If you crave authentic Italian food and atmosphere while living or travelling in Bangkok, look elsewhere except Parma Trattoria in Ari District. This home-style Italian restaurant can teleport you to Italy with its warm mustard-yellow walls and cute vibrant tablecloths.
The place was founded by Italian chef Filippo Bortolamedi, who owns The Pasta Apartment, and his French business partner Antoine Loubry. With the combination of Chef Bortolamedi's recipes he inherited from his mother, and Loubry's real estate development, Parma Trattoria became a warm, welcoming and comforting authentic home-style Italian restaurant.
Chomp paid Parma Trattoria a visit. As soon as we entered the restaurant through the greyish-black main gate, it was as if we had been in a small restaurant in Rome. After enjoying the restaurant's interior, we kicked off with a couple of starters.
Focaccia Bread is an Italian-styled sandwich. Pieces of thinly-sliced prosciutto di Parma, creamy fresh mozzarella and sliced tomatoes are slapped between two slices of focaccia bread. The chef uses high-quality ingredients to make this simple dish flavourful without trying too hard. We tasted the saltiness from the cured prosciutto; milky, grassy, and floral notes with just a hint of tang from the fresh mozzarella; and umami from the fresh tomatoes.
Mixed Bruschetta consists of 4 pieces of bread with different toppings: Taleggio cheese and walnuts, salami, mortadella and pistachio, and cheese, jam and strawberry. We recommend you start with the Taleggio cheese and walnuts first, then the mortadella and pistachio, then the salami, and finish with the cheese, jam and strawberry.
After we finished the starters, we moved on to the main dishes and began with a Seafood Pizza. The thin and crunchy pizza dough is covered with umami and tangy tomato sauce and topped with clams, mussels, pieces of sliced squid and whole prawns. The pizza was flavourful and full of texture. Thus, the seafood was so fresh.
The next main dish was a pasta dish, Pasta Amatriciana. The penne is cooked al dente before tossing in a pan with a spicy tomato-based sauce, crispy julienned smoked guanciale and cheese. It was creamy, savoury, aromatic and had a bit of heat.
Chef Bortolamedi's Pasta Carbonara is different. Rather than stringy, hollow or flat pasta, he uses conchiglie, which has a different shape and surface to hold and cradle the salty and yolky silky smooth sauce made from egg yolk, Pecorino cheese and grounded pepper, and smoked guanciale. The conchiglie were huge and must be cut in half before putting it in our mouth. The smoked guanciale was diced perfectly, fit for the conchiglie to cradle.
The meal ended with Tiramisu Della Mamma. The name says it all, that this tiramisu is a recipe from his mother. The mascarpone cheese on top was so soft and well-balanced in taste. We thought the ladyfingers were dipped and soaked up the coffee in the right amount of time, keeping them from being soggy whilst having enough coffee aroma. The dessert also comes with a gooseberry or ground cherry to clean your pallet after you finish it.
People with social media must have known of Negroni Sbagliato from a viral video of British thespian Emma D'Arcy, who took the role of adult Rhaenyra Targaryen in the HBO show House of the Dragon. The drink is a spritz-style cocktail with a mixture of Campari, Prosseco and sweet vermouth garnished with an orange peel. At Parma Trattoria, they serve Negroni Sbagliato chilled in a flute glass with no ice, so you better finish it before the temperature increases. It's dry and sweet with some bitterness, a good aperitif.
Give Parma Trattoria a chance to teleport you to Italy and receive Italian hospitality.
Parma Trattoria Ari Open: Tuesday - Friday, 17:00 - 00:00; Saturday - Sunday, 11:00 - 14:00, 17:00 - 00:00
Reserve: +664 246 3256
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Parma.Ari
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parma_trattoria/
Location: Ari Samphan 4 Alley, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400
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