Volti Ristorante & Bar puts a new face on an old favourite, delivering inventive Italian cuisine with style and flair.
By Bruce Scott
The word renaissance literally means “rebirth”, and that’s precisely what’s happened over at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok where the longtime favourite Italian eatery Angelini has been revamped and born again as Volti Ristorante & Bar. Continuing with the Italian lessons, it’s worthwhile noting that the word volti in Italian refers to “faces”, and as such the new interior is accented with artful oversized monochrome photographs featuring attractive faces — some recognisable Hollywood stars, and some merely glamorous bon vivants. Continuing with the Italian lessons, it’s worthwhile noting that the word
Continuing with the Italian lessons, it’s worthwhile noting that the word volti in Italian refers to “faces”, and as such the new interior is accented with artful oversized monochrome photographs featuring attractive faces — some recognisable Hollywood stars, and some merely glamorous. The restaurant’s updated décor also sets the stage for the new head Italian chef, Luca Casini, who hails from
a small town outside of Florence. During the seven months he’s been with Shangri-La, he’s been busily perfecting his dinner menu highlights, which include some inventive twists on familiar favourites.
Volti’s spacious interior is split into several interlinked sections, providing seating for 164 persons — which includes the lower restaurant area, the outdoor terrace, seating at the bar, and the 60 seats of the “upper restaurant”, where diners have a splendid view of the chefs hard at work in the elongated open kitchen area.
Food and Drink
Chef Luca’s artfully designed creations range from authentic pasta and pizza selections, to meat and seafood entrees with decidedly modern presentations. We decide to put ourselves in his skillful hands, and for our first starter he presents his signature Marinated octopus (B390). The dish is served warm, and consists of sizeable chunks of tender octopus — imported from Italy — sitting atop a bed of cubed potatoes, taggia olives, capers, and sundried cherry tomatoes. The ingredients are slow-cooked together for several hours, allowing the octopus to tenderize and absorb the various flavours. It’s hearty and delicious, and a very good omen of things to come.
Our second starter is the colourful Yellow fin tuna carpaccio (B410), in which elegantly thin slices of pink tuna — imported this time from Indonesia — are arranged in a perfect square and decorated with pickled onions, bits of orange, delicate dollops of homemade mustard, and even edible flowers. It’s pretty to look at, but even better to devour.
For entrées we sample two of Chef Luca’s signature pasta dishes. The first to arrive is the Fettuccine Porcini (B490), in which a tower of homemade pasta comes adorned with heaps of Porcini mushrooms that have been sautéed with parsley, garlic, and thyme. The perfectly cooked homemade fettuccine noodles prove to be absolutely addictive, making this menu item a standout recommendation — whether you’re a vegetarian or not. Lobster linguine (B790) is the next pasta dish brought to the table, and although the linguine is not homemade, the juicy chunks of Boston
lobster — including a perfect whole claw — make this a stellar seafood selection.
The seafood theme continued as we received our final main course, an order of Roasted sea bass (B700). This is another of the chef ’s signature dishes, consisting of a pair of perfectly prepared fillets, sided with potato slices and a scattering of tasty salicornia (a crunchy and slightly bitter green, also known as the “sea asparagus”). Accompanying everything is a buttery sauce — a combination of white wine reduction, herbs, and saffron.
We barely had room for dessert, but when the chef himself brings you a parfait glass of lemon and strawberry Panna Cotta (B280), served with a liquid nitrogen frozen mascarpone mousse, you don’t refuse. And as chef Luca crumbled the icy mousse over the panna cotta, the plumes of dry ice smoke swirled across the table in a dramatic display. Pretty cool, and pretty scrumptious too!
As to be expected in an Italian restaurant the wine list is extensive — offering over 150 world class labels. Appropriately enough, I opt for a glass of Le Volte Dell Ornellaia 2013 (B460), a sturdy Tuscan that blends Merlot, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon — three of my best friends. For those who would rather savour a classic cocktail, the Negroni (B320) combines Campari, gin and Martini Rosso, or get the best of both worlds in a Volti Sangria (B320), a refreshing mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Martini Bianco, ginger ale, and grapefruit juice.
VOLTI RISTORANTE & BAR
Shangri-La Hotel,
89 Soi Wat Suan Plu, Bangkok
Open daily from 6pm to 10:30pm
Tel: 02 236 7777
