There are many things iO, this week's subject of review, is not.
The 120-seat Italian eatery is not a place for an ostentatious meal. The people are no bragging narrator nor a habitual claimant of culinary authenticity. The location is not prime -- rather obscured, some might say. There is no mass marketing, no robust media reviews and no catchy name and logo.
But, remarkably, over the past five years since it opened, the dining room of iO has never been short of great dynamism.
What iO (derived from "Italian osteria") represents is a folksy dining establishment, a dedicated pizzeria, a wine bar (there's also wine from barrels here), a pasta house, a cafeteria, a bakery, a deli and a cooking workshop, all under one roof.
Only wholesome offerings guaranteed to satisfy the taste buds, stomach and feeling of customers, no matter who they are, are the main priority here. Complementing the high quality food is pleasant no-nonsense service.
That's why the osteria, always referred to among regulars as the restaurant of Khun Pa Anna (Aunty Anna), is always flocked by a cheery mix of locals and Westerners.
Italian chef-patron Anna Borrasi is the loving host of the house. Known in the Italian restaurant circle as a lion-hearted female entrepreneur, Borrasi is a Napoli native but has lived in many cities across Italy, as well as the world.
iO is one of her labour of love projects. Her company, of which she's a managing partner, runs five restaurants -- three in Singapore, one in Bangkok and another in Pattaya. Still, Bangkok is the place where iO guests can always find the amiable aunty supervising her ever-busy kitchen and dining room.
Italian dishes from various regions and culinary genres are what the osteria offers. The menu is big, listing more than 100 items (with descriptions in English, Thai, Chinese and Russian) plus a selection of four or five weekly special dishes written on the board.
"Ever since we opened the restaurant five years ago we have never repeated the specials," Borrasi said.
Bread, pastry and pasta are made fresh in house. Almost all the pasta is handmade, except for the dry spaghetti.
Regular pizza options include classic Margherita; burrata cheese with tomatoes and olives; eggplant Parmigiana with tomatoes and basils; cooked ham and mushrooms; pork cheek pancetta with Taleggio cheese; and mortadella sausage with burrata and pistachio.
Pizza here is served warm in rectangular cuts. An order of assorted pizzas (110 baht for a small plate and 720 baht for a 20-piece, five-flavour plate) is a best seller.
There is also traditional stuffed schiacciata (220 baht to 380 baht) on offer, should you wish to break away, but not too far, from pizza territory. Schiacciata is Roman flatbread. And Borrasi's recipe comprises 90% water, thus her creation is extraordinarily crispy, airy and paper-thin.
My order, with a filling of prosciutto, stracciatella cheese, mascarpone and rosemary, was heavenly and guaranteed to entice even the least fan pf carbs.
For small bites and antipasti, there are seafood fritto, stuffed fried olives, al coccio baked eggs with truffles, stravecchio garlic prawns and Angus beef carpaccio, to name just a few.
Borrasi's porchetta (190 baht per slice) was one of the most delicious I've ever had.
Prepared according to Ariccia style, the pork belly is rolled with wild fennel and black pepper, before being slow-roasted until the skin became brittle, thin and glossy golden while the meat is still soft and succulent with natural sweet juice.
The crispy golden seafood fritto (260 baht) was as attentively made. It's a platter of light and crispy semolina wheat crumbed fish cubes, prawns and squids served with a dipping duo of garlic-based aioli and house-made spicy sauce.
There's also a hearty seafood guazzetto soup (350 baht), of which sizeable fillets of fish, clams, mussels, fish, prawn and squid came bathed in an aromatic tomato-based seafood stock.
We had tagliolini prawns (330 baht) for pasta. The perfectly-cooked pasta came glazed with light bisque sauce complemented by super sweet prawns, asparagus and aromatic crumbs.
Tuscan-styled Maremmana steak (2,190 baht) came as a main meat course. The perfect medium rare, pre-sliced 600g flank steak, exhibiting a nice micro-marbling and rich-tasting character, came on a bed of fresh arugula leaves, roasted garlic and topped with mushroom sauce.
If you come in large party, order grilled Italian sea bass (190 baht per 100g). The whole imported fish is cooked in salt crust, yielding a firm cottony white meat, and served with grilled vegetables and three sauces, namely smoked chilli sauce, Italian salsa verde and black olives tapenade.
Our ample dinner was wrapped up with two impeccable desserts, both gave a perfect balance to the meal.
The pistachio tiramisu (290 baht), made with highly-prized Bronte pistachio DOP from Sicily and without eggs or alcohol, showcased very light layers of whipped mascarpone cream, spongy bitter-sweet cake and a fine dash of pistachio.
While the gluten-free caprese al limone Napoli, or Naples-styled flourless almond-lemon cake (250 baht) proved truly delightful.
The restaurant regularly offers traditional Italian cooking classes by chef Anna and wine tasting events. For more information, visit Facebook: ioosteriabkk.
- iO
- Groove @ CentralWorld, ground floor
- Rama I Road
- Call 063-639-1631
- Open daily 11am-10pm
- Most credit cards accepted
