With the sudden increase in food trends, restaurants nowadays just come and go. Every time I go to…read morea mall, there would always be new buffet restaurants, katsu houses, ice cream parlors, creperies, and many more. With so many new places popping up, sometimes I just want to stay away from it all and go back to my all-time favorite restaurants. Good thing Cibo is still standing strong amidst the boom of food establishments here in the Philippines. Cibo is a restaurant that serves authentic Italian food. One of my favorite dishes there is their Patatine Fritte, which is made up of thin potato slices served with their homemade mayonnaise. Despite being deep-friend, the potato slices are not at all greasy. For my main course, I usually order their Truffle Cream Pasta. The truffle oil from this very simple pasta dish will make you drool. Definitely one of the best Italian restaurant I have been to. Cibo has never left me disappointed. Whenever I am hungry and in need of good-tasting Italian comfort food, Cibo is definitely one of my go-to places.

This is a nice little place to get some real Italian food at a reasonable price. Lots of choices to…read morechoose from from light dishes to heavier meals to your hearts content. I was there for a lunch and was quite satisfied with the overall experience . I'm sure when I'm in the area, I will be back to try other dishes.

A foodie friend referred me to this place a few years back. He said that they have the BEST pasta…read morein Manila--perhaps in the Philippines--perhaps one of the best you will have in your lifetime. I've always wanted to go but never found the time or opportunity, until last night. The rumors were true. Despite the peculiar choice for the location--a gas station in the middle of EDSA, for crying out loud, Va Bene served us some of the best pasta dishes I've ever had. We were greeted by their friendly, very accommodating staff, and it turned out to be a deliciously beautiful evening from there. The interiors, in my opinion, were nothing extravagant: glass-top tables overlooking paintings underneath, dark-painted chairs with tacky glossy varnish, and on one side a floor-to-ceiling shelf with their wines, cookbooks, and pasta-making paraphernalia for sale. I wouldn't say this was the work of a professional interior designer, but I felt the heart and the unassuming authentic Italian taste. Then came our food. I ordered the Lasagna a la Michele--lasagna with Italian sausage, bolognese, and parmesan cheese sauce. Presentation-wise, it looked like your typical lasagna served on a large hot plate instead, but it tasted far from the ordinary. Each forkful of the pasta layers was rich and heavenly. All I could think was, "I wouldn't want to gobble this up so quickly, it's too good!" The only thing missing was a piece of bread on the side or a glass of wine, so you wouldn't feel so "umay" if it was the only thing you ordered. But I have no complaints at all about the flavors and portion size. With this plate alone, I'm one more happy customer. I tried my friend's Black Ink Tagliolini--mixed seafood, marinara sauce, light tomato cream sauce, and it was nothing short of flavorful too. The sweetness from the seafood was the best partner for the very "malinamnam" black ink pasta. I wouldn't change a single thing about the dish. Va Bene also offers other main dishes if you want more than just pasta. We also ordered their Ciao Burger--chicken breast bruger served with homemade mayonnaise, semi-dried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, buffalo mozzarella, arugula leaves, and crispy potatoes. And my for an Italian restaurant, it's one burger I truly enjoyed. The ingredients, especially the arugula, were so fresh and green and it just made me feel happy stuffing them in my mouth. So when all the food was gone and we were happily paying for the above-average price of our bill while complimenting our server for the amazing food, he offered us some Lemon Drop shots--some lemon syrup with vodka that tasted good but was actually pretty strong. Will Va Bene ever run out of surprises? Overall, after just my first time here, Va Bene has become one of my favorite restaurants in Manila. (I'm eyeing that Parpadelle for my next visit.)

OH MY GOD THE HYPE IS REAL. Va Bene is the best, THE BEST Italian Restaurant I have had the…read morepleasure of dining at. Why this place is located in a gas station in EDSA is beyond me, but my god what an incredible restaurant. There was nothing put on or artificial about the whole experience, and you do get the sense that the staff knows what they're doing. The restaurant itself is bright and inviting, and while it had none of the lines we so associate with headliner restos, Va Bene always had customers in the two hours we stayed in there. Yes, two hours. As for the food, the names escape me right now but I had a pasta dish with lamb, and my friend had a mushroom/truffle pasta. I still have dreams over both dishes, ESPECIALLY the mushroom/truffle pasta. Incredible.

I came here with my family on my last night in the Philippines. Balboa is located at Shangri-La…read morePlaza. We ordered a bunch of food like pasta, lasagna, calamari, laksa and pizza. Most of it was fantastic. Although the calamari was a stingy portion so I'd skip on that. The Pizza was delicious we got the one with bacon, egg and apple. The lasagna was also very tasty and the laksa too. We really enjoyed our meal here and I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for a good dinner place in Mandaluyong.

This restaurant presents an elegant set-up for a lunch meeting. We are seated at the window-side…read more The staff is really attentive and we get our requests in no time. Shared the Ceasar Salad (P528), Spinach and Artichoke Dip (P288), Beef Stroganoff Fussini (P568), Truffle Oil Mushroom Pizza (P658), and the best-seller Truffled Oysters (P368). In consensus, I find it overrated. Serving size is adequate but the food seems average. No bursts of flavors even the truffle in the oysters didn't float.

It was my husbands bday, and the whole family came. There were 8 of us. My hubby likes Italian and…read morewe wanted something really good. My sister found this place on google as best Italian restos in the area and we tried it. We ordered so much I don't quite remember all! But we had a couple of cold cut meats to start and couple of mozzarella with tomatoes. For main, we ordered a steak...boy was it huge and delicious! Value for price! We also ordered Alfredo w chicken, carbonara, pesto pasta, seafood pasta and red wine to go with it. Roberto, the owner, and our servers were very friendly! Oh, and not to mention, we had our own private room as it was a Monday and the ambience is so authentic and quaint! Love this place!

The ambiance is great but the food is not. The truffle pasta is not that good plus it is too salty…read more The carbonara is no different, it also disappoints. The pasta clearly needs more cooking for it is kind of tough. The pizza is the worst. No flavor. The crust has terrible texture. I feel i just dumped my money into the trash but that is just one man's opinion. The crew is friendly, though.

It is probably the best Italian restaurant in Manila…read more Especially the way the present dishes, and the simple menu without weird choices that are not part of Italian cuisine. Quality is overall good, but they are not always constant. Sometimes, they are under expectations. I suggest polpo for antipasto. The main courses (primi) are very good. I really appreciated their gnocchi or ravioli all'aragosta. Prices are fine. There are other Italian restaurants around that are way more expensive and worse.

I love this place as it's classy as hell and I really feel that air of genuine Italian atmosphere…read morewhen I'm there. Not to mention, the food is awesome too. I ate here in January with my family for my mom's birthday as she had requested for us to do so, and I thought that it was a spectacular choice. It's not surprising for me to find that executives in the area as well as families love to eat here. It's delicious, it's relaxing and it's very spacious. So much so that there's a second floor if you're looking for somewhere more private.

I was curious to try out Gorky's because I used to pass by it often along Pasong Tamo extension in…read moreMakati. Ever since they moved inside Alphaland Southgate mall, I would always drop by to have a quick snack or dine in for quick meet ups. It's convenient for those who commute near the area, especially that it's near the Magallanes MRT station and there's a jeepney terminal across the building. I love how their resto has a minimalist and warm ambience that's awesome for those who are dining in. The service is quick and their staff is friendly and accommodating. Their food is affordable, and they have promos with pizza + pasta combo with ice tea that's sure to fill bellies. My top picks are Hawaiian (my favorite flavor) and spicy shrimp pasta. I highly recommend this if you happen to pass by the area. Affordable and quality food is hard to come by!

Alphaland Southgate Mall may not have as many dining options as the Other Great Malls of Makati,…read morebut it does give some newer guys like Gorky's Pizzeria a chance to be noticed. There's an NYC Italian-American family joint atmosphere to it that makes it such a fun place to sit with a friend and gorge on comfort food everyone loves - pizza and pasta! It was such a treat for me and my friend, both on a budget, to find this place. We ordered the combination pizza-pasta plates for less than P200 each and were not disappointed. I loved the garlicky hotness of the Spicy Shrimp Pasta - real comfort food for a garlic addict like myself! Their Margherita pizza was also intense but not overpowering. Gorky's Pizzeria has plenty of potential and I hope it expands.

This was a small restaurant that had a little challenge to find parking since the lot was shared…read morewith Santuario de San Antonio Parish. It was highly recommended by family so we came here for dinner. It was a small and cozy restaurant with a couple of tables outside. Staff recognized some in our small group and were quite friendly and attentive throughout dinner. We started with the eggplant parmigiana appetizer which was quite nice with its layers of eggplant and gooey cheese. I decided on the mushroom risotto as my main dish. I like my rice to be creamier in consistency. I also wished that they added some different mushroom varieties to give it more depth in flavor. It was filling though. Next time I will try one of the pasta dishes as everyone else enjoyed theirs.

For a restaurant to survive for more than 30 years in Manila is quite a feat. Everyday dozens of…read morerestaurants close down and get replaced with a new one. Rinse and repeat. For you to endure, you have to be really something special. La Nuova Pasteleria, a small unassuming joint tucked away in San Antonio Plaza, has been serving their delectable brand of Italian dishes for three decades strong. It has a relaxed neighborhood restaurant kind of vibe. Let's just gloss over the fact that said neighborhood is the ritziest in all of Manila. When we first visited Pasteleria we were a big group. Seating is very limited so call them up in advance for reservations. Pricing is a bit on the high end, but I feel that you get your money's worth. To start things off, the prosciutto with mangoes is awesome. The contrast in taste will blow you away. For the pasta, I highly recommend their best seller, the Profumo di Tartufo, which is tagliatelle glazed with white truffle cream and topped with parma ham.

I'm already an avid fan of this place, but what happened during our recent visit here has made me a…read morepermanent customer. When the girlfriend is craving pasta and meat, what else fits the bill except Linguini Fini? Our orders for the night comprised of Spinach & Roasted Pepper Dip, Shrimp & Clams Fettuccine, Papardelle "Nose to Tail" Bolo, and probably our favorite item from the menu: the Charred Hanger Steak. Having tried the dip and linguini before it was no surprise that the dishes tasted wonderful. The Papardelle was nothing short of spectacular. The fresh pasta soaked up the hearty, meaty ragu sauce, making it easy to taste everything in one bite. However, our visit took a slight bump for the worse when our steak arrived. After taking our first bite of the steak, a sense of confusion came over us. It had an excessive amount of sauce that made it taste like a stew more than a steak. We called our server, Tin, over and let her know our concern with the steak. A few moments passed before the manager, Brian, came over to apologize and assured us that they were going to fix our order. That was a pleasant surprise and first for me here in the Philippines. Most restaurants would just send someone over to repeatedly apologize and expect us to swallow the situation whole without any resolution. But Brian made sure a new, more palatable, plate of steak was served to us. As a token of apology, he even gave us a free dessert! A Hot Chocolate Affogato. And I might say, it was delicious! Linguini Fini, you've just gained two life-time customers, thank you for caring.

If you're looking for hearty Italian food in Megamall, don't hesitate to try Linguini Fini. My…read morefamily and I celebrated Christmas Day dinner here and we were delighted with our meal. Linguini FIni is unique in that they don't just buy their pasta then boil it - something you can easily do yourself - instead, they actually make their own pasta in house with their specially imported La Monferinna Pasta Machines. Naturally, we were curious about their homemade pasta. We ordered the Tagliatelle Porchetta - it was belissimo and perfectly al dente. We also tried their Fusilli which had the special Nduja laced cream sauce. The combination of the slight spicyness with the roasted garlic and sundried tomatoes was amazing. For pizza, we had the porchetta. We do love our porchetta, but we ordered this because of the gorgonzola cheese. For mains, we ordered the Hanger Steak. This place is recommended and we would totally come back to try their other fennel rubbed porchetta!