Angelini Italian Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand

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Angelini Italian Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand

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Bangkok, the City of Angels, is also blessed by another angel, Angelini, which means "little angel" in Italian. And this little angel has brought something special to the city -- a beautiful place to dine on authentic, constantly changing, regional Italian cuisine.

Located in the Shangri-La Hotel on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, Angelini is a striking example of what happens when a top architectural design firm from San Francisco oversees a 50 million baht renovation of a three story, open-air terrace space into an enclosed Italian restaurant.
Inspired by old descriptions of Bangkok as the "Venice of the East," architect Chris von Eckartsberg from Backen, Arrigoni & Ross set about to create a space that would remind people of Venice while at the same time create a dramatic atmosphere in which to dine. He achieved both of these objectives quite successfully, as anyone can tell after visiting Angelini. 

Incorporating four separate areas, the restaurant imparts a sense of Old World ambience while at the same time possessing a modern feel. The bar area on the right as you enter the restaurant is dominated by a huge oil painting entitled "Pulcinella At Play," Pulcinella being the mythical character who has become the restaurant's trademark. This light-hearted imagery sets the tone for the whole space: it's elegant but not serious, traditional but not rigid and dramatic, but in an abstract way. 

The second bar area is a food bar where dining is the major activity and runs the length of the left wall. The pizza oven is at the far end of the bar and the upper dining area is on your right. This space looks out over the lower dining level and through the three story glass you can see the palms in the gardens out back and the river itself. It's a somewhat majestic view and almost feels like sitting in a theatre balcony, watching the action all over the restaurant. It's undoubtedly the most popular place to sit for dining and people watching. 

The lower level gives the impression of enormous size because of the huge overhead space and the resulting feeling is of being in a magnificent ballroom in a Venetian palazzo (palace) which the entire space was intended to somewhat emulate, though not replicate.
The use of gold and black throughout contrasts richly with the dark wood columns and facings and adds another exciting design element, along with the ornately designed tableware, the oversized colorful glasses and the beautiful Venetian glass that was used for the lighting fixtures.
Let's not forget the food, however, the most important eason for coming in the first place. Utilizing a menu of regional Italian dishes, the chef, Bonavetura Mansi, changes selections every three months. There's seafood, beef, chicken, risottos, pizzas, delicious appetizers warm and cold, salads, pastas and many other delicacies. 

With the decor, the food, the music and the people-watching, it all adds up to a heavenly experience that you'll want to repeat each time you're in the City of Angels.

See http://bangkokdining.ning.com/profiles/blog/list for info on Bangkok restaurants.