Thailand

Thailand has quietly become one of the best places in Asia to eat Italian food. Bangkok now has its first Michelin-starred Italian restaurant, a thriving Neapolitan pizza scene and a cluster of chef-owned trattorias run by Italians who came for a few years and never left. Down on the islands, Phuket and Koh Samui offer something different again: handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza served on terraces above the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

In Bangkok, the riverside hotels and the Silom and Sukhumvit neighbourhoods are where to look, with everything from fresh pasta counters to white-tablecloth dining rooms with 350-label wine cellars. In Phuket, Patong's quieter southern end and the Kalim Bay strip hold the island's best Italian kitchens, while Phuket Old Town has one of the country's top-ranked pizzerias. On Koh Samui, Fisherman's Village in Bophut, Chaweng and the quieter north coast at Maenam all have long-running Italian favourites.

Prices are generally kinder than in Singapore or Hong Kong, though resort restaurants charge resort prices. Browse by city below to find the right table for a beach holiday dinner, a celebration or a casual pizza night.