The Best Italian Food You’ve Ever Had

Sick of Thai Food yet?  Yeah, me neither.  I don’t even know if that’s possible.  But every now and then I find myself craving something different.  And no matter where in the world I end up, about once a week I find myself craving Italian food.  I’ve been to amazing Italian joints in LA, Toronto, Italy, Korea and so many other places and I find it funny that the best I’ve ever had is right here in Samui.  Okay, so I’m lying….New York takes the cake for me when it comes to Italian-outside-Italy, but the place I’ll tell you about in this post is right up there.

It’s called Pecore Nere and it’s located in the heart of Choeng Mon, a small little beach with a quiet beach road that runs through town.  Think of Chaweng or Lamai and then picture the opposite, which makes this place super easy to find.  It’s directly across from the Krungsri Bank – otherwise known as the ‘yellow bank’ for obvious reasons.  Here’s a Google Map Pin for ya and here’s a quick video showing the location:

This place is equally appropriate for an ultra-romantic dinner for two, or a group outing with a dozen of your closest friends.  If you’re lucky, you’ll end up here on a night when they have live music.  One time we were graced with the stylings of a local Thai dude who plays his sax and sings crooner tunes, but tonight was during low season and no such luck.  That’s okay, we were there for the food anyways! 

When considering what to recommend for your palette, the bottom line is that you can’t and won’t go wrong here.  So my only recommendation is to try some different stuff that you normally wouldn’t order.  Don’t just stick to the pizza and pasta, although make sure your table has plates of both. 

A great example of a dish that scintillated our senses this warm evening is the Truffle Risotto.  I’m one that thinks truffles are overrated.  For the past 10 years, they seem to show up in everything.  An easy way to make a dish taste expensive I guess.  But they usually take over the taste and half the time you could be eating garbage doused in truffle oil and would think it’s special. But this dish I’m talking about is absolutely divine.

This truffle risotto deserves one more paragraph of your time.  The truffles do not overpower the dish but rather provide the flavor that only a fine chef can deliver when using this ingredient.  Don’t get me wrong….it’s still a rich and heavy dish.  Hell, it’s risotto after all.  So do the right thing and share it with your friends.  In fact, ordering as a group and eating family style should be mandatory in this place.  It’s the only way you’ll taste at least a few of the limitless options on which to gorge. 

Ok, let me back up.  Sorry, my bad.  It’s just that when I went to sleep tonight I was dreaming about that risotto.  I got ahead of myself here.  With so much to choose from and explore on this menu perhaps it’s best if I just give you a quick summary of what we had on this night:

This place is not as cheap as a local bowl of noodles but it’s worth the money and provides solid value.  The quality is a 10 out of 10, the ambience is great, and the service is fantastic.  The next time you’re looking for a special dinner give Pecore Nere a try.  Comment below and let me know what your favorite dishes are here….I need recommendations too!!