FORTUNATELY for Italian food lovers (who doesn’t love a piping hot slice of pizza or a big plate of lasagna?), there are numerous Italian eateries on the island of Samui. When Samui Express visited the restaurant Rice, the last thing it expected was an Italian-food-only menu. But Rice is purely an Italian restaurant (never mind the Asian decorations all over the place, especially the Japanese calligraphy hanging on the wall), and it does a good job of delivering the goods.

The restaurant is directly opposite Soi Green Mango, on Chaweng Beach Road in the heart of town. This location fits right in with the vibrant theme of the restaurant. The excitement in the air outside the restaurant easily flows inside Rice to give it a high-spirited ambiance, which is only tempered by the three-meter-wide pond spanning the entire 12-meter frontage.
The restaurant has its pizza oven strategically located in the front as well so that people passing by will feel a pang of hunger when the smell of the pizza hits their nostrils.

The architecture itself is unique. Rice has three separate floors with the first two designed for dining and the top floor for chilling out and relaxing. Each of the two upper floors is open in the middle, giving a view of the bottom floor. The smell of the food as it rises up to the floors above is overwhelming and could render you impatient if the waiter or waitress cannot bring the complimentary bread and butter fast enough.

The menu at Rice Italian restaurant is extensive, with over 130 items available, including all the classic Italian dishes. The cuisine is contemporary Italian, with the Italian master chef creating an exciting range of dishes. Here are some of the starters: tuna tartar with soya dressing, crunchy potatoes and green sauce; rock lobster ravioli served with leek cream; and beef carpaccio. The mussels and clams sautéed with garlic, peppers and tomatoes is extremely good. Be sure to soak the sauce up with their freshly baked and delicious focaccia bread, which is placed on your table as soon as you arrive. 

Pizza lovers will be pleased to note that Rice uses wood-fired oven to create over 16 different types of pizza. Of course, you can just tell the waiter what toppings you want and create your own.

And the mains are equally tempting with dishes such as Australian beef braised in white wine on a bed of grilled polenta, flavored with thyme; and white snapper wrapped with Parma ham, roasted potatoes and red wine sauce. All of the pasta and risotto are homemade. It seems that the dishes, more often than not, are seafood-based, thus bringing together two favorites: Italian food and seafood!

For dessert time Rice offers the Italian classics vanilla crème Brule and tiramisu. Other desserts include rum Chantilly with crunchy wafer and cigar sauce; and toffee parfait with chocolate and yoghurt sauce topped with caramelized nuts. But the dark chocolate soufflé topped with orange jam and cognac reduction might be their best choice for true chocolate lovers.
Because of its location and through word of mouth, the restaurant fills up quickly each evening, so you might call 077-231934 to reserve.