Lazy Breakfast

Red Sauce’s brunch is a new venture at Rosewood Phuket. Not the only thing that is refreshingly novel and different about it. For a start, it is called “Lazy Breakfast” and you can really take your time – since the service operates from 11.30 to 2.30. And why not? The emphasis is on exquisite Italian cuisine with inventive smoothies and healthy juices. Start with a cleansing pineapple, cucumber, kale, lemon and ginger drink – very refreshing – or a “blood-purifying” bracer of carrot, tomato, orange, pear and lime.

Such attention to detail informs the whole gastronomic experience: everything is fastidiously prepared and presented. Stiacciatina features home-baked focacciatina bread, filled with rocket, Parma ham, mozzarella, pesto and mascarpone. As a complement to this mouth-watering fare, we sample agnolotti alla boscaiolo, ricotta cheese and shitake mushrooms in a tasty meat sauce. Signature poached sea bass in herb broth with clams, cherry tomatoes and parsley potatoes follows. Sea bass can be bland. Not here: this is a luscious dish redolent of the sea. Superb with a chilled Prosecco.

There is much more to tempt the palate: crab benedict – a different take on an old favourite, a Viking omelette of smoked salmon with sweet potato and avocado served on sour dough toast. More substantially, try the up-market “Italian Job” burger featuring Angus beef, Toma cheese and truffled French fries. Even the Caesar salad comes with tiger prawns.

Rosewood belongs to “Partners in Provenance”, a collaboration with local farmers which ensures a constant supply of fresh seasonal produce: organic honey from Chiang Mai, hand-made egg noodles from Phuket’s Chinatown, free range goats’ milk and chicken eggs. Little wonder it all tastes so delectable. Incidentally, there is a magnificent presentation of home-made breads and pastries, all gluten free, for the health conscious diner, and a reasonably priced and sophisticated à la carte menu including pizzas, meat dishes, pasta and risotto for dinner guests.

But it is not just the superlative cuisine, or even the impeccable service. The ambiance is breath-taking. We arrive by buggy, piloted down steep, lush hillsides, framed by exotic plants. We pass beneath teak arches, secluded villas (there are 71 of them) and finally arrive at the beautifully appointed, high-ceilinged restaurant where everything is fashioned from natural materials.  Below, a verdant vista of palms, water-lily ponds, and an array of inviting pools sculpted from the rocky promontory and beyond the turquoise sea of Tri Trang beach .

A cornucopia of delights, all accessible to Rosewood’s pampered guests. Book today…