While Pizza Massilia bills itself as "a gourmet pizzeria" that's just its signature. Come for the party-piece Napolitan pizzas, indeed, but stay for the antipasti, pastas, secondi + dolce. They're all virtuoso, as expected from a Luca Appino (Bottega di Luca, Vesper Bar, Il Fumo) project that evolved from a cult food truck on Silom.
Phloenchitophyles will be familiar with the original Pizza Massilia, Ruam Rudee, but less so the year-old branch behind a small parking square tucked inside Sukhumvit 49. A vaguely barn-like alloy café, painted lapis blue, rubs up well as a transport from dolce vitaland, especially after dark, when its nameplate twinkles with Vegasian bling and its al fresco terraza shimmies.
The interior weaves post-industrial ducting, French salon-chic chairs drawn up to posh-clothed tables, silkscreen jungle scenes, surreal reindeer antler chandeliers, and potted palm fronds.
Just inside, the Italian wood-fired, gold domed Stefano Ferrara oven fired with Italian wood segues into the bar, facing the main kitchen, walk-in cellar, and semi-private rooms across the dining room. Cool music is curated by DJ Clement from Colette Paris and occasional guest DJs.
Why Massilia? It's the ancient name of Marseille, to which a bunch of Napolitans expatriated in the 19th century, bringing their definitive pizza but making it fancier, a development PM honours with consummate cookery using premium artisan products.
For instance Culatello 2-years cured ham, a finer grade even than Parma ham. Plus mortadella from Bologna, extra virgine olive oil bio, Tuscan black truffle Scorzone, and Piennolo organic tomatoes grown in the mineral-rich volcanic soil of Vesuvio.
DOCG burrata and stracciatella (the heart part), are selected for their cloud-soft creaminess thanks to milk from cows that graze grassy Puglian hillsides.
The dough blends four types of organic Mulino Marino-milled flour, mixed with mineral water and fermented with natural yeast for 72 hours in air-conditioning. Hot from the oven, the raised rim, flat middle, subtly smoky crust has a lovely aroma and toothsome bite.
The proof is in pies such as Burrata, Culatello, Basil (590 regular/690 gluten-free), baked with tomato sauce and olive oil. The delectably dairy burrata, tender umami ham and Italian herb are extremely delicious together.
Calzone (1,190), where the crust is folded over, enclosing the filling, fusing the flavours, is equally Roman laurel-worthy. Smoked "Fior Di Latte" Scamorza cheese, semi-soft mozzarella, riffs off the smoky crust and flirts with earthy truffle paste. The pie is sliced open tableside for egg and fresh black truffle complements, then closed while the full orchestra of flavours compose a glorious culinary aria.
Nor does pasta play second fiddle. Case in point Fusilli Vesuvio (390), where foxglove-shaped pasta is bound with a deft ratatouille featuring finest taggiasca olives, all lavishly laced with salted ricotta.
Or cut to the chase with the Tomahawk, charcoal-grilled then oven-baked Australian marble-5 wagyu (390/g): butter-soft beef at its unbridled best. Served with baked vegetables, each slice is perfect as is, dipped in any of four rock salts, lightly drizzled with champagne olive oil, or slathered with Dijon or English mustard.
Conclude with classic Neapolitan "Le Baba" (290), chocolate and vanilla sponge squares infused with rum, arranged around fresh vanilla ice cream dusted with cinnamon and a sprig of mint, over almond crunch.
Wines feature Tuscan, Sicilian and Piedmontese sauvignonese reds rising to Reserva premium quality, chardonnay whites, rosés and sparklers, including in-vogue Sandra Bottega prosecco. Starts around 200/glass. Plus Peroni Nastro Azurro Italian craft beer on tap.
Lunch 11:30 – 14:30.
Dinner 17:30 – 00:00 (Last order at 23:00)
www.pizzamassilia.com
tel. 095 580 6560
