About the Baan Rim Pa Group

Having had one stroke of good luck, he thought that Phuket may be the place to find more, so he stayed. Many years later, Baan Rim Pa Piano Bar and Restaurant, and her two sister restaurants Da Maurizio Bar Ristorante and Joe's Downstairs are a tribute to the man's tenacity, attention to details and love of all things culinary.

Tom previously owned and ran restaurants in New York City, France, England and The Caribbean. Each had its own design, theme and flavour. In Phuket he decided that the only way to provide completely authentic Thai food was to search for recipes originally cooked only for the Thai Royal Family... authentic Royal Thai Cuisine. To achieve this, he managed to track down descendants of the original chefs for past Thai Royal Families. These recipes were only previously put together in The Grand Palace. His home at the time, on a small rocky outcrop overlooking Kalim Bay, became host to the many friends who popped by to try out these fabulous "new" recipes. Home turned into restaurant and Baan Rim Pa was born. The rest, as they say, is history.

In November 2008 Tom passed away after a long battle with cancer. Tom's family along with close friend Khun Das who has managed the restaurants since their inception will carry on his legacy for many years to come.

After training in his hometown, Bangkok, Das secured a position in the Thai Restaurant of The Oriental Hotel. Here he met Charlie Amatyakul, the Head Chef at The Oriental and they became firm friends. A few years later, Tom McNamara stayed at The Oriental for three months, asked Charlie to help create Baan Rim Pa's Royal Thai Cuisine menu and was recommended Das at the best person to manage the restaurant.

In the evening, Das can be seen walking around the three restaurants, making sure all is well. He is still totally hands on and often arranges V.I.P. events for large parties, many of which have special requests, not all of them straightforward. "We try to provide a personalised service", he says. "At the end of the day, I am satisfied if the customers leave after having had a very good time and, of course, that the staff also feel happy and have done their best".

The Baan Rim Pa Restaurant Group is considered to be the best of its kind on Phuket Island, and we all strive to live up to our reputation and the many awards we continually receive. We are proud of our history and what we have been able to achieve over the years as Phuket has grown and developed. We hope you enjoy your visit with us.

With offices and staff in more than 23 countries Sue's knowledge of working with many nationalities has assisted her since she decided to make Thailand her home. When joining the Baan Rim Pa Group of Restaurants, she took charge of advertising, marketing and public relations for the three restaurants.

Sue has been involved in bringing several television shows such as The Great Outdoors Australia, BBC's Holiday show, The Travel Channel USA, Travel Asia and Beyond and Destination Thailand, just to name a few, along with many travel writers from all over the world to film and write about the group. Making the Baan Rim Pa Group's name known worldwide is her main goal.

Randy's expertise covers all facets of wine knowledge and appreciation and ranges from conducting seminars concerning all fields of the wine industry at various venues in the USA and, as well as being an experienced wine judge, owning and operating two retail wine and gourmet food shops in the San Francisco Bay Area and was G.M. of D&M Wine and Liquors in San Francisco, a substantial retail outlet which became the number one champagne retail outlet in the United States.

Several years ago Randy decided to come to Thailand and started a wine wholesale company and has been involved in importing and distributing selected wines along with his own private label which he blended.

Randy continues to conduct wine seminars and training for the enthusiastic wine sommeliers at Baan Rim Pa Group teaching them every aspect of wine knowledge and appreciation. He also chooses all of the wines for the award winning cellars of the group and continues to keep Baan Rim Pa group at the forefront wine in Phuket.

After working for a year in Bangkok she moved to Phuket in 2007 to be closer to family and joined Baan Rim Pa Group as Sales and Marketing Assistant, responsible for advertising design and artwork.

At the time, although she had good computer skills, she had little experience in the area of advertising. Under the direction of Sue Ultmann she has learned quickly and become a great asset to the company. She works closely with the media assessing different types of media which may be of benefit to the restaurants.

She then moved to Phuket and worked at Momtri's Boathouse before joining the Baan Rim Pa Group in 2007 as assistant manager of Joe's South.

After two years she was promoted to Baan Rim Pa restaurant and assisted in many aspects of operation. Always open to new ideas, she was asked to join the marketing team in 2009 where she has become responsible for working with local resorts & hotels and tour operators keeping them up to date on changes and events in the restaurants. Micky is a great asset to the group with her bright personality and willingness to take on any new challenge.