From the newly installed wood oven, decorated on its exterior with colourful ceramics, La Villa now offers, in its a la carte menu, a selection of pizzas that you can enjoy at the restaurant or take home.
The standard Pizza Margherita (Bt270) is on offer with the traditional tomato, mozzarella and basil, or you may wish to try the Pizza Kiss (Bt320), tomato, mozzarella, spicy salami, black olives and a fresh cheese mousse. Facchinetti has other toppings as well, to please carnivores as well as vegetarians.
The rest of the a la carte menu is equally extensive. The anti-pasti section is full of interesting nibbles for starting the meal, from imported Mediterranean sardines (Bt380) to an assortment of imported cold cuts (Bt550 for two).
The pasta section offers homemade pasta alongside pasta by De Cecco, with dishes ranging in price from Bt260 for homemade meat lasagne all the way up to Bt1,250. That top-end dish in this section is Facchinetti Spaghetti “All Astice” – spaghetti with large chunks of Canadian lobster. These huge crustaceans are flown in two or three times a week and kept comfortable until it’s time for the knife.
From the seafood section, try Facchinetti’s “Branzino del Mediterraneo” (Bt1,250), 600-grams of imported white snapper lovingly baked in a crust of sea salt. This hard crust is removed right before serving, allowing the aroma of the fresh fish, with the salt it’s absorbed, to burst forth.
Facchinetti thinks that this dish serves one, but with all the other good things on the menu, this dish is sufficient for two.
The chef has added another menu, “Today’s Specials”, based mainly on his mood. Since the holidays are coming up, he’s been thinking about Christmas fare, such as his strudel di patate.
The strudel, made from potatoes, is slightly heavier than gnocchi and is wrapped around Fontina cheese and Prosciutto cotto and served in a thick tomato sauce.
For Facchinetti, the strudel is his comfort food, a dish his mother used to make for him whenever he was particularly good. “I didn’t get it very much,” he smiles, but he obviously remembers every bite.
For the holidays, La Villa is planning yet another treat, a wine bar overlooking the restaurant’s private pond. Seating around 30, the bar will have its very own menu and provide an opportunity for imbibers to relax in a romantic (and air-conditioned) setting. It’s due to open in mid this month. |
