A new popular watering hole in Bangkok, Ristorante ISOLA by Signor Sassi!

Hardly a week goes by without something new popping up in this bustling city of Bangkok. Recently I had the pleasure to be invited for dinner at a, to me unknown place, Ristorante ISOLA by Signor Sassi.

This restaurant has existed about two months and since the opening, it has been fully booked every evening.

The location is easy to reach, 999 Ploenchit Road with access to the restaurant from the BTS station Chidlom. You can easily walk through the exclusive shopping mall Gaysorn, or take the street entrance. In the evening the restaurant is brightly lit in a very intensive blue color.

This is a “fine dining” restaurant, but it’s different from most other fine dining restaurants as its decor is more like an Italian /Morrocan bistro. You immediately get into a vacation mood when you step in and see the rattan chairs and plenty of lemon hanging from the ceiling.

It’s what you can call a real cozy atmosphere. Of course the white table cloths and napkins are not missing. The tiles are in bright yellow and blue , also a typical Mediterranean interior part.

Most of the staff are Thai and I have to admit they need a bit more training and supervision. As a European, you expect the dishes to be served to all the guests around the table at the same time. Not so good to sit and look at some eating and having to wait yourself.

The food is anyway worth waiting for. The size of the portions is also different from the sizes in many of the fine dining restaurants. It’s easy to eat too much. In most fine dining places you get only small pieces on the plate, but some decorations, might it be flowers or anything else.

I started with a Buffalo/Cocktail tomato salad which was great, so fresh and tasty. One of the guests picked a fried seafood plate that was huge, could have been a main course. She was in heaven. My main course was a Filet Rossini and it was topped with a great deal of Foi Gras and served in a red wine sauce, absolutely to die for. On the menu was also a filet with a sauce including 30 different spices/herbs that is a signature dish.

I am not a big fan of desserts, but couldn’t resist a Creme Caramel. I was surprised to find that it wasn’t as sweet as it use to be, I was thrilled, tasted delicious.

One less good thing, the restaurant has only one toilet and if you are in a hurry, you can only hope that no woman is occupying the toilet while doing her make up, happened to us.

Since the opening two months ago, the restaurant has been fully booked as mentioned above and no wonder, if you are a food lover it’s worth a visit. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s value for money and you leave with one thought in your head, “tomorrow a long session at the gym.”