La Villa
Soi 9, Soi Thonglor (Sukhumvit 53)
Bangkok 10110
Tel: 02 712 9991

I always welcome invites from restaurateurs who want me visit their place. However I do not do what I suspect many want me to do and ring and make an appointment. Yes I book, but not in this name, and then sample the food and perhaps afterwards talk to the sender of the invite. A few weeks ago I had such an invite, via email, from Roberto the boss of Villa. I replied that I was out of town at the moment but would drop in when I was back and just to clarify the location I stated 'you are next to Harvey?' The reply amused as it said; 'No Harvey is next to us, we were there first!' Such are semantics!
In fact there is more than just being in the same soi in common between Villa and Harvey. They are both stand alone purpose built buildings with distinctly modern decor and a trendy Thonglor approach. The cooking styles are supposed to be different, Harvey is modern fusionesque, well so it says, and Villa is Italian. The reality is there is not a lot of difference other than on emphasis. The cuisine of both is modern, with good presentation.
Villas menu is clearly Italian based with starters that are on most Italian menus, as well as a few individual ideas, pizza, pasta and a small range of seafood and meat complete the menu. There are also some salads and a nice selection of daily specials. I choose fresh sardines from the specials menu, definitely an item not seen that much in Bangkok. And for On we chose warm sliced tuna with sesame and balsamic, with a note that it was served pink. I was impressed with my sardines in that they were butterflyed, so there was no filleting and fiddling with bones, and nicely striped up by the grill. The tuna was as described; pink, and was very much appreciated.
For main course I was decided on a risotto and picked the porcini version, and On went for Norwegian scampi with angel hair pasta, from the specials menu. I have to say I think On had the better choice. This was not the best Risotto Porcini I have had; to me it lacked flavour. I tried extra seasoning but that really was never going to work. Mushrooms are a very delicate taste and the difference between getting the taste and not can be a fine line. The scampi looked good and, of course, it had that full flavour and texture you expect from cold water seafood.
I spoke to the chef Antonio as Roberto was away. I asked for a small portion of cheese and got, as ever the full portion. The cheese was good but I was particularly interested in a cake like addition to the cheese plate. This was panforte which is a well known cake from Siene. It is very like Christmas cake with almonds imbedded but without the solid fruit, although it has real fruit taste. The reality is that it is made with fruit, as in a Christmas cake, but then honey is added. The whole mixture is gently cooked and the fruit dissolves. This goody, Villa imports from Italy and it does go very well with cheese. But not so good for those avoiding sugar!
I thought Villa was a good comfortable modern restaurant that I enjoyed. The problem maybe that with so many Italian restaurants in this town it failed, for me, to have that little je ne sais quoi.