Trattoria Delina — Restaurant in Lumphini Subdistrict

Lunch specials are a steal of a deal, and they don't add sneaky ++ surcharges like some tourist traps in sukhumvit do. That's probably because this restaurant focuses on quality and targets residents. Restaurants that add ++ don't care about retaining customers, they just need to trick a tourist with a seemingly low price, lol. If you're not familiar with bangkok, and you spot a restaurant adding ++ for VAT and service charge separately from their listed menu price, avoid those places. You'll surely be disappointed. It's not standard practice in Thailand. Only in the tourist zones, and still is a minority.

Here at Delina you sit down and before you even order, they pour you a glass of cold water. Wow. That's hospitality!

Lunch specials are not miniature versions of regular dishes. It's legit regular portions.

High quality olive oil and balsamic on every table. Parmesan upon request. Professional friendly staff.

This is one of the top places I've been. Unfortunately their menu is very limited. No gnocchi or Quatro formaggi. But what they have, they do well. And they have lot of specials. And they have Pana Catta.

You can park at the Witch's Tavern down the street and get your parking ticket...

First impression was not great; the menu items were on the pricier side and it said extra fees would be added for service and VAT (a typical scheme at tourist traps in Thailand but not found elsewhere in the country), and the staff were all masked up (yes, still in October 2022, and it gives a very unfriendly feeling). However, the staff eventually lowered their masks and put on some music and the place felt a lot more welcoming. When the food was served, the prices no longer seemed pricey. Portions are very generous. More importantly, the taste was outstanding. Quality through and through. Plus they served us parmesan cheese without having to ask and without charging extra. The bread was so super soft. The pizza was perfectly crispy. Cocktails were strong. And when the bill came, there was indeed an extra charge for VAT, but no service charge, so we were happy to tip. In the end, I can't complain about a single thing, and I'll be back often. The menu is a little more limited than other places in town, but adequate enough, and maybe it's better to just focus on what...

Very disappointing experience.

I came a week prior to look at the menu and spoke with (possibly) the owner, who was very nice, and the menu looked great.

I then brought a group of 12 friends for dinner. Service was friendly but a true disaster otherwise, multiple items were forgotten, orders were taken one or two at a time and then the waiter would disappear for long periods. A large piece of plastic was found in the carpaccio. Two friends never got any food and had to leave to find something elsewhere. Bizarrely, one person came in at one point just to turn on a large television which then played poorly filmed scenes of Hong Kong (???).

The food was quite good, the experience itself was very poor and I left embarrassed, having brought my friends with high hopes. Maybe give the place a another year or so to see if they can figure out how to be a restaurant. Or maybe just forget...