Review: PizzaZo – Bangkok’s Newest French-Italian Restaurant is Superb

Although Bangkok, Thailand has thousands of excellent restaurants, there aren't many Italian restaurants in the bunch. That's why, when a new one opens, I'm one of the first to try them out, as Italian is my second-favorite cuisine after Thai. Earlier this year, PizzaZo, a new restaurant, opened in downtown Bangkok and, imagine my surprise when I discovered you get two treats for the price of one here - French and Italian food.

Location of PizzaZo - Situated in a gorgeous house on Sukhumvit Soi 16 in Bangkok, PizzaZo is close to the Phrom Phong sky train station, so easy to get to.

The Atmosphere at PizzaZo - Even if the food was diabolical (it's not), you'd still have to eat at PizzaZo just because the converted house it's located in is stunning. Once just your average house, nowadays the building is a delightfully converted space that's chic but cozy, and their outdoor patio is simply gorgeous.

The Food - Just like I compliment the building, I've also been raving about the food since my first visit to PizzaZo. This time, instead of my usual group of Thai friends, I ate dinner with a couple of European friends who also live in Bangkok. They too were blown away by PizzaZo. Now, to me, if a European comments on how amazing the food is at a European restaurant in Bangkok, it really is quite special.

The menu at PizzaZo is large, there's something for every taste and every dish we ordered was perfect and, in some cases, quite unique. I recommend the fried calamari as a starter, the butternut squash soup (the best I've tasted in a long time), or the tiger prawns, although let me tell you, every appetizer we saw arriving at tables around us looked equally as delicious.

For the main course, we ordered a pesto pizza (I'm addicted to pesto and this hit the spot in a big way), a classic calzoni, the seafood spaghetti, a crab meat cannelloni, and two salads - the rocket and the Caesar, and we set about sharing what we ordered. All I can say is, if I'd had any more room, when we finished I would have ordered it all again, plus everything else on the menu.

Prices at PizzaZo - Italian and French restaurants in Bangkok are often expensive, but that's not the case at PizzaZo. In fact, I don't think I've ever had this high quality of food for such an inexpensive price.

Appetizers begin at 160 baht (just over $5). Pizzas are reasonably priced between 260 and 420 baht (the highest is the one with squid ink and tiger prawns), and most main dishes were in the 260-420 baht range. If you order a few dishes, and split them between your entire party, you could easily walk out having only spent around $20 each, yet eaten one of the best meals in Bangkok.

If you love good Italian food, with a bit of French thrown in, you must not miss PizzaZo. In the nine years I've lived in Bangkok, I've eaten at well over 1,000 restaurants and PizzaZo is high on my top ten list. The owner is lovely too.

You'll find PizzaZo at 188 Sukhumvit, Soi 16, near Phrom Phong BTS station in Bangkok.