Cento, Bangkok

Cento Bangkok: Wonderful Italian dining with top service and character!

On Christmas Day 2025, we deliberately chose Italian cuisine. And although Bangkok is packed with excellent Italian restaurants, Cento manages to stand out effortlessly. Not with big gestures or culinary spectacle, but with a strong menu, perfect timing, and service-driven craftsmanship. Cento is a true evening restaurant, where everything revolves around rhythm: from the welcome to the last sip, from atmosphere to service. And you feel that the moment you step inside.

Where in Bangkok is the Italian restaurant Cento located?

Cento is located in the Sala Daeng area, specifically on Soi 1: a charming side street in lively Silom, a neighborhood full of restaurants, bars, and hotels. The restaurant is easy to reach via BTS (Skytrain) Sala Daeng station or MRT (metro) Lumpini station, both about a ten to fifteen minute walk away.

Cento is not located at house number 100 as the name might suggests. Why the number 100? It’s one that perfectly matches the feeling this restaurant wants to create: rounded, complete, and in balance. As one of the owners put it so nicely during our visit: “Cento needs to last at least a hundred years”, and yes, you can taste and feel that ambition in everything here.

Architecture and interior design

As soon as you walk in, the design philosophy of MTM Design Studios X Infusion stands out. Warm materials, lots of wood, and soft natural tones create a flow that feels natural and never forced. The lighting is dim and gentle, with real candles on the table that instantly make the space feel intimate.

From the outside, you mainly notice the illuminated Cento sign. Underneath it is the text “Italian eatery,” although we actually think that addition is almost unnecessary. The simplicity of the entrance makes it stronger and more intriguing; once you step inside, you discover for yourself what Cento wants to be.

After the professional yet relaxed welcome, the main dining room immediately stands out. Chic without pretension, with an open bar as a lively centerpiece and subtle greenery here and there that softens the room. No open kitchen demanding attention, but a setting where tables, conversations, and moments take center stage. The interior feels thoughtful and mature, with lots of wood, calm colors, and just enough detail.

What stands out even more is how everything comes together in comfort. The lighting invites you to stay, to eat slowly, and to have good conversations. Even the wine glasses are chosen with care: elegant, thin, and pleasant to hold. And although we’ll come back to it in more detail later, it’s already clear that the service is at least as skilled as the design. This feels like a restaurant where nothing is accidental, and everything clicks.

Some words from MTMDESIGN (interior designer)

Cento Italian Eatery was conceived as a contemporary interpretation of a classic Italian restaurant, where warmth, simplicity, and social interaction define the experience. A place where you always feel welcome. The design embraces an honest yet refined material palette — natural reclaimed woods, soft neutral tones, and tactile finishes — creating an atmosphere that feels both intimate and sophisticated.

The layout is organized around the bar counter that acts as the social heart of the venue, encouraging interaction and movement while anchoring the dining experience. The wine cellar is another highlight, a space designed not only to store wines, but also as to learn, discover and share the passion for Italian food and wine culture.

Soft, layered lighting and candle-lit tables enhance the sense of intimacy. Subtle greenery and restrained detailing soften the architecture, creating a balance between modern minimalism and Italian conviviality. The result is a space that feels warm, welcoming, and timeless — a contemporary dining room, that offers both intimacy and social interaction. A home from home.

– Max Trullas Moreno (Founder & Director) –

Its ambiance

The music leans toward lounge and light deep house. Not in the foreground, but present enough to keep conversations soft. Everything is carefully selected and fits the evening’s vibe seamlessly, without ever overpowering.

The crowd is mostly couples. Lots of date nights, lots of people clearly celebrating something. Beautiful dresses, good wine, relaxed faces. Everyone seems to be here with the same intention: to step away from the city for a moment, without leaving Bangkok. Even though we were here on Christmas night, it feels like a vibe Cento effortlessly maintains every evening.

Service starts here!

Service at Cento is personal without becoming formal. You are immediately introduced to the person taking care of your table. It may sound small, but it makes the evening feel bigger right away. Our host, Sonny, keeps an eye on multiple tables but misses nothing. Glasses are noticed before they’re empty, orders are picked up without you having to search for attention, and a dropped napkin is calmly replaced. Extra bread for la scarpetta is also offered naturally, so you can mop up the last bit of that delicious sauce the way they love to do in Italy.

The team is large, but above all impressively well coordinated. Behind the scenes, you see the chef continuously checking and adjusting, without creating any tension or unrest. Everything ran smoothly and in control, and that while we were dining on what may have been one of the busiest nights of the year.

It’s the details that complete the experience. Wet wipes are ready on the table. In the restroom you’ll find mints and mouthwash, and in the women’s restroom there’s even a small cabinet with personal care items. Everything is clean, polished, and visibly under control.

Good service can save a mediocre dish, bad service can ruin an excellent one. At Cento, that’s fortunately not a question. Here, the complete experience is simply right.

La cucina Italiana

Cento cooks Italian with a modern interpretation. Classic at its core, free in execution. No fusion and certainly no culinary show, but dishes that rely on quality ingredients, technique, and a carefully guarded balance.

The influence of Ferran Tadeo at Cento

Behind the calm and precision in Cento’s kitchen is Ferran Tadeo Domènech. A chef with an impressive international background, but above all someone who cooks with control, timing, and feeling. You don’t notice that in big statements, but in how everything comes together on the plate.

Ferran started young in Catalan cuisine and, at seventeen, was shaped under the wing of Ferran Adrià at El Bulli. An exceptional period, right in the final phase before the transformation into the elBulliFoundation. He took that foundation to the United States, where he worked as a Research and Development Chef at Minibar by José Andrés in Washington DC. Hong Kong followed, as Executive Chef at La Rambla by Catalunya, where he translated Catalan flavors into an international context. We also know Ferran from his time at The Embassy Room at Park Hyatt Bangkok, where he brought Catalan cuisine to a very high level.

During that period, we asked Ferran Adrià if he wanted to say something about his former student. His words may say it all:

“Ferran Tadeo was selected to be part of the kitchen team in 2010–2011, so he lived with us at a very special moment in the history of elBullirestaurante, as it was the last stage before the transformation into the elBulliFoundation. As you can imagine, it was a unique period full of emotions and incredible moments. His professionalism and attitude were always impeccable and an unmistakable sign that he had a wonderful future ahead of him, as we see today at Cento Bangkok.”
– Ferran Adrià, elBulliFoundation

Don’t expect experimental shows or molecular statements at Cento. Here, Ferran cooks Italian with a clear chef’s hand: respect for the product, clarity in flavors, and calm in structure. You can see his experience in the details. Pasta that is simply very good, sauces with depth but without heaviness, and dishes that radiate confidence.

Ferran isn’t cooking to impress, but to carry an entire evening. Everything is thought through, nothing feels forced. That makes Cento not a chef’s table, but a restaurant where craftsmanship can remain invisible, and therefore becomes even more tangible. As he approaches it: guests don’t come here for one moment, but for the whole. For flavors that linger, without demanding attention.

The menu

Cento’s menu is compact, clear, and clearly meant to share. No endless choices, but a carefully built selection that moves from light to rich. You start with bread and crudo, such as the puffy bread with mortadella or raw fish and meat preparations, and then naturally move on to small plates like arancini, burrata, or octopus.

The pastas are classic Italian in approach, with lots of attention to texture and sauce, while the grill and sharing dishes show that Cento also dares to go big, with dishes like flank steak, suckling pig, and bistecca alla fiorentina to share together. Sides are kept intentionally simple, so they support the main dish, and desserts follow the same line: recognizable, no fuss, but well executed.

The drinks list fits seamlessly. Clear and thoughtful, with a strong focus on Italian wines by the glass, from approachable prosecco and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo to more serious options like Barolo and Etna Bianco, sometimes even via Coravin.

Cocktails are classic with a light twist, supported by a few strong signatures, and non-alcoholic options also get attention. All in all, the drinks list feels like an extension of the kitchen, meant to encourage you to stay seated, relax, and let the evening unfold at its own pace.

Our experience

Looking back on our visit to Cento on Christmas Day 2025, what stood out most was how relaxed the evening felt. We are welcomed with attention and immediately introduced to the person taking care of our table, a small detail, but it sets the tone. We take a seat at a round table with a half-circle banquette, comfortable and intimate, perfect for two. The light is soft, real candles flicker on the table, and the music fills the room without disrupting conversation. Around us we mainly see couples, people clearly celebrating something. Beautiful dresses, good wine, relaxed faces. This feels like a true Christmas evening in a classy restaurant.

We start with the puffy bread with mortadella. Warm, airy, and almost Lebanese in texture. The mortadella is clearly high quality, and the first bite sets the tone: comfort food that brings calm to the table and invites you to linger. Then come the arancini and the beef carpaccio. The arancini come as five pieces to share and take me straight back to the many visits to my Italian family. Crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, with spinach, cheese, and a light chili kick leaning toward arrabbiata. One of my favorite childhood snacks, perfectly executed here.

The carpaccio is clean and pure. Thinly sliced beef tenderloin of beautiful quality, although I personally would have preferred the acidity from the capers and vinaigrette to be a bit more subtle. The salty Parmesan and crisp bread pieces still bring it very close to perfect balance.

Next comes the paccheri with wagyu beef cheek ragù. The large tube-shaped pasta, from Campania, the region where my grandparents lived, is perfectly al dente. The wagyu cheek is buttery soft and clearly slow-cooked for a long time. The sauce is rich, lightly spicy, and beautifully balanced. The Parmesan is served separately, even chilled on ice. The devil is in the details, although it could just as well be the spicy sauce. At the end, extra bread appears for la scarpetta: Italian for simply scooping up the sauce with a piece of bread.

Then the grill dishes and sides arrive. The wagyu flank steak (250 grams, M6) is outstanding, with a tasty jus and grilled spring onion. The broccolini, a cross between broccoli and gai lan, are grilled with a clear smoky note and served with three types of salt at the table. And then the fries. Possibly the best fries we have ever eaten. Crisp outside, soft inside, and clearly the result of a serious process. Chef Ferran enthusiastically talks about potatoes from the north, baths, soda, freezing, repeating and testing. The full secret stays in the kitchen, but the result is exceptional.

As a surprise, we also get a piece of suckling pig. Super tender, juicy pork with a perfectly crackling skin. Comfort food at a high level, without any fuss. These last dishes, by the way, make us even more excited for our future visit to Quilombo, the recently opened Argentine steakhouse in a church in Bangkok, from the same hospitality group as Cento.

We finish with tiramisu, scooped from a large dish. Rich, creamy, and intensely chocolatey, with a beautiful balance of mascarpone, cocoa, and coffee. Not a light ending, but a dessert you share with love. That’s amore. As the blueberry on the Basque cake, we also get a generous slice of Basque cheesecake to take home for the next day, fresh with blueberry sauce, perfect to keep the generous vanilla sauce in check.

Throughout the evening, the drinks list truly feels like an extension of the kitchen. We are welcomed with an approachable prosecco and then start with the Smoke and Ginger. Smoky, rounded, and easy to drink, with mezcal staying subtle and the ginger leaning sweeter than spicy. Later we order the Chelsea Bloom, a gin cocktail that works perfectly as a palate cleanser: fresh, aromatic, and exactly right to reset. Water is topped up automatically. Small detail, big difference. Finally, I end with a Negroni Coffecio, the perfect closer to a fantastic evening. If you love Negronis like I do, this is one you should definitely try.

That evening simply clicked one hundred percento, hospitality starts here!

Why reserve a table at Cento in Bangkok?

• Cento offers an intimate evening setting, ideal for couples or groups
• Cento offers strong Italian dishes without fuss
• Cento offers service that anticipates without interrupting
• Cento offers a strong drinks list with great wines and smart cocktails

Some handy tips

• Reserve in advance, especially on weekends
• Order multiple dishes to share
• Order a Negroni or another special cocktail
• Perfect for a date night or something to celebrate
• Smart casual is the dress code here

In conclusion

Cento Bangkok is not a restaurant trying to impress; Cento is simply very, very good. A place where you forget the bustle of Bangkok for a while, a place where service truly shines. We walked out with a full belly, a calm mind, and one thought: we will definitely be back.

General information Cento Bangkok

Address: 120 Sala Daeng 1/1, Si Lom, Bang Rak, Bangkok
Tel: +66 (0)9 4567 7779
Opening hours: Daily from 17:30 – 00:00
Website, reservations and menu: Check the Cento website