I was recently persuaded to go back to the Momento restaurant at the Cocco Resort (not to be confused with the one by the same name at the Bonkai resort), tucked away at the bottom of Thapraya Soi 15, the road that runs down along the side of Mata Hari restaurant.
After hearing so many rave reviews I was bitterly disappointed some three months ago. However, to be fair, I gave it another try last week. I have no plans to return a third time.
This poolside outdoor restaurant is the heart of the Cocco resort. It appears that the management and clientèle are French, and there is a distinct “Frenchness” stamped on the whole thing. While this may work for some, I found it less than attractive. I was surrounded by heavy smokers in the minimum of poolside clothing with a clear view over to a portly, near-naked man being massaged. Ummm.
Having squeezed past the drinkers in the bar area, we were directed to a table alongside the pool and in the middle of the access walkway to many guest rooms. I found the ordering process unpleasant as it was made very clear that the preferred language was French. A notion that I am not entirely happy with, given that we are in Thailand. The request for our party of five to have separate bills produced an unpleasant tantrum from La Madame. Be careful.
Momento has a reputation for serving very large appetizers and when they eventually arrived, yes, they were huge. My Carpaccio of Salmon covered one of the largest dinner plates I have ever seen, thus slightly missing the point of a starter, in my opinion. Wonderful value for only 180B but rather flavourless and somewhat boring towards the end. There was another long wait for the main courses which arrived before our starters plates were cleared. My Beef Tenderloin was spectacular. Tender, moist, flavoursome and attractively presented. What a pity the french fries were forgotten, arriving cold as the last mouthful of meat was savoured. By this time it was heading past my normal bedtime so I for one could not face the battle to order and wait for a dessert, which surely would have eventually arrived on a platter big enough to double as a parasol in the Midi.
It is very strange that the Momento is one of these places that you either love or hate. Despite their stunning steak, I will opt to spend my hard earned cash elsewhere and enjoy equally good food but with a friendlier welcome and far better service.
