Good Fellows Cafe — Restaurant in Rawai

Good Fellows are what the Owner or Manager did not show himself to be. It was not my first time at this place, the first time I was looking for a place to study my business, I found the yellow place, friendly, open with fans, and 2 Thai attendants who had good energy, I ate there and liked it, 2 days later I decided to change the environment of my house again and go to that friendly place with friendly Thais, ironically my course is to help stressed people to be more relaxed and pleasant with others. Until, I was writing in my notebook and a man appeared, wearing a white shirt and I think white shorts too, I don't remember, but he was dressed peacefully, but he asked me in a serious tone:

"Do you want to order something"? I replied with a smile, "Not now, thank you," and he said, "You've been here for 2 hours." I asked if there was a problem. He said yes, that it wasn't a Co-Work. I looked around the restaurant. There WAS NOT A LIVING SOUL THERE, not a single customer. During the time I was there (which he had timed), since I hadn't even noticed the time passing, I think 1 person came in to order something and left, and 1 person went to the bathroom. I was surprised by his approach. It seemed like he wanted to get me out of there urgently, and so I did as he asked. And I don't like cigarettes. He had already walked past the restaurant smoking, but since it was an open space and I had the fan on me, I didn't mind that much. Oh! He even said that I had brought things from outside there. Maybe he was judging me in advance, thinking for some reason that I didn't have money, color, or clothing. I'll never know... I looked at my table and it was because of the plastic bottle of water that was inside my bag, which had about 5 fingers of water, that I left that magnificent place, saying very calmly that I will not return there, and neither will anyone else who is with me, and so be it. *Oh, what I ordered there, a shrimp Pad Thai, a Coca-Cola Zero and a spring roll. What do you think? I leave my tip for restaurantS owners or managers, "throw away" your customers with class, show the rules wisely, that way the customer does not get offended and you gain a loyal customer, and smile, you are in Thailand and other people are not to blame if your day or your life is good or not, especially when the place needs customers and the customers need a good place to feel good. My experience Bruna França

EDIT (in response to the owner's reply):

*Hi, thank you for your reply. I’d like to clarify a few things... It wasn’t “a couple of days”. I had only been there once before. I didn’t know there was a minimum order or time limit. I ordered a main dish and, as time passed (more than I expected, actually), I eventually ordered a snack as well.

I wasn’t relying on the Wi-Fi, I have a good internet where I stay, and I was mostly writing with pen and paper. If I had come with the intention to work or stay long for that purpose, I would’ve brought my laptop instead.

I do apologize if my response came across as defensive. I was surprised by the way it was said, after I answered “not now, thank you,” I heard “you’ve been here for over two hours.” That’s when I reacted. If that had been expressed differently, I probably would have stayed a little longer and ordered a dessert, which was on my mind after I finished the thoughts I was writing down.

Regarding the water — I’d like to reassure you that no rule was broken. I had a Coke, served in a can with ice in a glass. I drank the Coke, left the glass aside, and the ice simply melted. The plastic bottle you saw was closed and partially inside my bag.

I now understand your concerns and, of course, every place has its policies. Perhaps clearer signage would help others who come with similar expectations(don't stay too long. no tablets or laptop)

In any case, the situation is resolved, I won’t return. Thank you again for the experience, it brought me some important...

I was personally asked to leave by the owner of this restaurant yesterday because I parked my motorcycle next to the restaurant and returned from jogging. The owner didn’t even ask if I was a customer. When I explained to him that I am a customer and that I like his restaurant, he didn’t even ask the staff to verify my statement. He simply said that I should leave and that I’m no longer allowed to park there. It was allready after 6pm and not even one guest was there.

So, keep in mind, if you don’t want to have issues with the owner, avoid going to this restaurant. It’s not worth it, as customers only face problems here.

Here’s a revised version of your response that emphasizes your perspective politely but firmly:

Dear Owner

Thank you for your reply, but I must disagree with your version of events. When I parked my motorcycle, the restaurant was completely empty, as it always seems to be around 6pm. There were no other customers, and I wasn’t taking up a space that anyone needed.

In Thailand, it’s common for customers—especially those who have supported a business in the past—to be treated with respect and understanding. I’ve been a loyal customer and have always enjoyed your café, but the way I was addressed felt unnecessary and dismissive.

I hope this feedback helps improve how you interact with customers in the future, as small gestures of kindness and flexibility can go a long...

Unfortunately very underwhelming and expensive (for the quality you get). The service is okay, very friendly waiters who are attentive and patient, however the food was really disappointing.

We ordered a rice salad and baguette with cheese, egg, and a side salad. While all the food was entirely edible, it was very bland and not at all fresh. The boiled egg we got had clearly been sitting out for a while as the yolk was grey, and the ‘side salad’ was more of a garnish - a few sprouts and one cherry tomato. This in itself is okay, but not when you pay a decent amount expecting fresh food. The rice salad was similarly disappointing - oily, flavourless, and just very average. Once again, all the food was edible (and we did eat it - after all, we paid for it), but just left us feeling unsatisfied.

The owner also smoked at the bar (near the kitchen and behind all the tables) which doesn’t seem like the best practice when around food. Note: you also cannot bring outside drinks. We had our reusable water bottles and were told we could not drink from them in the cafe - seems a bit unreasonable seeing as it is just water and you do not get any...