COCONUTS HOT SPOT – Bangkok is heaving with Italian restaurants, many of which are pretty meh, to use the technical term. But not all of them. Joining the likes of Opus and Enoteca is Appia, the new offering from Jarrett “Soulfood Mahanakorn” Wrisley and Chef Paolo Vitaletti. While the aforementioned swanky joints are popular with the suits, Appia is a more casual affair. Having been open for just a month, this Roman-style trattoria is already filling its reservations list with regularity.
Deservedly so: Vitaletti’s cooking is a delight. Expect big flavors and a home-cooked feel. While some of the city’s newer eateries are heading down the localism route, Appia is going the other way – Italian imports feature heavily. Vitaletti, veteran of years behind the stoves at feted luxury hotels, even flew his mom over to teach his staff her recipes. (In a very Italian tribute, one dessert is listed on the menu as “My mother’s tiramisu.”)
What can we expect? Superb bread with fresh accompaniments like cold cuts and cheeses (THB450) and marinated red peppers (THB100). Small plates such as caprese with roasted eggplants and oh-so-creamy burrata (THB400), veal tartare (THB475) and roasted calf’s tongue over polenta and smoked red peppers (THB250). And excellent fresh pasta dishes like robust ragus made with lamb shoulder (THB350) and a “butchershop” blend of pork and beef (THB350). The carbonara (THB380), with thick rings of pasta, imported Tuscan eggs and super-salty cured pork cheek, is a must. It’s carbonara, only more so. Perhaps the most novel offerings, as far as Bangkok is concerned, are the rotisserie meats. The porchetta (THB400/600) has all the features a man could ask for in a slab of roasted pork: crispy skin, tender flesh, creamy lard, aromatic herbal stuffing. Mu krop has nothing on this.
On the dessert menu, there’s the aforementioned maternal tiramisu (THB300), a superb pannacotta with passion fruit and mango (THB300) and a dreamy “cappuccino” of cream, lemon curd and almond crumble (THB300). The wine list will be another draw, with Mediterranean terroir as its focus. And Appia provides a much larger range of by-the-glass offerings than usual, thereby removing the need to put all your Tuscan eggs in one bottle-shaped basket.
The rather masculine setting, with its leather banquettes and shades of cappuccino, provides an unobtrusive space in which to make merry, while the acoustic profile ensures a buzz without your neighbors’ conversations intruding on your own. Things seem to have gotten off to a very smooth start, with the usual teething problems absent – at least from the customer’s perspective. Clearly, pairing a restaurateur who’s already gone through the tribulations of setting up a successful Bangkok eatery with a chef of obvious culinary talent is paying off. Does Bangkok need another Italian restaurant? It needs this one.
FIND IT
Appia
20/4 Sukhumvit 31
BTS Phrom Phong station
+66 2 261 2056
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