Everyone in Bangkok's epicurean scene knows Luca Appino, the mastermind-slashpartner behind some of the city’s most name drop-worthy restaurants and bars, including Pizza Massilia, Il Fumo, Via Maris and Vesper. But before Appino started dispersing his talents throughout the city, he was pooling all his time and effort into fine-dining Italian den La Bottega di Luca. In operation for nearly a decade, the Italian institution still maintains its reputation for purveying authentic Italian dishes that benefit from fresh, premium ingredients flown straight from the “bel paese.”
If you’d gone food-trotting in Italy, and miss the many small and charming trattorias found in every corner of the beautiful country, a visit to La Bottega will help fill that nostalgic void. While an outdoor deck speaks modern and chic (we love that all the tables are decked out with colorful LED lamps), the main dining room transports you to old-city Italia with a handsome blend of brick and wood, and a handful of colorful paintings. The room is connected to an open kitchen where you can observe how your food is meticulously made.
As chef Luca is now busier than ever ruling his culinary empire, it’s Sardinian-born chef Andrea Ortu who now oversees the kitchen and makes sure everything is up to the standard set ten years ago. We started our dinner with an impressive octopus dish (B690) that was grilled to perfection. The polpo is set atop a chilled soup of green pea that’s complimented by creamy stracciatella cheese and sweet cherry tomato confit. This dish was shortly followed by trofie (short and thin pasta indigenous to Luguria in northern Italy, B490) that was swimming in a salty clam and white wine sauce, and served with two kinds of bottarga (tuna and mullet) and clams—basically the Mediterranean Sea on a plate. The pan-fried turbot (B1,290) is nicely paired with a delicate saffron sauce and the more intense flavors of Taggliasca olives and sundried tomatoes.
For dessert, try the Tiramisu 2.0, a lighter, modern version of the Italian classic that’s whipped up with mascarpone mousse, coffee crumble, chocolate sauce and coco nib chips (B340)
If you’re a fan of authentic Italian fare (not the over-creamy and over-seasoned variations found across town), La Bottega will not disappoint. There’s a reason why this restaurant has been hailed a favorite in the city for almost a decade.