Rossini's, located in the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit hotel in Bangkok, was one of the first high-end Italian restaurants located in a major hotel. Over its 12 years of operation, it has strived for authentic Italian cuisine and decor inspired by Tuscan farmhouses and cities like Florence. The menu offers both traditional dishes like homemade cannelloni as well as more contemporary options like pan-fried duck liver. Rossini's has maintained high quality Italian dining standards in Bangkok through special events and importing talented chefs.

1. If you wanted to experience high-end Italian dining in this town 10 or 11 years
ago there weren’t a lot of choices and the good Italian restaurants, with few
exceptions, were free-standing, not in five-star hotels. Rossini’s, in the Sheraton
Grande Sukhumvit, was one of the first to be sited in a major hotel and from the
beginning it has striven to stay near the top of the Italian dining spots in the
city.
From the décor to the menu it has strived for authenticity and being of Italian
extraction and growing up eating Italian (actually, Sicilian) food I can attest to
the fact that they have been quite successful in their efforts. I haven’t eaten
there in about a year but I’ve dined there many times over the years and have
been impressed with the consistency of the food on the plates.
What’s also nice about Rossini’s is the décor. In many restaurants the décor is
pretty much a non-factor for me – it doesn’t seem to affect my experience one
way or another. In some places, however, the décor does make a bit of a
difference and Rossini’s is one of those places. The two rooms each have a
different feel to them with the main dining room making you feel as if you’d just
stepped into a rustic Tuscan farmhouse with its overhead beams and lots of old-
looking wood. The smaller room, which can be closed off from the main room
and is often used for special events, reminds me more of a dining room you
might find in one of the larger Italian cities, Florence or Milan, perhaps. The
painted mural on one of the walls is a particularly nice touch.
The food also represents two different styles as you can find many traditionally
prepared dishes and also some updated, contemporary dishes that the chefs
have designed. Some of the more traditional dishes include a pasta course dish
of home-made cannelloni with spinach and ricotta cheese in tomato sauce and
classic buffalo mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and rocket leaves as an
appetizer. On the other end of the spectrum you can find another appetizer of
pan fried duck liver with apricot mousse and vin santo sauce and a main course
dish of pigeon breasts with crispy duck liver, mashed potatoes and liquorice.
This is not a terribly large menu but it is well thought out and contains
something for everyone: salmon, tuna and snowfish from the sea with Angus
steak, lamb loin and ribeye joining the pigeon breasts. In addition to the
cannelloni the pasta section features home-made pansotti filled with roasted
veal in truffle essence, home-made tagliolini with king prawns and cherry
tomatoes along with ravioli, lasagna and tortelli dishes all done in creative ways.
There are a couple of soups and risottos and a total of eight appetizers and
salads to round out the menu. Actually, that’s not quite true. There are a couple
of cheese plates and some very nice desserts to end your meal here.
Rossini’ s has also, through the years, hosted a number of special food events
and promotions and just last year brought over Michelin-star chef Alfredo Russo
to cook for a week. That was quite a treat and was characteristic of Rossini’s
overall goal of maintaining high Italian dining standards in Bangkok. After 12
years Rossini’s has managed to maintain its position in the hierarchy of Italian
dining here.