There’s plenty to enjoy about wine o’clock, even if the jokey name might be a little cheesy for our tastes. For starters, if you pick wisely you can enjoy some interesting tapas-style, Italian-influenced dishes, as well as some decent house wines, without breaking the bank. The bad news, well to be honest, we can’t think of too much, except it can be deathly quiet on weeknights and, for that reason, can seem slightly soulless. The deathly calm bit can be a little disconcerting, especially if you opt for the large outdoor area which also contains the pizza oven, and some (and we can testify to this) very powerful fans to keep you cool. It was empty last time we went and there only seemed to be one other diner in the cozy interior of the converted retro-Sukhumvit home. It makes the army of servers seem superfluous but at least you are well attended to. The clear highlight has to be the aforementioned selection of tapas-style dishes. There’s around twenty hot and cold dishes to pick from and they range from classic Italian like the decent (if not outstanding) beef carpaccio to more intriguing options like the tender rock lobster wrapped with bacon. One word of warning though, this is tapas, so portions are small: maximum four pieces for each dish. Make sure you order a few. We can definitely recommend the deep fried mozzarella cheese which is suitably gooey and also comes with a nice salsa dip. Another tasty option is the fresh squid in a tomato sauce. Mains cover pastas from the wonderfully homemade-tasting lasagna al forno to the expensive spaghetti allo scoglio al vino bianco. A better, more affordable bet, is the pizzas; they’re the real deal, crispy bases and generous toppings. Try the capriccioso pizza (ham, artichokes, mushrooms and Italian sausage). In fact, all the dishes we’ve tried follow a clear pattern: well-executed home-style fare that won’t necessarily get your pulse racing but won’t disappoint either. For decent Italian food, this place certainly makes an affordable choice in a high end neighborhood filled with more expensive options. Corkage B300.
