A TREAT FOR ALL THE SENSES!
Acquapazza is more than just a restaurant, it is a feast for all of your senes.The music is authentic Italian.The tiles and decorations,even the aqua blue bottles for the sparkling water, carry the same lovely colour theme in the picturesque interior. As soon as you step inside this charming, cozy restaurant you feel transported from a bustling Thappraya road into a Sicilian haven. Then there’s the food and the question of what to choose! A good place to start is the Specials of the Day board. However, to
really get the most of your visit I recommend you put yourself in the hands of Giovanni and follow his suggestions. For example, for the wine choice he recommended a 2023 Sicilian Regaleali (actually the House White) that we found fresh, refreshing – it paired perfectly with all the food he then served us.
This started with an amazing Seafood Antipasti that was so much fun to share. The variety of delicious seafood on it included: Trout, Milk fish, Mantis shrimp, anchovy, tuna, deep fried snapper, crispy octopus, crispy prawns and clams. Also some wonderful smoked salmon prepared in house (Gravalax style) using rock salt, sugar and their special marinade for 14-15 hours,accompanied by a beautiful mayonnaise and swoosh of squid ink sauce. Everything had been specially selected by Giovanni who really knows his seafood. He goes out every day to a variety of local markets and knows many of the fishermen personally having lived in Thailand for 27 years and speaking the language. Talking of language: “Buona Sera Welcome Back” is a phrase you will hear him say often because once you have eaten at Acquapazza you are sure to return. Also Italian is a lovely language to listen to and in this restaurant there are many Italian diners nostalgic for the tastes and sounds of the “old country”.
After the starter we enjoyed some amazing Mantis Shrimp (from Trang near the Cambodian border). Giovanni told us that this is traditionally served as a pasta dish served with a tomato sauce, but his way is to prepare it a white sauce with the shrimp sauteed in white wine. Then there was tuna fish lightly seared in sesame oil and in breadcrumbs baked in the oven in a pistachio crust.
As a final treat, just as the desserts were being offered Giovanni’s talented wife came to join us all and play the mandolin. Of course when she played “O Sole Mio” there were gasps of delight from the assembled diners, what a lovely accompaniment to the wonderful traditional Italian dessert selection. As you would guess, this changes each night but on our night, included traditional Neapolitan Easter Cake (actually enjoyed the whole year long), some home made Lemon Meringue Pie and beautiful chocolate Roccobaba.
Try this charming restaurant for yourselves and be sure to allow plenty of time to really enjoy what is not just a fine dining meal but a wonderful experience.
391/154 M.10 Thapphraya rd., Nongprue, Banglamung Pattaya, Chon Buri, 086 075 2021 [email protected] 4:30pm – 11pm (Closed Wednesday