There are a lot of Italian Restaurants in the Metro but most, according to those who know what Italian food is all about, do not deliver authentic Italian food. Their dishes are mostly sweet, pizza overly loaded or pasta with too much sauce. Then there’s this Italian Restaurant in El Nido that is said to be the best in the area. It became one of the “must visit” restaurants there and people have been raving about it.
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| Trattoria ALTROV'E BF Homes |
Trattoria Al Trove – from El Nido, Palawan to BF Homes. It was such a delight when I heard that they opened up a branch in the Metro and it’s in the South! A friend told me about it and hubby originally planned to take the family there for my birthday lunch but during that time, they’re only open starting 5PM. But then we had our anniversary set days after so hubby took me there for a dinner date. I must say that I’m glad he did.
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| Trattoria ALTROV'E BF Homes |
Trattoria Al Trove is one of the few restaurants in the Metro that dared to be different. The entire area had a garden setting, open air with no AC room at all. Such a breather to be surrounded by nature – lush greens, flowers, fountains. It was as if we were not in the Metro! They don’t have wifi and promotes face to face interaction instead of social media bonding. Also, upon entering the restaurant, they’ll ask you to take off your foot wear but you can leave your socks on if you want.
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| Trattoria ALTROV'E BF Homes |
I tell you, we fell in love with the place. The ambiance was so relaxed and romantic, candle lit dinner with soulful music from a pianist. Since it’s located in a not so commercialized area of BF, the place was so quiet and peaceful. They even have this elevated area with low tables and pillows so you’ll have to sit on the wooden floor and we opted to stay there. The servers were nice and helpful, suggesting dishes to try.
We got the following ---
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| Aragosta – 300Php/100 grams |
Husband wanted some lobster that night and he was lucky to spot this pasta in their menu. The sauce was simple – red sauce with garlic, olive oil and chopped sun dried tomatoes. We chose penne as the pasta. The star was the lobster sitting on top of the pasta. They already took out the meat for us but included the whole lobster into the plating.
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| Aragosta – 1200Php for this serving |
The flavors in the sauce were subtle and there was just enough to coat each penne. The lobster was excellent! It was sweet, succulent and juicy! We wished there was more! We paid 1200Php for this pasta alone because of the lobster.
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| Half and Half Pizza + Aragosta for the night! |
For pizza, we got half and half of two flavors: Procuito Crudo Con Tartufo and Pizza Bianca
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| Procuito Crudo Con Tartufo (720Php whole pizza) and Pizza Bianca (420Php whole pizza) |
Prosciutto and Tartufo are our favorite Italian ingredients. Pizza or pasta, we should always order something with them when going Italian. Hubby loves the saltiness of the prosciutto and I love the earthy, strong and distinct taste of truffle oil. This pizza had slices of air-dried parma ham that were salty and savory on a pizza base of Italian truffle mushroom cream and mozzarella. It’s finished off with freshly chopped arugula leaves. The pizza was kinda a dry. Set on a thin crust, it lacked some wow factor. We asked for olive oil and drizzled away which made it better.
According to the server Pizza Bianca is a best seller. It was rather simple – non-tomato base with bacon, garlic, mozzarella and a dash of oregano. We asked for additional anchovies for this half. Again, pizza was dry with very subtle flavors. The anchovies definitely made it better with its characteristic saltiness. We needed to drizzle olive oil to enjoy this.
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| Panacota for 150Php |
For dessert, I opted to get a Panacota. They didn’t have much in their dessert list – gelato, gelato with fruits, mixed fruits and panacota which was most appealing. Before they served our dessert, they gave us two bowls of warm water, calamansi slices and towels to wash off our hands and remove the strong smell of the lobster. Great! The panacota was okay. Served in a huge platter, topped with blueberry sauce and a side of pureed mango, it was rich and creamy but I’ve tried better ones like that in Italianni’s.
Customer service was top notch here. A server was always ready to help even though the place was a little packed. Also loved that you can request for a song and the pianist would willingly play it as long as he knows it. Very romantic place, I tell you. The manager is a foreigner and made sure we were having a great time. We also had a chance to talk to the owner, a foreigner as well. I asked about the dry pizza and he willingly explained. So it’s true. Italian pizzas are simple and not loaded. If you want the usual American Style Pizza, you can add some more toppings for additional cost. The Slovenian owner explained that a whole pizza is usually not for sharing in Italy and it serves as a complete meal.
I would still say that overall, it was a good experience. I would give this place five stars for the ambiance alone but only four stars for the food. Still willing to go back and try more of their dishes.
4 out of 5 Stars for Trattoria ALTROV'E!
---Trattoria ALTOV'E: 858 Tropical Ave., BF International, Las Piñas
***you can also find them here: Abdulla St., El Nido, Palawan
I am a workaholic mom who is also trying to be the best wife ever. I am a self proclaimed food lover, a frustrated cook and pastry master. I have a thing for books and scrap booking fills up my free time. Blogging? It's something I do once in a while when I can squeeze in some "me time" in this super busy life.
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