Roccia is like a love affair gone wrong. Its tasteful, vintage décor is a case of love at first sight, attracting affluent crowds into its romantically-lit dining room. Always eager to please, the perky, well-informed waitresses also make an excellent first impression. Unfortunately, the romance goes sour when the food turns up. The menu covers an extensive range of Italian favorites with an emphasis on pizzas and pastas, but there’s little to recommend. Clearly aimed at its wealthy big-haired regulars, prices are high and the cooking geared to a local palate. Don’t get us wrong. We hold no grudge against homey Thai-style Italian fare, as long as it tastes good. But when you are paying B250-320 for pastas and over B350 for mains, you have the right to expect more from the kitchen. The only thing Roccia does well is the appetizers. We love the zesty rocket salad with Italian sausage and the crisp calamari. Order the mains though, and brace yourself for sloppy, inconsistent dishes. On our recent visit, we tried the tagliatelle with lamb ragout, which was pedestrian at best. The sauce was bland and the undercooked pasta was so chewy we didn’t finish it. Pizzas are no better. On our recent visit, the dough arrived lukewarm, bland and soggy, with zero crunch. They even skimp on the tomato sauce and toppings but pile on the cheese. The recommended “oven-baked” sea bass fillet with white wine sauce turns out to be pan-fried. The fish is a joy, but we can’t detect any scents or flavors, let alone white wine, in the watery sauce that comes in a separate bowl. The accompanying mushy spinach, carrots and potatoes don’t help either. Considering dessert? The staff will bring you a menu from T-House, a Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant downstairs. On the bright side, you can choose from treats like bua loy nam khing (black sesame dumplings in ginger broth), young coconut chiffon cake and crème brulee. But we’ll review those when we review T-House. If you are in the neighborhood and don’t mind the price tag, the pleasant staff at Roccia will keep you happy. For the rest of us, there’s just too little to justify a trip to Roccia.
