Marco Polo

Positive reviews

• ★★★★★B· a month ago

  We had a lovely dinner at Marco Polo. The price was really good. I think it was good value for money. The food was delicious. I really like the pasta with the grilled prawn. The serve of the Greek salad was huge. The wine by the glass is good quality and reasonably priced.

• ★★★★★אדיר יוסף· 4 months ago

  We had an amazing experience at this Italian restaurant in Bangkok. The service was warm, friendly, and attentive from start to finish. The food was simply outstanding every single bite was incredibly delicious and full of flavor. The atmosphere was wonderful, and the live music made the whole evening even more special. We truly enjoyed every moment and would definitely come back. Highly recommended!

• ★★★★★David Barrett DBC· 11 months ago

  For my Sunday night dinner I hadn’t planned on eating Italian. In fact, I was heading toward a humble bowl of khao mun gai on Convent Road when my dinner date noticed a discreet little sign down a side alley. Curiosity won. We wandered down the narrow lane and found ourselves in front of Marco Polo, a surprisingly sleek Italian restaurant tucked inside a converted shop house. Clean, modern and quietly stylish, it felt worlds away from the street-food stalls just beyond its doorstep. Prices, I quickly discovered, were not what you’d call cheap. But the menu looked promising, and the room had that inviting glow that suggests a kitchen taking itself seriously. I ordered a Caesar salad (yes, I know it’s not of Italian origin), a pizza, and, with some caution, a spaghetti carbonara. Now, I’ve endured some truly alarming carbonaras in Bangkok: versions cooked by well-meaning Thai or Burmese cooks who’ve never been near Italy, plus one memorably disastrous bowl from a “chef” taught by the Chinese owner of a now-defunct restaurant, which was served as something resembling a creamy soup. So, before committing, I asked whether Marco Polo’s carbonara leaned dry-ish, as it should. At that moment, the owner himself emerged: a large Italian character with the air of someone who takes his pasta very seriously. I immediately felt reassured. Marco Polo positions itself as a refuge of straightforward, traditional Italian cooking. Handmade pasta, thin-crust pizza, risotto, proper ingredients, the sort of dishes that don’t need embellishment. The restaurant also offers monthly specials and a lunch promotion that, for the quality, is a really good deal. The Caesar salad was generous and properly done: crisp lettuce, bright dressing and none of the watery nonsense you sometimes served. The pizza that followed set an even higher bar. A crisp base. Blistered and slightly charred crust at the edges. Exactly as a pizza should be. Simple perfection. But it was the carbonara that sealed the deal. Dry, savoury, balanced, and made with cured ham, it was one of the versions that doesn’t drown in cream or resemble porridge. It arrived as carbonara is meant to be: glossy from egg, anchored by cheese and deeply satisfying. One forkful and I knew we’d accidentally stumbled into something rather special. As other diners will confirm, pasta is where Marco Polo shines. Regulars rave about the al dente textures, the restraint in seasoning, and the unmistakable sense that someone in the kitchen understands the importance of simplicity. Pizzas are just as reliable; crisp, comforting and refreshingly free of gimmicks. Desserts, too, surprise; the panna cotta is a miniature triumph, smooth and indulgent enough to win over even those who claim not to have a sweet tooth. The room has a gentle buzz, warm, modest and entirely unpretentious, although we sat outside. Staff are friendly without fussing, and the owner often appears tableside, as did with us, contributing to the feeling of dining in someone’s pride, not just their business. Marco Polo won’t overwhelm you with theatrics or tasting menus. What it offers instead is sincerity: honest Italian cooking served in a quiet alley a stone’s throw from Silom’s neon buzz. It’s filling, delicious and, as I discovered, absolutely worth the price. Highly recommended. And next time, the khao mun gai can wait.

Negative reviews

No negative reviews.