Quality Western restaurant in Udon

The title is a little misleading because in my veiw there is not one decent restaurant here.
There are more than enough cheap ones, but I can't think of a single one that would survive in Pattaya or Bangkok.
Maybe there just isn't the sufficient market opportunity here, its possible that the western population here just won't pay a sensible price for reasonable quality and well presented food, of the style that one is able to get at almost any Western restauant in the bigger centres.

The only one that ever came up to a good standard was Mojos when it was owned by Alan. He actually had some excellent offerings away from the, boring old basic standbys, soup kitchen food, that are on the menus here.
I could start one myself but don't really know wether I have the enthusiam at my age to get back into it again, so in the meantime feed myself and the family with my own cooking.
Do you guys think that there is enough support and interest in a reasonable operation? as I have one my ex employees from a Melbourne Cafe I owned, busting to get to Thailand.

Have you excluded Best Everything?

fat in my opinion it tough business to get started and hopefully look forward to making a profit
finding the food is tough and cooking is also tough to get a thai cook to listen to you and finding a cook is also tough you know the joke is spitzers pizza in carrfour Pattaya makes a better pizza than any place in udon and it a big slice for 45 baht I eat 3 of them and I am filled I can eat 3 whole pies in udon and walk away still hungry and they want 250 baht for a pizza what a fu-cking joke
as for mojo they are not bad & he is trying hard to please every one. I give him a A

Jack, Yes, tried everywhere and agree with you that Good everything is the best there is, problem its small and the times I have been there hard to get a table for the family.

Aznyron, I wouldn't employ a Thai cook unless they had lived and had experience overseas, been there and done that, it doesn't work, well for long anyway.
Agree on the pizza

I have been living in Pattaya for some time now ( Eddy, I hope you didn't include me in that posting about Pattaya Boys ) anyway back to topic. When I visit my wifes village we stumbled upon Nongs Ribs. Finest steaks in Thailand IMO, my friend Jim always swears by their ribs. Our Thai wives loved everything ( Thai of course) Steaks & Ribs, how much more Western can you get? Also tried their Shrimp Scampi ( excellent ) and Jim had their Chicken Cacciatore, also excellent. Haven,t been there since Nong and Eddy sold but have been keeping up on the forum postings, seems as though the new guy, Glen is doing a fine job. We will be up in the next month or so and will be going back to the FINEST WESTERN FOOD in UDON, NONG'S RIBS

BEST TO ALL
john s

irish clock / harrys bar / and dieters
when you try these you will see why enjoy your stay

FatB, what would be your ideal western restuarant style(to have in udon) and what would they be serving also price range..?
Don't think there are enough customers(at the moment,but figures will rise).

Got to agree about Mojo's food when Alan had it.
That breakfast he used to serve up was superb.
It was a shame Alan lost his enthusiasm, as we can now see, with a little application Mojo's has been turned around.

If I was thinking about opening a fine dining restaurant, in Udon Thani I would do some research first.
Start by working out what sort of customer you want.
Who do you appeal to?
Find out the best location, and convenience to potential customers.
Given your concept, what food and service do people expect?
Determine the type of style and efficiency of service YOU would expect.
Find out is there a gap in the market for this type of restaurant in Udon Thani.

"You can please some of the people some of the time and most of the people most of the time, but, you can't please all the people all the time". Don't know who first said it.

I guess my point is, I could bend your ear for a hour or two about what I'd like to see here in Udon and my guess is so could a lot of other people. But could you find ten people to all agree on the same things?

One thing I'd like to see is food prepared and cooked in a more health conscious way.
No, I don't mean health food, but food with low fat, low sodium, no MSG, etc.

Fatbas***d, like you, I cook most of my own farang food.

stickyfingers wrote:I have been living in Pattaya for some time now ( Eddy, I hope you didn't include me in that posting about Pattaya Boys ) anyway back to topic. When I visit my wifes village we stumbled upon Nongs Ribs. Finest steaks in Thailand IMO, my friend Jim always swears by their ribs. Our Thai wives loved everything ( Thai of course) Steaks & Ribs, how much more Western can you get? Also tried their Shrimp Scampi ( excellent ) and Jim had their Chicken Cacciatore, also excellent. Haven,t been there since Nong and Eddy sold but have been keeping up on the forum postings, seems as though the new guy, Glen is doing a fine job. We will be up in the next month or so and will be going back to the FINEST WESTERN FOOD in UDON, NONG'S RIBS

BEST TO ALL
john s

i certainly agree with you on that one about nongs.
but in the past i have also been to pattaya and some of the restaurants there, i would not even let my dog eat from there.
there are some great places to eat in udon you just got to go out there and try some of them.

I've tried every so called Western type of restaurant here at least once, and once was enough, in most cases. Maybe I'll do it inebriated the next time around. Service is always nominal at best and even had to wait an hour once, only once, the worst ever to get my order correct after 4 tries. I do give kudos for the guys that are trying, because it is not an easy biz here, nor in their home countries. They do try.

On a positive note I do hope it gets better. I would like to see at least some 1-5 star rating system posted for the establishments here in Udon. It would save me some cash, head aches, and some unpleasant bowl movements. Of course it could be the beers that give me the quite fiercely wind at times, but the kids love it. Pull my finger.

Close, only counts in hand grenades, claymores, and nuclear weapons. Nuff said.

stickyfingers wrote:I have been living in Pattaya for some time now ( Eddy, I hope you didn't include me in that posting about Pattaya Boys ) anyway back to topic. When I visit my wifes village we stumbled upon Nongs Ribs. Finest steaks in Thailand IMO, my friend Jim always swears by their ribs. Our Thai wives loved everything ( Thai of course) Steaks & Ribs, how much more Western can you get? Also tried their Shrimp Scampi ( excellent ) and Jim had their Chicken Cacciatore, also excellent. Haven,t been there since Nong and Eddy sold but have been keeping up on the forum postings, seems as though the new guy, Glen is doing a fine job. We will be up in the next month or so and will be going back to the FINEST WESTERN FOOD in UDON, NONG'S RIBS

BEST TO ALL
john s

after going to nongs and eating undercooked pizza i doubt i would advise anybody to go there the pepole there are fine and friendley but this hype
about the food well its a little much
reports about the xmas lunch are not good glad i missed it and went to the irish clock the place is buzzing they dont need to place countless posts about there food to draw in the punters neither does harrys our any of the other very good places to eat
really nongs i think is going more then a little over the top surely iam not the only user to have notiched this
iff you wont a very good pizza for less then 100 baht try deans place in bandung beats nongs hands down

hxjohn wrote:

stickyfingers wrote:I have been living in Pattaya for some time now ( Eddy, I hope you didn't include me in that posting about Pattaya Boys ) anyway back to topic. When I visit my wifes village we stumbled upon Nongs Ribs. Finest steaks in Thailand IMO, my friend Jim always swears by their ribs. Our Thai wives loved everything ( Thai of course) Steaks & Ribs, how much more Western can you get? Also tried their Shrimp Scampi ( excellent ) and Jim had their Chicken Cacciatore, also excellent. Haven,t been there since Nong and Eddy sold but have been keeping up on the forum postings, seems as though the new guy, Glen is doing a fine job. We will be up in the next month or so and will be going back to the FINEST WESTERN FOOD in UDON, NONG'S RIBS

BEST TO ALL
john s

after going to nongs and eating undercooked pizza i doubt i would advise anybody to go there the pepole there are fine and friendley but this hype
about the food well its a little much
reports about the xmas lunch are not good glad i missed it and went to the irish clock the place is buzzing they dont need to place countless posts about there food to draw in the punters neither does harrys our any of the other very good places to eat
really nongs i think is going more then a little over the top surely iam not the only user to have notiched this
iff you wont a very good pizza for less then 100 baht try deans place in bandung beats nongs hands down

can not talk against the pizza because i have never had them at nongs ,but i have had most of the other dishes there and found them great.and most of all good prices there to.
i also would reckonmend the food at irish clock to,there are many eataries in town which are good but it is each for them self to decide which one they like,each one of us has got different taste buds.

beer monkey wrote:FatB, what would be your ideal western restuarant style(to have in udon) and what would they be serving also price range..?
Don't think there are enough customers(at the moment,but figures will rise).

If I look at some examples, say Bourbon st Washington sq, Dubliner, Woodstock Thonglor, Barbican Silom, News cafe in Pattaya. all places with good value food, clean AC surroundings. Any of these places you can get a good two course meal for 500 to 800 baht each and its really good quality meal away from the usual stodge of Steak & kidney pudding, Shepards pie, fish & chips etc.
We would eat out at these places twice a week and for 4 of us (2 kids) it would rarely cost more than 2,500 baht incl a couple of beers. Thats good value eating in any ones country.
There may be enough customers if people like myself who can't find anything worth going out for locally would support a worthy place.
When I have visitors here to Udon, as I did last night, I entertain at home because (Irish clock & good everything excepted) I can't find anything I feel comfortable taking them to, and thats a pity.