

 

[jacko 8,822]

34 minutes ago, midlifecrisis said:

I will have to see for myself in a few months.

 

Well last time I was up there it was a pretty small and to be honest I thought it was at the Second Rd end, which would not make it correct for a sunset meal. Perhaps I should take a look Wednesday evening en-route to the PT crawl.

Edited July 20, 2019 by jacko

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

10 hours ago, jacko said:

Well last time I was up there it was a pretty small and to be honest I thought it was at the Second Rd end, which would not make it correct for a sunset meal. Perhaps I should take a look Wednesday evening en-route to the PT crawl.

Sounds like it was moved. It was up on the top floor Beach Rd side. It had a big outdoor balcony with seating inside as well. Lots of food choices.

[aj 62]

was at it in June and still there. beach road side only a few food places. looked like some new one were being built.

do not remember pricing.

[lounge_lizard 108]

19 hours ago, midlifecrisis said:

Eating his way back to PT apparently. Agreed a good report.

BTW, is the food court above the Royal Garden Plaza still there? I used to enjoy the sunset with a meal up there.

I ate there two weeks ago.

[jacko 8,822]

You see, I never know where I am. Sense of direction goes to pot. I always thought the fountain was at  one particular end and that  had moved .

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

1 hour ago, jacko said:

You see, I never know where I am. Sense of direction goes to pot. I always thought the fountain was at  one particular end and that  had moved .

How many countries and airports have you been to? And you found your way every time!

[Evil Penevil 7,628]

The food area of the basement level of Central Festival is now divided into three distinct components, plus new and old restaurants.

The three components are:

1)  Food Park, the heir of the original food court:

Food Park has been in operation since July and I described it in the OP.

2) A more upscale area called Beach Eats that been open a couple of weeks:

3)  A counter-service area that appears to be an extension of the supermarket, the Central Festival Food Hall:

In addition, there are several restaurants on the basement level:

Beach Eats has recently opened in the mid-section of the level.  It appears to be aimed at Thais and Asian tourists, with higher prices than usual for a food court.  I took the following pics at about 4.00 p.m. and as you can see, there weren't many customers.  That's certainly a  big difference from the pre-renovation days at the old Central Festival food court when it would be filled to the last seat much of the day.  This pic  gives an idea of how it used to be:

McDonalds, Burger King and KFC were  busy when I took these pics. They don't have many seats, so it's easy for them to fill up. The other restaurants outside the food courts had no cutomers at all.

Gotta love plastic models of food.  

 

The Food Court is next to McDonalds at the Beach Road end of the level.  It also had few customers.

A number of spaces intended for restaurants remained unused.

De Tummour is a national chain of Thai Isaan restaurants with an emphasisi on somtam and other spicy dishes. It should be popular among Pattaya's bar girls but I doubt it will have broad appeal among tourists.

Bottom line:  The renovated food courts at Central Festival seem to have bet heavily on attracting Thais and Asians as their predominant customer base.  So far it doesn't seem to be working out for them.

I wasn't inspired to eat at any of the food court variations and went with the new Ramen Ippudo restaurant.

You can read my review of Ippudo in this section.

Evil