The decor is simply stated with dark wood furniture. They don't pretend to be a sophisticated upscale eatery but once you've tried the food here, you'll appreciate the quality of the authentic down to earth home-style cooking. When they say "Mama's in the kitchen" at this restaurant, it's a fact. The proprietors mother, Angela Sciacovelli, came from Italy where she owned a restaurant of her own for decades and now she is managing the kitchen at LA PIOLA and demands that everything served must be fresh. Please, don't even mention the word "frozen", it's fresh today, or it's not served to customers.

Similar to many trattorias in Italy, there is a choice of 3 menu sets. I can't describe the quality and the quantity of food as this is not just a meal, but a feast.

We chose the house wine from a selection of Italian vintages, a very nice red for only 800 baht a litre, ya not bottle. The owner's wholesale company imports food and wines from Italy, each made available to their restaurant customers.

Patrons receive a basket of fresh baked bread, refilled whenever necessary. The bread along with the pizza are made in a wood-fired oven. From 12 selections, we tried the Pizza Contadina, mixed vegetables, mozzarella and tomatoes. The pizza here is prepared by a 4th generation pizza baker and is definitely one of the best pies in Bangkok.

Our antipasti arrived with a mix of at least 5 types of cold-cuts then accompanied by 3 spizzico choices with meat, fish & vegetables, each in a ceramic dish baked-off in the wood-fired oven. Next up were two choices of pasta & mama's soup of the day. My dinner companion and I shared the Gnocchi in a Pesto Sauce served with Eggplant Parmigiano. Also we selected the Osso Bucco with Risotto. The veal shank was so deliciously tender that I closed my eyes when eating each bite. The risotto was equally delicious, not sticky, a lovely arborio rice mixed with what appeared to be at least two types of chesses. Speaking of cheese, there is a cheese trolley that is wheeled around the restaurant for patrons to select from. The owner, Pietro, travels to central Italy every few months and has scoured many farms for producers of the finest cheeses in the region. Next up, dessert. My companion and I enjoyed a large portion of delicious creamy Tiramisu. We topped off the evening with a coffee, an espresso, and finally a limoncello, all inclusive in our meal. Needless to say, the food is exceptional and you are served enough for an army. We enjoyed each dish and every bite. The words home-made and authentic are often freely used but at La Piola all the food is authentic Italian, made fresh and from scratch every day by Mama and her staff in the same traditional way she has been cooking for the past 50 years.

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