Cafe Pantai is a Thai and Malay eatery tucked away in the Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel in Glenelg. The signage isn’t great and it’s not the easiest place to find, but if you walk along the beach side entrance of the hotel, it’s the first place on the right as you go through the revolving doors. Unlike normal places, this venue is literally open plan with one of it’s main walls missing. With no specific entrance, entry is via the dining area that directly connects to the central passage way.

The decor is a combination of modern and traditional. The straw mats that hang over the ceiling and the bamboo patterned wallpaper on the feature wall give this place an authentic feel, while the modern light fittings and furnishings, and the earth colour tones, add elegance to the venue. The place itself is deceptively large as it can easily cater for over 100 people.

Tonight, we ordered the banquet. For $34.90, you get 3 entrees and 4 mains which can continuously be reordered until everyone is satisfied. There was an optional 5th seafood main, however that incurred an extra $5 per person. Service was pretty quick as the entrees came out 10 minutes after ordering. The mains all came out 10 minutes later, and not long after each subsequent round was ordered.

We started off with the Spring Rolls which were freshly deep fried and piping hot. The pastry skin wasn’t perfect in presentation with the appearance a little bit wrinkly. This indicates either the spring roll skin was damp at the time of making or the quality of spring roll skin was substandard. The vegetable filling was soft and moist, although I did think the spring rolls were a bit oily.

The Fish Cakes were small in size and well cooked. The texture was firm and the fish was well marinated. I particularly liked the subtle hint of lemongrass in the dish.

The Chicken Satay was made from lean portions of chicken breast fillets. The meat was dry and over cooked, but the delicious crunchy satay sauce made up for it.

The first main was the Mussaman Lamb. The lamb was lean and tender, and was cooked until the meat simply fell apart when touched. There was a beautiful tinge of pink as you broke the meat apart. I felt the dish was a bit bland and possibly could have used a bit more salt. The potatoes were a bit firm and tasted like that hadn’t had time to marinate in the juices of the curry.

The Thai Green Chicken Curry was fairly standard. Chicken breast fillets were used and they were tender and succulent. The bamboo shoots had a nice firmness about them and the flavours were spot on.

The Pad Thai was the highlight of the night. The noodles were firm and well cooked. The vegetables were fresh with the bean sprouts and peanuts adding a nice crunchy texture. Chicken breast was used as the main protein, and each morsel was tender and succulent. I did come across the occasional piece of squid, however, the one that I ate was over cooked. The flavours were spot on, however, the colour of the dish lacked the reddish tinge I usually expect.

The Chilli Basil Beef wasn’t too bad. The beef was lean and tender. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, and you could taste the strong hint of basil throughout. I’m not a fan of too much basil, but I acknowledge this dish was well executed.

One of my friends has the Cashew Chicken. She said the dish tasted bland and didn’t finish it.

The staff were really friendly and attentive whenever they had the chance. It was a busy Saturday night and you could see that everyone was busy. The atmosphere was relaxed with gorgeous views of the sea just outside the building. The pricing is fair considering what some of the neighbouring restaurants charge for their meals. It was also on par with other Thai restaurants.

Personally, I thought the meals here were hit and miss. Not the worst Thai food I’ve ever had, but not the worse either.

WHERE: Oaks Plaza Pier Hotel, 18 Holdfast Promenade, Glenelg