Valentino Restaurant is located in the wonderful area of Thong Nai Pan Noi, an area far from the madding party crowd of the South, a place where you may feel like you are somewhere completely different if you have not discovered this area before.
Taking over one year to build and complete, there is a lot of true love, thought and dedication gone into the restaurant from its owner Andrea and his Partner P.Boom.
Valentino opened its doors on July 29th 2017 for a ‘Grand Opening’, there were complimentary drinks and food prepared by Head Chef Alessandro who is also Italian. Firstly we speak to Andrea himself to find out more…
What is your Koh Phangan story?
I've been living in Koh Phangan since 2011, moving from Milan where I worked as an advertising agent for one of the most popular Italian media companies but with a great passion and family tradition about catering.
I moved to Phangan after taking over the management of Blue Ocean Garden Resort and La Dolce Vita Restaurant, activities that I've followed with the precious help of my wife P. Boom and the manager Myriam until last July when unfortunately we had to close for not being able to renew the land leasing with the Thai landlord.
One year ago we opened first our Pizza and Pasta place in Thong Nai Pan Noi "That's Amore" while we were working on the building of Valentino that took more than one year. So actually Valentino Group is running both these restaurants that are just 30 metres apart from each other.
Tell us the concept of Valentino...
Valentino wants to offer a high quality service with Italian food and now also a few Thai dishes cooked by my wife P. Boom.
Why did you chose Thong Nai Pan?
In the area of Thong Nai Pan the luxury hotels which are located there can offer a high occupancy during all the year with more than 300 rooms only on the beach of Thong Nai Pan Noi.
People who decide to spend holidays on this side of the island are normally discerning travelers who expect to find high standard service and food and Valentino has a mission to satisfy them.
What is the inspiration behind the food?
Our menu is inspired by our Italian roots and our passion for travelling!
Actually we also added a few fine Thai dishes cooked by my Thai wife P. Boom.
We also serve a wide selection of imported wines, with 6 different wines by the glass and more than 40 wines from all around the world.
How did you meet Chef Alessandro?
I met the chef Alessandro almost 2 years ago, I heard great things about his cooking talent and we started to collaborate for some special events like weddings in my previous restaurant La Dolce Vita. He has more than 15 years experience as a chef all around the world in luxury hotels like Anantara Maldives, Sheraton Kuala Lumpur and more.
How do you want people to feel at the restaurant?
Valentino looks like a typical countryside Italian house with its brick walls and wood roof and what we wish to do is make people feel like at home…
Valentino did a wonderful job of making all of their guests feel at home for the opening. The restaurant was already buzzing with people when we arrived at 7.30pm. Fizz was being poured and hosts were warmly welcoming everybody and it had a warming feel to get you settled easily.
Chef Alessandro and his team had prepared many delicious things to try, samples of the exquisite food to come if you would chose to sit down and eat.
Phanganist opted to sit down for a meal as we too had heard amazing things about the food and so we were taken to the upstairs seating area, spacious and comfortable with a beautiful ceiling light piece and a view out onto the quaint street of Thong Nai Pan Noi.
We were delighted to experience a 3 course meal made up of a starter, pasta and a main dish and each was powerful with beautiful flavour and of the highest quality, something that can be oversighted elsewhere on the island.
This is the kind of food you would expect to book weeks in advance for in Europe not to mention to pay over the odds too! But here it is, situated in paradise here on Koh Phangan.
Each dish is a work of art on its own and with Alessandro’s experience and knowledge of ingredients, flavour and how to use them you can be satisfied that you will get a wonderfully tendered to, thought about dish which is of the highest quality and will leave you with an unforgettable memory of your dining experience at Valentino’s.
We wish them the best of luck for the future!
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