Quick answer
Russian food in Pattaya centres on Pratumnak Hill, where the daily Russian Market sells pelmeni, borscht, buckwheat and rye bread, with more cafés in Jomtien and Wongamat. At the market a bowl of borscht costs 120 THB, ten pelmeni from 149 THB and three blini 79 THB. Best Supermarket, open 08:00 to 23:00, and the Tops chain stock Russian groceries including Borodinsky bread.
Pattaya has been the favourite Thai resort of Russian-speaking travellers for two decades, and whole neighbourhoods have adapted: menus in Cyrillic, staff who take orders in Russian, pharmacies and tour desks with Russian signs. The food follows the people. It is concentrated in three areas south and north of the centre: Pratumnak Hill between Pattaya and Jomtien, the Jomtien beachfront, and Wongamat in the north. This guide explains where to find a proper bowl of borscht, what it costs and where to shop if you are cooking for yourself.
Where do Russian-speaking visitors stay in Pattaya?
Each of the three areas draws a different kind of stay. Pratumnak is the heart: a green hill of condominiums and small hotels with quiet beaches at its foot, popular with families who spend the whole northern winter here. Jomtien, just to the south, has a long straight beach, lower rents and long rows of condos, so it attracts retirees and remote workers on stays of one to six months. Wongamat and Naklua, north of the centre, have the larger beachfront hotels used by package tours, with calm water and a more upmarket feel.
The neighbourhoods are compared in detail in the Pratumnak Hill area guide, the Jomtien area guide and the Naklua and Wongamat area guide.
What is the Russian Market on Pratumnak?
The Pratumnak market, known across the city as the Russian Market, stands on Phra Tamnak Road, the main road over the hill. It is a market of food stalls, small cafés, fruit sellers and a handful of clothing and souvenir stands around a courtyard of shared tables. Vendors speak Russian and menus are written in it. It runs every day: stalls start trading from about midday, the market is busiest from 18:00 to 21:00 and the sellers pack up from 22:00.
What makes it different from other Pattaya markets is the produce: buckwheat, pelmeni and vareniki, sour cream, cottage cheese, sausages and dark bread including Borodinsky, sold alongside Thai dishes at ordinary street prices. Rice with chicken or pork starts at 60 THB, pad thai costs 50 to 70 THB and fruit shakes 30 to 60 THB. Russian dishes and imported groceries cost more than Thai food, and fruit is dearer here than at the fresh markets in town.
Getting there is simple. Baht buses do not run over the hill, so take a ride-app car or a motorbike taxi from a marked stand: the market is about ten minutes from Walking Street or from the northern end of Jomtien Beach. Bring cash in small notes. Most stalls do not take cards, and the fixed prices on food are not open to bargaining.
For the city's other evening markets, with days and hours, see night markets in Pattaya.
Which Russian cafés and restaurants can you rely on?
The Russian Market on Pratumnak is the simplest place to start. Its sit-down café and bakery opens daily from 10:00 to 23:00 and runs a mixed Russian and Thai menu: borscht, pelmeni, blini, salads and pastries next to tom yum, pad thai and grilled ribs. The prices in the table below are the ones it posts.
Beyond Pratumnak, Russian cooking is found less in dedicated restaurants and more in neighbourhood cafés that run two menus. Look for them in three places: the sois off Jomtien Beach Road and Jomtien Second Road, the lanes around Wongamat Beach and Naklua Road, and the streets behind the big hotels of North Pattaya. A menu board in Cyrillic by the door is the sign.
One thing to know before ordering: the cooks in Pattaya's Russian cafés are Thai, trained by the owners. Recipes are faithful in the established places, but soups can arrive sharper or spicier than at home. Say "mai phet" (not spicy) when ordering and ask for sour cream on the side.
What do Russian dishes cost in Pattaya?
| Dish | What it is | Typical price (THB) |
|---|---|---|
| Borscht | Beetroot and cabbage soup with beef, served with sour cream | 120 |
| Pelmeni, 10 pieces | Boiled meat dumplings with butter or sour cream | from 149 |
| Blini, 3 pieces | Thin pancakes with jam, condensed milk or savoury fillings | 79 |
| Rice with chicken or pork | Thai one-plate meal from a market stall | from 60 |
| Pad thai | Fried rice noodles from a market stall | 50 to 70 |
| Fruit shake or fresh juice | Blended to order | 30 to 60 |
Other dishes you will see on almost every Russian menu are vareniki (dumplings filled with potato, cottage cheese or cherries), solyanka (a sour, smoky meat soup), Olivier salad, herring under beetroot, syrniki (fried cottage cheese cakes for breakfast), buckwheat as a side dish and kompot or kvass to drink.
A Russian lunch of soup and dumplings comes to about 270 THB, two to three times the price of a Thai plate at a stall. Daily budgets are set out in Pattaya prices and budgets.
Where can you buy Russian groceries and bread?
- The Russian Market on Pratumnak: the widest choice in one place, including frozen pelmeni and vareniki, dairy, sausages, buckwheat and Borodinsky bread.
- Best Supermarket: two branches, a large one on Naklua Road and a smaller one at the corner of Central Pattaya Road and Second Road, both open 8:00 to 23:00. They stock cereals, rye bread, European cheese, cured fish and meat at fixed prices that undercut the small Russian shops.
- Tops: Borodinsky bread reached the chain's shelves in April 2026, next to Russian herring and red caviar. The most convenient branch is Tops Food Hall in Central Pattaya on Beach Road.
- Lotus's and CJ More branches on Pratumnak: no Russian shelf, but they cover everyday shopping, including the cabbage, potatoes, carrots and beef you need to cook soup in a condo kitchen.
Imported products cost more than in Russia: expect to pay a clear premium for buckwheat, rye bread and cottage cheese. Vegetables and fruit are cheaper at Thai fresh markets than in supermarkets.
Long-stay practicalities such as renting, utilities and visas are covered in the practical guide to living in Pattaya.
What else should you eat while you are here?
Many Russian-speaking visitors settle into a rhythm: porridge or syrniki in the morning, Thai food at midday and something familiar in the evening. It is a good pattern, because Thai lunch plates are the best value in the city. Seafood is the other draw. The fresh markets of Naklua and Jomtien sell prawns, squid and crab by the kilo, straight off the boats.
The dishes worth trying, and how to order them mild, are in what to eat in Pattaya.
Frequently asked
- Can you get by in Pattaya restaurants speaking only Russian?
- In Pratumnak, Jomtien and Wongamat, yes. Cafés aimed at Russian-speaking guests print menus in Russian and staff know the dishes by their Russian names. In ordinary Thai restaurants and at food courts, menus are in Thai and English with photographs, so pointing works. A translation app set to Thai solves the rest, including allergy requests.
- Is the Russian Market on Pratumnak open during the day?
- Partly. The café and bakery inside the market opens at 10:00, and stalls begin trading from about midday, so you can shop for groceries in the afternoon. The full market, with every food stall lit and the courtyard tables busy, is an evening affair from 18:00. Come by day to shop and after dark to eat.
- When is the Russian season in Pattaya?
- The main season runs from November to March, when the weather on the coast is dry and the evenings are cooler. Cafés and the Pratumnak market are at their busiest in these months, and tables at popular places fill by 19:00. The market and the supermarkets trade every day of the year, so a visit in the quieter, wetter months from May to October still finds everything open.
