Grossi Trattoria & Wine Bar: InterContinental Bangkok

If you are tired of the stiff formality of many of the city's finer Italian restaurants, head for Grossi Trattoria & Wine Bar on the ground level beneath the lobby of the InterContinental Bangkok. The casual open dining room and striking black and white tile floor, give it a relaxed 'trattoria feel' that make it an ideal place for a glass of wine, a snack, a reasonably priced lunch or a full meal. And unlike many hotel restaurants, it is easily accessible not only from the hotel, but can also be entered directly from the street without wandering through the corridors of the hostelry.

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The restaurant is a joint venture between Guy Grossi, a prominent Australian celebrity chef of Italian descent, and the InterContinental Bangkok. Guy visits the restaurant periodically to ensure quality is maintained and that it meets his exacting standards. On top of this, the InterContinental has hired Francesco Bettoli, an experienced Italian chef, as Chef de Cuisine. This combination of talent and supervision ensures that the food served is topnotch.

The restaurant is open daily for lunch from 11.30 to 15.00 and features set lunches and a full a la carte menu. The set lunches are 499 baht for two courses and 599 baht for three. When I visited, there were three choices for a starter, including Fettuccine with lamb ragout. The second course included items like a choice of pizzas and Roasted grouper with grilled vegetables. For those desiring a dessert, there was a choice of Italian cakes available.

In the afternoon, a period when many people feel peckish, but can't find a restaurant that is open, Grossi obliges with a snack menu of pizza, antipasti and dessert. There is also the option of simply enjoying a quality glass of wine at the wine bar. For those who enjoy wine, the trattoria has an attractive 'Wine o'clock' promotion from 18.00 to 21.00 when wines are available by the glass beginning at only 99 baht.

At dinnertime from 18.30 to 23.00, a full a la carte menu is available that really shows the quality of food served. During a recent visit, Francesco Bettoli, served me a selection of some of his specialties. Of his starters, I was particularly enamored with the Grilled scallops served with saffron cream and zucchini. These scallops in the 490 baht dish were piping hot, but not overcooked, frequently the death knell of scallops served in Bangkok. For pasta, I tried the 420 baht Rigatoni, pork sausage, green peas and smoked mozzarella. It was excellent, but I had mixed feelings about the mozzarella. It was a bit overpowering and was served as a fried slab atop the rigatoni so that it didn't really seem like part of the dish.

The main course at 750 baht was the highlight of the evening: Slow roasted Victorian suckling lamb, rosemary, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and ratatouille. The lamb was superb and the melange of flavors reeked of Italy, good food and good times.

The selection of desserts is impressive, but choosing a cake or pastry from those on display is a great way to finish the evening. But then, so is a slab of Tiramisu or Vanilla Panacotta with mixed berries!

There is, of course, a full selection of beverages available, including a comprehensive wine list of signal quality. Although Italian wines dominate, there are selections from most of the world's major wine producing areas in a wide variety of prices.

In addition to the regular list, there are also 'house' wines available by the glass, carafe or bottle at prices like the 840 baht charged for a bottle of excellent Element Shiraz Cabernet, Sandfold – West Australia or the 1,180 baht charged for an equally attractive Pinot Grigio, St. Margherita – Veneto Italy.

Grossi Trattoria & Wine Bar is a casual and attractive place to visit with an array of Italian drinking, snacking and dining options available making it a great place to kickback and enjoy yourself from lunchtime until late in the evening.

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