Margherita and Prosciutto crudo pizza.
The sister of Antonio’s Italian restaurant has finally been born. Her name is La Piazza and she is a gorgeous establishment located in the heart of Sukhumvit 24. It’ll be hard to not turn your head when you drive past her. And, she is what Bangkok has been in dire need of for so long.
If her light yellow brick walls, adorned with fancy maroon canopies and rustic street lamps don’t lure you in, her sweet rustic interior just might. The ambience in La Piazza is extremely pleasant; the perfectly layered red-brick walls, the terracotta floors, the sound of shiny wine glasses clinking and people laughing and let’s not forget the mosaic-tiled pizza oven, all come together nicely to make you feel like you are reliving those long summer holidays spent in Tuscany.
The idea behind La Piazza — Italian for plaza — is to recreate the centuries-old Italian tradition of gathering in the town square to meet, eat, drink and socialise. We have an inkling that Bangkokians might just do it better. An open-air Italian restaurant of course wouldn’t tolerate Bangkok’s heat, thus at La Piazza, the entire “piazza experience” has been brought indoors. The restaurant has two floors, with the upstairs area reserved primarily for private parties; head up there to enjoy the secluded balcony, which provides the perfect getaway for business execs and The Em District shopaholics alike to enjoy a cigar, a ciggie and a stiff drink after a long day’s work.
The menu
Think a home-cooked Italian meal, made with love, but fancy. Let’s face it, none of us has time to cook anymore, but we still crave that element of comfort that is often only found in homes with real and well-run kitchens.
We started off with the Siciliana chicken (B280), a delicious soup that serves as a nice departure from the usual boring minestrone soup you’ll find in other Italian restaurants. The Caprese (B250) is to die for, and once you go burrata, you’ll never think of going back to mozzarella, trust me. Italian restaurants will usually try and serve this tomato fare with mozzarella because it’s cheaper. Well, La Piazza gives you the works with its homemade buratta, for half the price it would be in other restaurants.
The Godfather (B690), pasta with involtini (rolled veal), Italian sausage and pork rib, gets its name from the slow cooked tomato sauce the restaurant owner, Antonio, devised many years ago in Italy. Apparently, the only thing his brother could say upon tasting it was that it was “the Godfather of all sauces”. We agree.
Our favourite was the Florentina (B300), which we decided to have with gluten-free pasta. My, my. Think carbonara, but with spinach instead of bacon. Absolutely delicious. And gluten-free, thus guilt-free if you have a wheat intolerance. Of course, if you’re lucky enough not to have a problem with wheat, you can opt for normal pasta too.
For the pizza, we went for a Margherita (B250) and Prosciutto crudo (B420), but we had a half-half. They say that pizza ovens get better with age but already La Piazza’s is baking up a storm. It’s a pizzeria, too, so expect good pizza. Next time we definitely want to try the Burrata (B450).
We don’t usually go for beef but the Stewed beef cheeks (B690) — Australian beef cheeks slow-cooked for three hours in a red wine gravy sauce — was so perfectly tender and bursting with flavour that we’d probably have it again. Completely worth the price tag, we reckon.
The Godfather.
Insider tip
La Piazza really takes pride in its extensive wine list which is comprised of bottles individually hand-picked by the restaurant’s owners. Look out for their “Wine of the month” because they really know what they’re talking about. We ended up buying a bottle of red La Lava Beneventano Aglianico to take home because it was that good.
Value and verdict
La Piazza markets herself as “casual” dining, probably because she is shamefully comparing herself to her older brother Antonio. She may have less frills than him, but she is anything but casual. We’d say she’s fine dining without the price tag of her naughty brother. And she’s a completely separate entity in herself, to be worshipped and enjoyed by Bangkokians far and wide. g
Caprese salad.
Florentina pasta.
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La Piazza
Traditional Italian Comfort Food Sukhumvit Soi 24 www.lapiazzabangkok.com 02-661-0589 Daily, 11am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-11pm
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.