California Steak House and Cantina

In the heart of Hua Hin, the restaurant is easy to locate as it sits directly across from the Sofitel Hotel and Resort. The restaurant interior is just as you would expect from a Cantina serving food to wranglers from the Southwest part of the country. The interior offers wooden framed chairs and fans for diners while the outside terrace area is a hit with many guests. The atmosphere is casual and would probably demand somebody to throw you out if you dared to venture there in a suit and tie.

The menu starts with a nice selection of 15 different breakfast items and the restaurant is actually the preferred choice for many patrons staying at hotels in the area when looking for a meal as early as 7AM. Unlike many places that just can't seem to get it right, the breakfast are pure western-style prepared with X-large eggs, with all the items we've come to expect of an American-style breakfast. Since I stayed close-by, I wandered in on a couple occasions for breakfast and the bacon, the potatoes, and of course the eggs (which are made-to-order and prepared in butter), along with the coffee, were perfectly prepared.

I am a big fan of Louisiana-style food and Southwest and Mexican cuisine is probably my favorite choices of cuisine when dining out, however, it is tuff to get the authentic flavors of these dishes, not to mention the full selection that is offered at California Steakhouse. My initial visit was to stop and have a beer and from the 19 appetizers, I decided to order the Chili Con Queso Dip or Nachos & Cheese at it's often referred to. The spicy melted cheese sauce was about as good as I have had anyplace and it certainly went well with my Corona beer. So I decided to take my wife with me the next time I ventured into the place and it coincidentally was no more than a couple days.

This visit I actually got a good look at the menu as we ended up bringing my brother and his wife along with us. We started off with a couple beers and what I call "ladies drinks" and then we checked out the menu and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many of my southwestern favorites. We decided to eat Thai-style and share the items to be ordered in order for each of us to be able to taste a lot of our favorites.

I decided to leap into a full slab of BBQ Ribs. They were prepared St Louis-style and the pork practically fell off the bone when you picked them up to eat. If you look at the picture, you can see that this plate would be almost impossibe to devour alone. It was a winner, for sure, and it came with a choice of potato and a choice of slaw, corn, and a vegetable medley. My wife chose to eat the sizzling "Fajitas". The lip-smacking smell was more than inticing, with its fresh ingredients, this authentic dish was worth the wait. My friend chose one of the "Burritos" plus a bowl of the Texas-style Chili since he is a fairly large-size boy but when the burrito arrived even he was surprised at this oversized south-of-the-border specialty. The pregnant flour tortilla showed up filled with beans, rice and carnitas pork, but you can opt for steak or chicken if you prefer. The burrito, topped with enchilada sauce and covered with imported melted cheese was delicious and now my friend Robert still had consume the chili but between the two of us, this delicious dish with its flour tortillas, grated cheese and chopped onions was another hit. His wife loves Mexican food and decided on one of the combo plates and she felt the 2 item combo plate was mjore than enough. When the plate arrived, wow, it was more than enough for most lumberjacks. (see the large photo). We had already shared enough food for an army and we still had to order one more item since I heard the burgers are so good here. So the cheeseburger showed up and it was definitely a winner. The meat was a nice sized patty with a perfect size bun to cover the meat with a more than generous amount of imported cheddar cheese topping this scrumptuous delight.

No sane person could have eaten another bite but the ladies chose the warm Brownie with Ice Cream. It was certainly homemade & delicious, especially with the chocolate sauce poured overtop.

the list of menu items doesn't stop as there are great Angus steaks aged 21 days, duck, pork, chicken and more burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches. When in Hua Hin, if you miss this place, you missed the boat.

Chili Con Queso Dip ...too good to just be called Nachos & Cheese

Mexican Specialties: Chimichanga, Burritos, Fajitas, Fish Tacos

St Louis Ribs: 1/2 rack or full rack
Steaks: including aged Angus Rib-eye, T-bone, Filets & Filet Mignon

Warm homemade large Brownie a la mode