Lucky Signor Sassi
Having stumbled on a winning formula, there’s no stopping this Italian restaurant chain’s burgeoning success, especially during this festive season
From little acorns mighty oaks do grow. Or in this case, from a single standalone Italian restaurant gambit a couple of blocks down from Harrods in London’s upscale Knightsbridge district, four globe-girdling chains have been spawned.
The original Signor Sassi was opened by the Italian family-owned San Carlo Restaurants Group in 1984 and was an instant hit, fast-tracking the enterprise to becoming one of the most successful Italian restaurant operators in all the Sceptered Isles.
Once folks there had a taste for its simple but satisfying food, chic but unstuffy ambiance and genial service, they wanted more. Indeed, the owners could boast a host of repeat customers gobbling up its gourmet offerings, ranging royalty, politicians, moguls and sundry stars. For evidence, simply look up from your spaghetti and the wealth of welcome shots is on the wall.
High on the list of food fixes most avidly sought were the likes of Avocado with lobster, scampi & prawns, Baked egg plant with Parmesan cheese, mozzarella & tomato sauce, New Zealand rack of lamb with red wine & aromatic herbs, and Spaghetti Lobster, more about which later.
Coupled with this, they lapped up the contents of the restaurants’ walkin wine vaults offering selections from the best vineyards in Italy and beyond.
So while most new restaurant launches misfire, the San Carlo family was instead contemplating creating a corporation that was soon going international with four targeted brands.
Signor Sassi Bangkok, opened in 2012, has the distinction of being the first Asian franchise. Carrying all the distinguishing features of the successful original formula, it occupies most of the 37th floor of the new five-star Anantara Bangkok Sathorn.
Same concept, same menu, same success. Only different celeb shots on the wall, ranging royalty, Rihanna and eminent statesman, Surin Pitsuwan.
Well, similar. Being a viewing outpost gives the Bangkok bastion an attraction beyond the food and booze. Meanwhile a swanky balcony looking across walking-distance Chongnonsri BTS station intensifies the sense of being one of a select few. It also strangely echoes Alpine Italy and makes it a hot spot on Bangkok’s big firework nights, such as the one fast-approaching.
The de´cor is also unique in its own way but with signature elements such as food clues, including hanging salamis and garlic bunches, a standing cured ham station and a seafood display on a mountain of ice so you can check the freshness before your selection shows up on your plate.
But while all that echoes family-run trattorias, it’s only an overlay on top of that sense of style for which Italy is renowned. Another layer of Italian evocation comprises the soundtrack of impassioned arias and dolce vita charttoppers. Add to this a gallery of Venetian masks evoking the country’s great culture and the boxes are ticked for pretty much whatever first comes into anyone’s head at mention of the word "Italian".
The emphasis on authenticity extends not only to the cuisine but how it is created and served. In charge of ensuring that standards are kept up is Filippo Pagani whose serendipitous story echoes that of his employer. Having joined as a chef in Knightsbridge he’s gone onto open a slew of new restaurants and be bestowed the title Executive Development Chef.
Besides ensuring that every dish in Bangkok is consistent with the original, his responsibilities embrace creating special menus for auspicious occasions, which brings us to the real point of this piece: Signor Sassi Bangkok’s special festive season menus.
Two 4-course special festive set menus are offered for Christmas (B2,900 nett) with the same menus added up to five courses for New Year (B2,999++), each with a complimentary glass of champagne to toast with.
One Christmas set comprises Grilled scallop with herbs and garlic butter, Spaghetti lobster Signor Sassi, a signature dish, Monk fish with white wine, tomato and radicchio sauce, and a selection of Signor Sassi’s finest desserts.
The other offers Thin sliced raw fillet of Wagyu beef, fresh black truffle, followed by Risotto with Morrelli wild mushroom, fresh black truffle, then Pan-fried filet of beef medallion, topped with foie gras, concluding with the same dessert.
Porcini Cream Soup with mixed imported fresh mushroom makes the difference at New Year.
Available lunch and dinner, the Christmas menus are offered from 21 December to 30 December while the New Year menu is offered on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The beef carpaccio is spliced quite thick and the treasured black truffles are applied liberally. A little olive oil and a hint of rosemary leave the sublime beef-truffle combination to be enjoyed in all its glory.
The scallops—two large ones per serving—are magnificent molluscs from the US. They are pan-fried with breadcrumbs, rosemary, sage, thyme and Parmesan and served in a delectable butter and garlic sauce with a dash of Worcester sauce, parsley, lemon and celery.
The lobster is from Maine while the spaghetti is specially imported Voiello brand fusilini, very fine and properly al dente. The lobster is prepared in brandy, lobster bisque and fresh parsley, so that it sticks invitingly to the spaghetti in a way that makes the dish’s popularity selfexplanatory.
The buttery soft Australian steak is seared in a similar sauce to that used with the scallops, leaving the flavour of the meat unadulterated to combine sumptuously with the superbly-turned foie gras, pan-fried with brandy and butter.
That New Year soup includes morel mushrooms as well as porcinis while the underlying stock is enhanced with celery, onion, garlic. The flavour is robustly creamy, richly earthy.
Providing a fitting end, the desserts are presented on a three-tier silver and porcelain tea tray, ranging Black Forest gateau infused with Bayleys Irish Cream, lemon and orange cake, and dolce manjari, made with soya milk, topped with raspberry sauce and juxtaposed with divine handmade coconut chocolates.
We also tried Signor Sassi’s proudly firm tiramisu and to-die-for panna cotta with vanilla seed and fresh fruit compote.
Alternatively, there’s the extensive, London-duplicate a la carte, the specials and Sassi set lunches priced B450-B650++ whereby you design your own menu from 12 starters, 10 pasta courses and 8 mains. Lobster lovers may also be intrigued by the new Lobster Burger served with a side green salad and French fries. And jolly good luck to you, too. Signor Sassi Bangkok is open daily for lunch and dinner, 12 noon-2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Located on Narathiwat-Ratchanakarin Road, it is easily reached by car or public transportation, including BTS Chong Nonsi) and BRT Arkhan Songkhro.