Pier 12 Seafood Tavern @ Old Malaya, KL | Malaysia Food Guide
In 2005, Pier 12 Seafood Tavern opened in the back lot of Old Malay – a row of refurbished colonial buildings that lend this place an atmospheric quality particularly at night. The restaurant was founded by Kana Theva under Pampas Restaurant Sdn Bhd: a group of restaurants known for their steaks. However, don’t come to Pier 12 Seafood Tavern for the steaks.
Look for the seafood.
Its interior decorations show a clear nod to its maritime influence: the braided rope lamps and what looks like the bottom of a striped boat hanging from its rafters. The menu itself is dominated by fish and seafood choices, although you do get a mix of other dishes including a tandoori flavoured halibut fish fillet and rendang lamb shank.
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Table of Contents
History of Old Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
Pier 12 Seafood Tavern is the final shop lot at the end of a long row of old colonial buildings known as Old Malaya along Lorong Raja Chulan. Once you turn it, you will be swarmed by valets who take your key and help you park your car while you head towards your intended destination.
If you are a foodie…
This is a place deserving of at least a second or third visit because there is so much to try here, including:
- Luce Osteria Contemporanea: A fantastic Italian place with the best pizza (fresh out of a blazing old-fashioned stove;
- Pampas Old Malaya Kapitan Bar: for the steak, if you’d rather skip the seafood
- Manja: Serving local & international dishes with a contemporary dish (truffle garlic Angus and saffron spiced goat sounds pretty good!)
- Junior Chellapa: which prides itself on being one of the best Indian restaurants in KL, with a twist
- Pintu Old Malaya: A western fusion restaurant that also comes with a live band! Do note however that as of September 2019, Pintu has announced its intentions to move as they have outgrown their current space
- MARI Restaurante: An Italian Asian cuisine restaurant & cocktail bar headed by Chef Cristian Grandi
If you are a history buff…
You are going to love this place.
Kuala Lumpur Forest Eco Park (formerly known as The Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve): Located a stone’s throw away from Lorong Raja Chulan, KL Forest Eco Park is an ancient 17.5-hectare rainforest reserve that was gazetted in 1906 & the only reserve remaining in the heart of KL.
Menara KL: If you enter KL Forest Eco Park, the hiking paths will eventually bring you to a mini zoo and the foot of the iconic KL Tower – more on that below.
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church: A while colonial building located just around the corner from Lorong Raja Chulan. It was built in 1917 and opened its doors in 1918. Due to a large number of expatriates that once made up its community, it was also known as the International Church of Kuala Lumpur.
Posh Chulan Residences: St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is located at the foot of a steep hill that leads up to Jalan Raja Chulan, where a series of posh residences are located (at least one of them even permits residences to have dogs, which is a rarity in Muslim-centric Malaysia!).
Muzium Telekom: Built in 1928 & was formerly known as the Central Battery Manual Telephone Exchange. In the early 1980s, there were plans to redevelop the building into a multi-level telecommunications complex but that obviously never came to fruition.
Old Malaya: We couldn’t end this historical section without a mention of the building that Pier 12 Seafood Tavern resides in, could we? Old Malaya was built in 1919 along Weld Alley (what we now know as Lorong Raja Chulan). It was known as one of the most glamorous Eurasian residences around. It remains one of the best-preserved historical buildings around KL, in my humble opinion!
But enough of history, let’s get down to the food.
Dining at Pier 12 Seafood Tavern
When you first arrive, there will be servers waiting to help you with your choices (and convince you to step inside!). A menu is located on the stand along the road, which is helpful if you want to visit Lorong Raja Chulan and check out what each of the restaurants are offering first.
There is a lovely sign of the restaurant to the right of the entrance, as well as some tables and chairs located outside.
They even have a sign if you’re looking for their happy hour.
The first floor is a posh, air-conditioned restaurant with lush wooden panellings and candles flickering on the table.
We went up the wooden stairs to the 1st floor, where we saw a large bar.
To the right, the restaurant opened out to the outside surroundings. The land behind Pier 12 Seafood Tavern is empty; not the prettiest sight. But when you turn to the right…
You get Menara KL! Doesn’t it look stunning?
Beneath KL Tower, you see some traditional Malay houses still standing.
Type of Food Served
One glance at Pier 12 Seafood Tavern’s menu and you will know that it prides itself on its seafood, albeit with a mix of Eastern and Western influences… Everything from Mulligatawny soup and coconut shrimp to squid ink linguine con polpo, seafood ravioli and lamb meat ball (which was absolutely delicious!).
They also have an extensive wine list available in a separate menu.
Check out the food menu here.
We came around 7 pm when the restaurant on both levels was completely empty.
Very mild but pretty nice.
Shrimps wrapped in coconut shavings – nice and crispy. The chilli sauce is pretty nice too!
Could do with a little more salt, but pretty good otherwise!
Loved, loved, LOVED the lamb meat ball dish.
It was so good, we ordered it twice. The meatballs themselves were a little hard. As for the sauce, the first time we ordered the dish, there was a little too much pepper sprinkled into it. But they got it right the second time.
Both times, we asked for extra cheddar on the side (because why not!).
Get this dish if you’re a lamb fan – you may not have realised it, but it’s pretty hard finding lamb dishes in KL. Especially in spaghetti meatball dishes.
And look at Menara KL! The view is slightly different once the sky is dark.
Address & Contact Details
Address: Lot 12 Old Malaya, Lorong Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact: +60 3 2078 5548
Phone reservations are possible. Just call Azim at +60 11 2771 6040 or make a Tableapp reservation here.
Email: [email protected]
For further details, visit Pier 12 Seafood Tavern’s website here.
Getting to Pier 12 Seafood Tavern
By Car / Grab
Malaysians go everywhere by car or Grab, so this is by far the most popular local transport. The unfortunate thing about visiting Pier 12 Seafood Tavern is that only valet parking is available here. So you will have to pay a little bit when you drive to the restaurant.
By Train
If you opt for a train station, one of your best options is to arrive at Raja Chulan Monorail Station. Thereafter, walk an additional 850 m walk to arrive at Lorong Raja Chulan. This shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes although there won’t be any covered walkways and you will be crossing or walking along the road at certain points.
You can also take the train to Masjid Jamek LRT Station, which is also around 10-15 minutes’ walking distance away.
By Bus
You can take the 420 bus which will drop you off at “KL 12 Menara KL”, before walking an additional 5 minutes (350m) to reach Pier 12 Seafood Tavern.
Alternatively, there is the fantastic FREE Purple bus that you will see everywhere in the heart of KL. The Malay word “percuma” means free, and it really means that. The purple bus is meant to bring you to all of the KL hotspots for free and it’s very comfortable to use! I’ve used it multiple times despite being a local.
That said, the rapidKL purple bus will also stop at “KL 12 Menara KL”. You will then have to walk another 5 minutes to get to Lorong Raja Chulan, where Pier 12 Seafood Tavern is located.
See photo below to see how you can walk from the bus stop to the restaurant:
FAQs
On things that weren’t covered above. If you have any further questions, leave them in the comment box below!
How pricey is it at Pier 12 Seafood Tavern?
I would rate this $$$.
The two soups are at RM 30 / USD 7.20 (for mulligatawny soup) and RM 32 / USD 8 (for seafood chowder) and caesar salad without chicken/salmon at RM 27 / USD 6.50. The most expensive meal was the mix grill platter (RM 180 / USD 44), followed by the Pier 12 Seafood Platter (RM 148 / USD 36).
While Pier 12 Seafood Tavern is pricey even by KL standards, at least the portions are fair. You’re unlikely to leave hungry unless you had just the soup or salad, but be prepared to spend a little.
Payment can be done via cash, American Express, Mastercard or Visa.
Is Pier 12 Seafood Tavern halal?
No. I didn’t see any pork ingredients on their menu, but they do serve alcohol. Definitely not halal.
Where else can I get views of Menara KL / KL Tower?
If you liked the Menara KL view above and want different angles of this iconic KL structure, I would recommend visiting these other spots (also go for exploring in general):
- The rooftop of Lot 10 (a large, green shopping mall located right beside the Bukit Bintang Monorail). Take the lift from the street level, which will bring you right out to open space. Take a left, and you will see Menara KL directly behind you
- KL Forest Eco Park, which is just around the corner from Pier 12 Seafood Tavern. It’s a fantastic rainforest reserve that is free to enter, a highly Instagrammable canopy walkway & hiking trails to explore. For more details on visiting KL Forest Eco Park, click here.
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4 Comments
Kelly
I’d definitely visit pier 12 seafood tavern. I would LOVE to try the lamb meatballs!
Iuliya
You definitely should!
Anna
KL has so much good food, I really enjoyed eating there (as well). I always went for the local food markets but these places in your post look great too!
Iuliya
Hope you get to drop by one day!