Ristorantevolterra.

Three friends and myself ventured into the new Italian restaurant Volterra last night, which has a genuine Italian chef and serves superb authentic Italian cuisine. The restaurant has only been open three weeks and is next door to Playboy, (Old All Boys Bar) which is situated in the same soi as Yensabai condo's.

Expect to pay more than you normally would, in restaurants such as those offering three course meals for a set price, but for those of you that don't mind paying a bit extra and who enjoy real Italian cuisine, I can promise you that you won't be disappointed.

I am sure that the owner Mike who is from Pisa, will make you very welcome, as he did us. We will definitely return next week.


G.

[Smiles]

.... try La Buca on Sukhumvit Soi 1 (just around the corner from Bumrungrad Hospital in case the to-die-for Tirimasu causes your ticker to speed up).

My guy lives for fish, but he'd never tried it cooked Italian before and now I do believe I've created a monster I won't be able to afford ... (think it was poached Bass or something like that). A sweet little unpretentious place in a long skinny hole in the wall, La Buca is run and cooked and lorded over by it's Italian owner, and the evening we were there it was not crowded, but just enough patrons to enjoy a bit of joi de vivre Italian style. Because I had a craving, I tried a pizza (excellent ... my style, crispy crust, not loaded). Fresh bread, instantly refilled gatis, and the owner comes over to ask whether things are up to par ... which they were. A really pleasant, laid back dinner out. Suphot insists we go back, which would be a rare compliment for him when speaking of farang food in general.

Not expensive: http://www.dininginthailand.com/labuca.asp Upstairs & downstairs seating.

Cheers ...

I'm trying to stay on my diet and you guys aren't helping one bit!
(Drooling all over the my keyboard just reading this!)

Am I to assume he may have some volumes of von Gloeden and von Pluschow handy in case I go alone and need something Italian to kill the time while I wait for all this luscious food?

The food is wonderful. It is not the runofthemill "spaghetti bolonaise" cooking. The chef is from Tuscany and so are the dishes. Expect really unusual dishes like wild boar and baked cheese. The pasta is fresh, the "pastafazool" is great! More than any place in Pattaya, it reminds me of a traditional trattoria in Italy.

Three friends and myself ventured into the new Italian restaurant Volterra last night, which has a genuine Italian chef and serves superb authentic Italian cuisine. The restaurant has only been open three weeks and is next door to Playboy, (Old All Boys Bar) which is situated in the same soi as Yensabai condo's.

Expect to pay more than you normally would, in restaurants such as those offering three course meals for a set price, but for those of you that don't mind paying a bit extra and who enjoy real Italian cuisine, I can promise you that you won't be disappointed.

I am sure that the owner Mike who is from Pisa, will make you very welcome, as he did us. We will definitely return next week.


G.

Good to know there is another "value for money" venue. Authentic classical Italian food hasn't much in common with all the modern fast pizza and noodle (prefab plastic) stuff.