PIC Kitchen

PIC Kitchen is one of Pattaya's longest-running Thai restaurant institutions - founded in 1985 with award-winning recognition over its 40-year operation. Located on Second Road, Soi 5 in North Pattaya behind the Pattaya International Hospital, the restaurant occupies a teakwood Thai-style sala compound with a famous garden featuring the Jazz Tree - a tree with a 4.9-meter circumference around which the restaurant has built its outdoor seating. Diners choose between traditional Thai cushion-on-the-floor seating or Western tables. The classical Thai menu has been refined over decades; the staff is known for high hospitality standards. Lunch is busy with hospital staff; dinner is the tourist and expat scene.

Our take

PIC Kitchen has been serving Pattaya for over 40 years - founded in 1985 - making it one of the city's longest-tenured Thai restaurant institutions. The location is specific: Second Road, Soi 5, in North Pattaya, directly behind Pattaya International Hospital. This positioning has shaped the restaurant's clientele in interesting ways - lunchtime is heavily populated by hospital staff (doctors, nurses, administrators) who've made PIC their daily lunch destination over years; dinner shifts to the tourist and expat scene with tour groups and individuals seeking the 'authentic Thai dining experience' the restaurant explicitly markets. The compound is a teakwood Thai sala complex - traditional pavilion-style structures connected by wooden walkways, with both indoor air-conditioned dining and outdoor garden seating under the trees. The garden's most famous feature - and one of the restaurant's most distinctive aspects - is the Jazz Tree: a tree in the garden behind the restaurant with a circumference of 4.9 meters. The tree predates the restaurant and the seating area was designed around it, with tables positioned to allow diners to eat under and around its canopy. The seating choice is itself part of the experience: traditional Thai cushion-on-the-floor seating in the salas (the more atmospheric option but less comfortable for Western backs over a 2-hour meal), or Western-style tables (the practical option for guests with back issues or knee problems). The menu is classical Thai - massaman curry, green curry, tom yum, pomelo salad, deep-fried whole sea bass with three-flavor sauce, pandan-wrapped chicken, pad thai, mango sticky rice. The food quality is genuinely good rather than transcendent - the kitchen has consistency from 40 years of operation, and specific dishes have been on the menu since opening. The restaurant has won several awards over its run; reviews consistently praise the hospitality of the staff. The Jazz Tree garden is the photo-and-atmosphere highlight; the cushion seating is the cultural-experience option; the food is solid Thai-classical. Pricing is mid-tier value - 500-1,200 THB per person for a full meal with drinks. The Pattaya International Hospital location adds practical context: if you're staying anywhere central Pattaya you can taxi to PIC in 5-10 minutes; the songthaew baht bus runs along Second Road past Soi 5 for 10 THB. PIC Kitchen is a Pattaya tourist must-do for the authentic Thai dining atmosphere with the Jazz Tree as its photogenic anchor - 40 years of operation backs up the claim.

The atmosphere

The compound is the experience. You enter through gates into a tropical garden of mature trees - the famous Jazz Tree (4.9-meter circumference) being the centerpiece - with raised teakwood Thai-style salas (traditional pavilions on stilts) connecting via wooden walkways. The salas are open-air with bug screens and ceiling fans rather than full air-conditioning - the design is traditional Thai, not modern Western. Indoor air-conditioned dining is also available in a separate dining room for guests preferring climate control. Lighting is deliberately warm and yellow - lanterns hung from sala beams, candles on individual tables, garden lights illuminating the Jazz Tree's canopy from below. The sound design is distinctive: live jazz Friday-Saturday evenings (the Jazz Tree's name doubles as a reference to the music program) at moderate volume, ambient quiet other nights, occasional distant traffic from Second Road. The smell signature is unmistakable Thai cuisine: charcoal grill, kaffir lime, lemongrass, fish sauce, coconut milk, Thai basil. Tables are spaced for privacy; the cushion-seating salas accommodate groups of 4-8 around low tables. The clientele creates the atmosphere: hospital staff at lunch (doctors and nurses in business-casual attire), tourists and expat regulars at dinner (more diverse groups), occasional Bangkok weekenders specifically making the trip. Pace is leisurely Thai-style - 2-3 hour meals are normal. The Jazz Tree is the photo opportunity that defines the visit; the cushion seating is the cultural-experience option; the indoor air-conditioned dining is the comfort option.

What to expect

Arrival: drive to Second Road, Soi 5, North Pattaya - behind Pattaya International Hospital. Park on Soi 5 or in the dedicated lot. Walk through the entrance into the compound. The host (often Thai or Thai-Western) greets you and asks: cushion-on-the-floor seating in the salas (more atmospheric) or Western tables (more comfortable for Western backs)? Bilingual menu (English-Thai) is brought immediately. Order pace: drinks within 5 minutes; appetizers within 12-15 minutes; mains within 18-25 minutes. Sharing is the norm for Thai tradition - typical 4-person table orders 4-6 dishes plus rice. Allow 2-3 hours for a full meal. Bills paid at the table. Pace deliberately unhurried.

Menu highlights

Is it worth the price?

PIC Kitchen is mid-tier value Thai. Most mains 280-580 THB; soups 220-380; deep-fried whole sea bass 580-780; pad thai 220-280; rice 60-100; desserts 140-220. Per-person cost: 500-1,200 THB for a full meal with drinks. Compared to street-food Thai (50-150 THB per dish), PIC is significantly more expensive but provides the restaurant atmosphere and consistency. Compared to upscale Thai (Sugar Hut 800-1,800 THB per person, Cabbages & Condoms 800-1,800), PIC is more accessibly priced. Compared to hotel Thai restaurants, PIC is fairer pricing. Worth the price for the Jazz Tree garden experience and 40-year institution status.

The story

PIC Kitchen opened in 1985 in the North Pattaya area behind what would become Pattaya International Hospital. The teakwood Thai sala compound design has been continuous - original construction. The Jazz Tree (4.9-meter circumference) predates the restaurant and the garden seating area was designed around it. Live jazz programming on Friday-Saturday evenings has been a long-running tradition. The restaurant has won several awards over its 40-year run. Survived multiple Thai economic and political downturns including the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global crisis, the 2014 political instability, and the 2020-2022 COVID-19 closures - reopening to full operation in 2022.

The chef & ownership

PIC Kitchen has been operated by long-tenured Thai owner-operators since opening in 1985. The kitchen team includes specialists in classical Thai cooking - tom yum and curry preparations, Thai pasta and noodle dishes, traditional dessert work. Specific signature dishes have been on the menu since opening. The 40-year operational continuity means refined consistency rather than experimental innovation.

Getting there

Second Road, Soi 5, in North Pattaya - behind Pattaya International Hospital. About 5-10 minutes by taxi from central Pattaya Beach Road. Free parking. Songthaew baht buses run along Second Road past Soi 5 for 10 THB. Walking distance from many North Pattaya hotels.

Common questions