Italian Restaurant Review

[jehricaholic]

Da Lino Italian Restaurant (www.ristorantedalino.com) in Naklua

Soi 18 Naklua Road (west side), 5 min walk half way down the soi on the left

038-414932

hours: 13:00-23:00

- has 2 patios (front for people watching - street noise, rear for quiet ambiance / romance)

- street parking

- good selection of pastas, wood oven pizzas, grilled meats and seafood

- good selection of wines

- overall value for money: 7/10 - Caesar salad @ 200Baht, grilled steak @ 400+ Baht

- table decor/ food presentation: 9/10 - coconut shake (delicious) came with an orchid (pricey though @ 90 Baht), several large size paper napkins are provided (not the toilet tissue size most restaurants provide)

Highlights:

- my Thai partner said it was the best pizza and steak he ever tasted in Thailand. (for me I concur about the steak, it was perfection and was obviously not pre-frozen, the pizza was Ok but I let my partner choose it and he then squirted Katsup on it... Ugh

- my Ceasar salad was OK, my sausage Risotto was OK - too much oil

- coconut shake was pricey but superb

- Calamari Fritta was bland, otherwise it looked like it should have (not over-battered like most I've tried in Thailand)

Will I return: 100% (if only for the steak and the great ambiance on the rear patio)

Edited November 18, 2011 by jehricaholic

[smokie36]

No pics?

[pauljones]

The website has pics and it looks NICE.

[timekeeper]

looks like we will be going there soon

thanks for the report

[FarangBuddha]

The website has pics and it looks NICE.

Some English would be nice...the Italian reading expat and tourist population of Pattaya is not very large.

As for the op's review, so half the dishes ordered were not too your liking and we're supposed to give this place a try (also, I wouldn't take as serious any pizza recommendation from anyone who douses it with ketchup)

[pauljones]

No english on the website.

To me, that's a good sign.

The photo of the pizza looks delicious.

[Pdaz]

After jogging by the place most mornings for many years I decided to give 'Toscana' on Beach Rd a go the other night. It was my girls B'day so was hoping for a quality Italian meal.

Nothing wrong with the ambiance. Good selection of wine available. First impressions were good.

Selection of cold meats and salami for a starter was good quality and very tasty. Our other choice was vongole crostini (clams on toasted bread) which was bland, required more seasoning and the topping looked dull and stale.

Main course was pasta. Pesto for myself and rock lobtster for my other half. My pesto was okay good flavour and redolant of basil. The lobster was fresh and well cooked but once again the sauce was bland and lacked the seafood 'ooomph' I'd expect.

What really ruined the meal though was that the pasta ( Linguini ) was overcooked and more like tinned spaghetti than authentic Italian pasta. To be honest I was very hungry when we arrived and I just got on with eating rather than complaining and having to wait for more pasta to be cooked.

Portion size considering my cheaper dish was 300 baht was also very small.

So to sum up. Soggy small portion of pasta, not much flavour in two out of three dishes and the only dish of real note only involved laying pre bought meats on a plate.

Very disapointing. There are dozens of 'Italian' resto's in town but it is still difficult to get a decent sized and well cooked bowl of pasta. Funny it seems that some of the smaller bargain priced places actually do a better job. But they sometimes suffer with workign to too small a budget so they can't offer authentic Italian products and have to offer lower quality local items.

As with all resto reports my opinion is subjective and based only on my taste. However after working for an Italian company for 12 years and eating with Italians on a daily basis I believe I have a pretty good idea of what 'good' Italian should be.

Why is it so hard to do well ?

[Jingthing]

Interesting. I only at at Toscana once, it's a bit too touristy for my taste. However, I had a pizza and it was very nice, Italian style crust, above average for Pattaya. Normal size Italian pizza (one hungry person can eat it), price a bit high but not bad.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Jingthing

[FarangBuddha]

No english on the website.

To me, that's a good sign.

The photo of the pizza looks delicious.

After you finish the photo, get back to us on if it's worth it for the rest of us to print it out and try it

Edited November 19, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[Jingthing]

How much was this steak?

Are there that many Italians in Naklua that they can get away with marketing only in Italiano?

[MJCM]

How much was this steak?

........

Quote from the OP

Caesar salad @ 200Baht, grilled steak @ 400+ Baht

Edited November 19, 2011 by MJCM

[Jingthing]

The formatting fooled my eye. Thanks for reading for me ...

[doggie888888]

2 years ago Grappa in Naklua (Woodlands Resort) was great. I really liked the food there as I thought it fairly authentic and good quality.

My last visit there about a year ago was a decidedly average affair, it was as if they had a new chef because the food was less authentic and not as delicious as previous visits. So I have not been back since. Maybe someone else has been recently and can update us with their experience.

[jehricaholic]

As a clarification:

Yes a couple of the dishes were a bit disappointing, but this is Thailand, it is normal to have a few negatives with the positives, I'm going to explore the menu and stick with the hits and bypass the misses.

The biggest hit was the steak, perfectly seasoned, obviously fresh, not overcooked, and it was at least a 10oz THICK cut. Anybody handy with a grill will tell you a thick steak is a better choice then a thin steak.

True the Calamari and Risotto were not so great: I've usually try Calamari when I see it on the menu (wherever in the world) and I've only ever seen it done poorly in Thailand. A Risotto dish is something that can easily fail, needing a lot of TLC, so I'll try another pasta next time.

I managed to try a few slices of the pizza that were minimally infested with my Thai partners katsup attack (I'm trying to teach him to douse it 1 slice at a time). The crust was thin and crisp, toppings were good. I'm more a fan of the intermediate thickness crust pizzas (I'm a big eater so fills me up more, plus the crust can support more toppings without failing like the thin crusts)

The place is on the Baht bus route so there's no excuse not to try it, and like I said in my review, the quiet rear patio ambiance was a treat in of its self.

[pauljones]

I went down Soi 18 in Naklua and could not find the place.

Then with the help of a motorbike taxi, I found it's the Soi just past 18.

Opens at 13:00 hours but they served me at 12:30.

Very nice menu. Lot's of tempting selections.

Was going to order the pizza but it looked like the wood fired oven was not up to temperature yet.

I ordered a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, onion & bacon. Pasta Amatriciana.

Delicious and the service was good too.

I will be back.

Drop them a point for not serving bread.

[FarangBuddha]

I went down Soi 18 in Naklua and could not find the place.

Then with the help of a motorbike taxi, I found it's the Soi just past 18.

Opens at 13:00 hours but they served me at 12:30.

Very nice menu. Lot's of tempting selections.

Was going to order the pizza but it looked like the wood fired oven was not up to temperature yet.

I ordered a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, onion & bacon. Pasta Amatriciana.

Delicious and the service was good too.

I will be back.

Drop them a point for not serving bread.

Yeah, most Italian restaurants in Pattaya don't serve "free" bread...you have to order a bread basket or garlic bread off the menu.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I went down Soi 18 in Naklua and could not find the place.

Then with the help of a motorbike taxi, I found it's the Soi just past 18.

Opens at 13:00 hours but they served me at 12:30.

Very nice menu. Lot's of tempting selections.

Was going to order the pizza but it looked like the wood fired oven was not up to temperature yet.

I ordered a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, onion & bacon. Pasta Amatriciana.

Delicious and the service was good too.

I will be back.

Drop them a point for not serving bread.

Yeah, most Italian restaurants in Pattaya don't serve "free" bread...you have to order a bread basket or garlic bread off the menu.

I hope this is not off topic. Is there any restaurant in Pattaya-Jomtien that serves excellent spaghetti and meatballs? Real, authentic (large) meatballs? I have never found such a place. (Personally, I will not eat at any Italian restaurant that will try to get me to pay extra for bread.) Thanks.

[FarangBuddha]

I went down Soi 18 in Naklua and could not find the place.

Then with the help of a motorbike taxi, I found it's the Soi just past 18.

Like what is that supposed to mean...it is not as helpful a clarification as it could be. When giving directions, please them in relation to direction of travel and/or landmarks. "Just past soi 18" when traveling in what direction...depending on one's driving from north or south, "just past" will mean completely different sois. And better yet, all public sois are numbered so giving the number would also be a big help.

I'm looking at a map of Naklue and if one is driving up Naklua road from the south, the soi "just past" 18 looks to be soi 16/3 but if I'm coming from the north, then the "just past" soi would be 18/1...so which is it? As the webpage lists the address as soi "18," I assume if it's not actually on "18" then it would be "18/1." (Demerits to the owner here as well if it's not actually on soi "18" and for not having a map [or even a phone number so far as I can tell] on his website.)

I only say all this because I will attempt to find and try this place too as I'll be in the area tonite for something else and will be looking for someplace to eat and as I like Italian food this place might be interesting :jap:

Edited November 20, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[pauljones]

Approaching Naklua from the Dolphin go past Soi 22, past Soi 20, past Soi 18. Then turn left.

I didn't notice a sign as I came in thru the back.

[FarangBuddha]

Using the number provided by the op, I did call the place and they state their main entrance is in fact on soi 18 exactly (maybe there is also a small or side entrance opening to another soi as well. I will endeavor to find this place tonite

Edited November 20, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[jehricaholic]

This tidbit of info should help all of you trying to find the place from Naklua road:

The restaurant is on the same soi as a well known seafood restaurant 'Rim Talay', we went to Rim Talay, that's how we first became aware of the Italian restaurant. Anyways, there is rather enormous, ornate, and well-lit Rim Talay sign at the entrance to the soi, so that's the landmark you need to look for from Naklua road, after that it's on the left half way down the soi .

Here is a link to a google map for Rim Talay:

http://www.rimtalays...m/location.html

By the way, the steak at Rim Talay was double the price and half the quality of the Italian restaurant!

Edited November 20, 2011 by jehricaholic

[Jingthing]

I hope this is not off topic. Is there any restaurant in Pattaya-Jomtien that serves excellent spaghetti and meatballs? Real, authentic (large) meatballs? I have never found such a place. (Personally, I will not eat at any Italian restaurant that will try to get me to pay extra for bread.) Thanks.

Not sure if it's what you want but that cafe/resto on the right hand side as you enter Royal Garden mall from 2nd road has a menu picture of that dish with what looks like biggish balls. Surely not the biggest ones you will have eaten, but perhaps worth a nibble.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Jingthing

[FarangBuddha]

I hope this is not off topic. Is there any restaurant in Pattaya-Jomtien that serves excellent spaghetti and meatballs? Real, authentic (large) meatballs? I have never found such a place. (Personally, I will not eat at any Italian restaurant that will try to get me to pay extra for bread.) Thanks.

Not sure if it's what you want but that cafe/resto on the right hand side as you enter Royal Garden mall from 2nd road has a menu picture of that dish with what looks like biggish balls. Surely not the biggest ones you will have eaten, but perhaps worth a nibble.

That would be the Coffee Club (also a new one in Naklua) and yes, the spaghetti and meatballs pictured in posters and the menu looks authentic and good; and while not bad, it suffers from the often Thai cooking affliction of being too sweet (the sauce).

Best chicken with cashed-nuts in town, however.

[jehricaholic]

I hope this is not off topic. Is there any restaurant in Pattaya-Jomtien that serves excellent spaghetti and meatballs? Real, authentic (large) meatballs? I have never found such a place. (Personally, I will not eat at any Italian restaurant that will try to get me to pay extra for bread.) Thanks.

Not sure if it's what you want but that cafe/resto on the right hand side as you enter Royal Garden mall from 2nd road has a menu picture of that dish with what looks like biggish balls. Surely not the biggest ones you will have eaten, but perhaps worth a nibble.

Not a fan of Farang balls, that's why I'm in Thailand

[pauljones]

http://maps.google.c...&sz=17&t=h&z=17

I checked the Google Map. It looks like the restaurant is on18.

I must have ventured down Soi 18/2 or 18/1 before I found it.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I hope this is not off topic. Is there any restaurant in Pattaya-Jomtien that serves excellent spaghetti and meatballs? Real, authentic (large) meatballs? I have never found such a place. (Personally, I will not eat at any Italian restaurant that will try to get me to pay extra for bread.) Thanks.

Not sure if it's what you want but that cafe/resto on the right hand side as you enter Royal Garden mall from 2nd road has a menu picture of that dish with what looks like biggish balls. Surely not the biggest ones you will have eaten, but perhaps worth a nibble.

Not a fan of Farang balls, that's why I'm in Thailand

Sorry, I think I walked into the wrong room. Awohalitsiktoli's teepee is not crooked

[jehricaholic]

Follow-up Review

I made a return visit this evening (Sunday) with my Thai partner:

My Thai partner ordered the same 2 dishes as previous (steak & pizza).

Steak: I never got to try his steak this time but he said it tasted better then on the previous visit as he requested it more well done. It comes with a decent portion of tasty shoestring fries and a lovely side salad.

Pizza: This time I though the pizza was a bit bland, although I would not have chosen the toppings (parma ham and parma beef). Next time we will try the wood fired pizza garlic bread.

I ordered baked Lamb, Tomato Mozzarella Salad, and homemade Choc Mouse:

Lamb: comes only with the same side salad as above. I love lamb but It was overcooked and pre-frozen, not very flavorful. They also have chops on the menu but I'll skip the lamb.

Salad: a large sliced ripe tomato with alternating slices of buffalo mozzarella and fresh chopped basil. The salad was good but I would have preferred whole fresh basil leaves which is the norm.

Mousse: Better then expected...Delicious but not chocolate mouse... more like a chilled 'hot fudge' covered with whipped cream & cherry. Will definately re-order but will try their other homemade dessert first, Tiramisu.

They also have a Swensens style sundae menu.

The restaurant was more busy this time but the ambiance in the back was still great.

HILITE: They remembered us from the week prior and rewarded us with 2 free shots of the Italian liquer 'Limoncello' after we asked for the bill. A lovely gesture even though it's not to our liking (I downed both of the shots)

VERDICT: Lots more to explore on this expansive, varied menu, Some hits, some misses. We'll be back next week!

Edited November 20, 2011 by jehricaholic