Possibly no other cuisine invites as much argument as Italian – traditions are jealously guarded, ingredients are vaunted and legally protected, and heated debates about what constitutes authentic Italian food rage across Instagram and Reddit. Indeed, the endless quest for authenticity at points seems to verge on parody – a nationwide contest to see who did the best job of listening to what their Mama told them…
So we tugged at our collars a bit when throwing our opinions into the mix. No matter which 10 restaurants we list out, we are going to invite ire, whether over a round of negronis at a tableful of Italians or in an online forum. This is especially true given how many top-tier Italian restaurants Bangkok has.
We feel that these 10 represent Italian food in its diversity across both time and space. Here we have restaurants that hew closely to regional traditions and rely on the wisdom of the farmers and fishermen of those regions, as well as restaurants that freely play with technique and form, look forward into the future, and aim to expand the vocabulary of Italian cuisine. We make our case below – after that, hop on the Vespa, try for yourself, and join us for a good argument.