After a hiatus, Medici Kitchen & Bar is back with a new atmosphere and also a new chef. New executive chef Giuliano Berta is giving the subterranean restaurant a new cosiness with a menu inspired by his mother’s cooking back in Brescia, Italy. Shedding some of the fine-dining air but preserving its rustic interiors, green booths and table cloths are introduced as a nod to good old Italian trattoria. The new face-lift also offers guests greater exclusivity with two new private rooms: Caterina and Lorenzo.
While the new furnishing sounds promising, what we really want to experience is chef Giuliano Berta’s food. Many of his dishes are served family-style, blending very well into Thai culture. Starting with antipasti, the fritto misto offers a selection of crispy seafood while the Italian cured meat platter is an obvious favourite. For carbs lovers, pizza tartufata with three different kinds of cheese, porcini mushrooms and black truffle is delicious with its thin, crispy yet chewy crust. It also comes in quite a generous size, again, great for sharing with family and friends.
Moving on, you simply cannot have enough pasta here. Lasagne casarecce, layered with Australian beef cheek ragout and béchamel sauce, is highly satisfying dish, as well as the spaghettoni all’astice, which is cooked with white wine, lobster bisque, fresh tomatoes and basil. If you want a proper, traditional main dish, however, definitely give the branzino al sale a go. The salt-baked sea bass is served with sautéed greens, potatoes and marinated mushrooms giving you the taste of sweet fresh fish.
End your meal with the mood-lifting tiramisu.
