Kodtalay Seafood Buffet Sukhumvit — Restaurant in Bang Na Nuea Subdistrict

Edit: Came here second time and while I enjoyed the food again, unethical practice.

Their prawns (one of their highlights) was finished at 730pm. This is less than halfway and they stopped serving. Asked a staff after 30 minutes of waiting, he said there isnt any left.

I just wished they dont opt for such practices, not refilling the better selection - doesnt feel like a proper buffet.

Soooo, just come early at 5

Vermicelli was amazing though

Did I beat the buffet #4 (Overseas edition)

Came at around 6pm to a steady stream of people, and with many around. This is a well-known buffet with the most common option being 499 baht, and 49 baht for refillable drinks.

Upon entering, I told the guy I didnt want drinks. Unfortunately, he refused. I also need to mention that because I'm a foreigner, personally I found the buffet quite hard to get used to (what can I take, what can I not take) because the staff cannot speak English.

While I am okay with that, I personally found the staff to be upselling. It does not make sense to must have refillable drinks. If so they should just put it at 548baht.

Yet, a small issue. When I went in, everything changes. I must say that selection wise it may not be entirely massive. Definitely substantial. But, I must say that are certain winners that you can keep going back for. Like the boiled prawns.

My gosh, the prawns itself would make this worth. Succulent and juicy, personally I recommending just smashing this and ignoring the grilled prawns. So delicious.

Other ones that were quute nice were the skewers and grilled bacon wraps. I found the crabs and scallops quite chewy and stringy the meat, personally would opt out. They also had river prawns which were knocked out cold (no pun) on ice, but you can transfer them to oxygenated water so they could swim in tanks around your table. Honestly just a visual attraction cause does not make sense to have the river prawns alive just to cook them. Also werent that delicious.

Lastly, I must say that they sat me furthest away which were very close to the mega fabns. While cooling, my fire became very aggressive and the wind even blew tongs. Empty cups or aluminium foil would also fly. This kind of dampened the experience a bit.

Ended with a nice cendol dessert.

Overall, for the price (and the...

499 Baht per adult. Extra 49 Baht for refillable drinks, fruits and desserts. This is the nett price (inclusive of tax).

799 Baht per adult, if you want to include sashimi. Extra 49 Baht for refillable drinks, fruits and desserts. This is the nett price (inclusive of tax).

CHARCOAL GRILL

Charcoal grill on table for you to cook your food.

No hotpot for boiling seafood.

You can ask the staff to change the charcoal when the heat is too low.

FOOD SELECTION

Food available for 499 Baht: Selection of raw seafood for grilling Live crabs and prawns also available for grilling Marinated raw salmon, peeled prawns and crabs for raw consumption Selection of cooked food available

There are tanks with live crabs and prawns next to the tables. You can use a tong to pick them up and grill them on your table.

The crabs were small and did not contain a lot of meat.

DINING ENVIRONMENT

Open air. Not air-conditioned.

With the charcoal grill on the table, it can be quite warm. There may be quite a bit of smoke when you grill food.

If you are not used to the heat and smoke, you may feel uncomfortable and your dining experience may not be enjoyable.

If you don't like getting your hands dirty (de-shelling the prawns and other seafood), this place is not for you.

TASTE

The seafood looked fresh. Maybe because they are fresh water seafood (that is, not from salt-water), they tasted bland without dipping sauce.

Even the live prawns were bland.

The cooked food were average.

Recommend you get the dipping sauces (from inside - near the sashimi section).

BEST TIME TO ARRIVE

The restaurant opens at 5pm but there was a queue about 30 minutes before 5pm. A queue number is given to each group customers.

When the restaurant opens, the staff will call each number in sequence to sit them at a table.

When we were eating, there was a long queue of customers sitting outside patiently waiting for their turn, as the restaurant was full. The wait can be 1 hour or longer.

Recommend to arrive before 5pm.

PAYMENT

Pay when you are ready to leave. Ask for any staff to settle your bill.

Cash and electronic transfer payment available.

Credit card payment incurs additional...

Now I understand why it's the no 1 buffet in Bangkok. The basic option thb499 is already so much food and luckily we did not take the premium thb799 one. The big head river is at the tank just next to you and you will claw the jumping prawn before dumping them into the ice buckets provided before you bbq them. Caution not to bbq them direct from the tank as they will jump off the stove n it will be messy. There are tanks of fresh crab also and should get them first, as they are not refilled. For thb49, you get unlimited soft n fruit drinks. There is no ++ and the bill is thb499 add 49 for drinks.

The food is all fresh and after a day of eating, stomach ok. There are raw marinated mantis shrimp which is a must try. Bbq the horseshoe crab till you hear popping sound (which is the roe explodng), and eat only the roe. it's recommended to overcook the horseshoe crab as they can be toxic if undercook.

Other nice food include oysters, bbq meat, sushi, shisamo, at least 4 different kinds of crabs, and many more.

It opens at 5pm and you should be there at 430pm to take a number, to ensure you get the seats Queue forms early. If you missed the first batch, be warned that u gotta wait a long while, as there is NO time limit for the bbq. And there are people who eats until it closes. (I ate for 3 hrs).

Alcohol is not worth as big bottle LEO beer cost a stunning thb320. Strange, still got people drink.

Service also very good n systematic and u have free ice water while waiting for restaurant to open. Staff comes frequently top up the river big head prawn into tank and also clear your table.

One of best buffet...