Manila’s Best-Kept Secrets (Restaurants) Series
August 7th, 2006 by Trisha AndresPosted in Food and Drink |
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Tucked away in an obscure street in Mandaluyong, Galileo Enoteca is anything but your hole-in-the-wall diner. Its location apparently has not posed a problem for its well-heeled clientele. The wine library has been fully booked for dinner since it opened in September 2005.
The interiors exude sobriety with its dungeon-like quality, but the inviting warmth from candles on the wooden tables lend the place a cozy and romantic air. The walls are lined with fine bottles of Italian wine and Renaissance art pieces, like a reproduction of Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
Being an enoteca (Italian for wine library), the place is more of a venue to drink good wine than it is a place to sample exquisite Italian fare. They do, however, have simple Italian food on offer to go with the wines, ranging from antipasto (cold cuts and cheeses) to pasta. For a first-timer, do order their set menu (P400)—which includes antipasto, your choice of pasta, a glass of wine, and a cup of coffee or tea. Their Taglietelle alla Putanesca (tomato-based pasta with olives, Capers, and Anchovies) is heavenly as is their Rigatoni con Meatballs (tomato-based pasta with Pork and Beef Ragout). Another definite must-try from their ala Carte menu is Fresh Melon wrapped with Prosciutto (P200).
More than their food, or their exquisite wines, it’s the intimate ambiance and quality of other-worldliness that make it one of Manila’s best-kept secrets in my book.
When to go: Dinner, when candles lend it just the right mood. You need to reserve a table for dinner—it gets packed! Open 9 am to 10 pm from Tuesdays to Sundays.
Details: 80 Calbayog corner Malinao Streets, Mandaluyong City. For reservations, call 534-4633, 532-0482, or 0917-802-0010.
Watch out for the next best-kept secret…
August 7th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
will be looking forward to your next best-kept secret!!! thanks a lot!!
August 7th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
Aha! So you’ve discovered one of my dining secrets. =) A few more recommendations at Galileo: the penne with porcini mushrooms and pancetta (Italian bacon), the mortadella & salami panini, and the cheese & cold cuts platter. The cheese selections may change but you can’t go wrong with their Grana Padano, Asiago and Provolone. As for the cold cuts, the salami and the prosciutto are top-notch. The pasta selections change everyday so you might want to call ahead just to check what they have, to make sure that your hankering for pasta will be met.
August 7th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
…One more tip. As it’s getting to be quite popular, you might want to try Galileo at lunchtime. If you go at 12 noon and you’re not a big group, you can find a table even without a reservation. (To be safe though, making a reservation would be better.) It still looks quite romantic during lunchtime. =)
August 7th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
was quite dissapointed with this resto. i was hearing a lot of raves, and when i got there - blah… the appetizers were good but the pasta was just ok..
also MAKE A RESERVATION as the seating capacity of the resto is just small.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
been there okay lang yung food
August 8th, 2006 at 10:04 am
I’m sorry to say but the service was SO LOUSY! The staff was not well trained. It took 15 minutes for a cup of tea when all they had to do was pour hot water in a cup and serve the tea bag. My husband, a very patient man, lost his patience at this restaurant.
August 8th, 2006 at 10:59 am
This is a good restaurant to go to when you want some privacy. When you don’t want to run into too many people that you know. Prices are good for the size of the servings. The deli has interesting items for sale.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Well yes, the service is inconsistent. Sometimes fast, sometimes not. The only pasta I’d recommend is the penne con porcini. (If you want really good pasta, go to Bellini’s in Marikina Shoe Expo or L’Opera at The Fort.) But given all these minuses, I think it’s still worth the trip. If you like your cheese, your cold cuts and your wine, this is one place to go to. Don’t expect a full-service Italian resto with pizza and pastas as the specialties.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:42 am
grappas is the best place to go if really want a good wine and their pasta is really really good.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Hmmm–I’m not too sure about grappas. I saw a rat in their Nicanor Garcia branch.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
hi therese! i forgot to mention that the grappas branch that ive tried is in greenbelt.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Speaking of rats and Italian restaurants, I once saw a huge rat in Italianni’s Glorietta. Huge. Almost the size of a chihuahua. But because I’m weird and insensitive, it didn’t bother me. I just kept on eating. Maybe true gluttons are incapable of feeling squeamish.
August 9th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
eeww. guys, can we pls move on to a more palatable topic? Unlike Stef, I’m kinda squeamish.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Hey I just realized, nakakain na pala ako ng rat. (Technically.) ‘Coz I ate lots of guinea pig when I was in South America. It tastes like Peking Duck.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
Stef! Stop it, pls….! haha.
August 11th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Rats are everywhere. They are even eaten in India, and in the Philippine countryside (I’m pretty sure in other parts of the world as well).
Bellini’s Restaurant in Cubao is great. It’s reminds me of a little roadside eatery in Florence we ate at once. Then there’s this famous fine dining restaurant inside a hotel in downtown Florence called Ristorante Rossini where we never had the chance to eat at–very expensive– it’s for people with lots of Euros/Liras…i heard Robin Williams and Burt Reynolds go there when in Florence. But we were able to get to taste Italy in a lot of ways anyway. But eventually I got so sick of pasta and began looking for rice (not risotto or any other italian rice dish) but real asian steamed rice…with which everything goes well.
Italianni’s is my favorite Italian eatery in Manila but their price range has gone way up in the last several months. Sbarro I would say is the least expensive Italian eatery. And when in New York, Papa John’s Pizzeria near Times Square is pizza heaven!
August 12th, 2006 at 10:14 am
Ah Yes italian foods are great jon. like you, i also went to an italian festival in new york at the italian community in the middle of china town, it was great. lots of yummy italian food on the streets… sizzling sausages and meats and overflowing drinks. oh i love it!
November 30th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
I still have to visit Galileo Enoteca… i guess it’s the nearest deli from where I live. And oh, will do visit Bellini’s one of these days… it’s been a while since I have visited Cubao area. I miss those days back in high school when my mom and I would come here to scout for real nice shoes
November 30th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
has anyone heard of fat michaels? its a secret place with good food…
November 30th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
A truly homey AUTHENTIC Italian resto is Cosa Nostra along Adriatico in Malate. Their wine list is not extensive but the FOOD, the food, pasta, pizza, soup etc. is fabulous! Authentic Italian food as my grandfather was pure Italian and the cook in this resto was my grandma’s cook who learned most of the recipes from my grandma! The seating capacity is also very small and they close at 10:30pm every night but to get a real taste of Italy I reco you try this place. The staff have been there forever but the service is good. Call 5237889 to inquire or make reservations.
November 30th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
yes have gone there once,had a difficult time looking for the place
November 30th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
i mean fat michael’s, had a hard time looking for it
i agree, great food at Cosa Nostra. have a friend who works in a hotel and they bring their clients from the embassy in this restaurant. also nice for a date place 
November 30th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
che, can you share where fat michael’s is? thanks.
February 5th, 2007 at 12:02 am
i just ate in galileo enoteca last week and was a bit disappointed. while we were eating, we heard a mouse squeaking in one of the pasta shelves. we saw it peeking and STAYING THERE even if we sort of shooed it away! after that, my wine was poured into my glass and when the server left i saw a fly swimming in the white wine.talk about bad sanitation.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:30 am
Pizzeria Montenapoleone along Jupiter is great. They have really thin and crispy pizzas… and homemade gelato
April 29th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
can you pls send me a pricelist of the foods in sbarro!!!coz we’re really planning to eat there kya lng since its first tym kung skali db kkahiya kung i look first timer kmi don ng family ko,,help nman poh!!thanx
April 29th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
oops sori poh prang mali construction ng sentence ko dun…sna ma correct ko kc nakakahiya sa mga nkakabsa!sori guys antok na me kc di ko na na-edit!!
May 16th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
there’s this new pizzeria in new manila (near Gilmore Heights) called Pizzeria Toscana;it’s a super quaint place. Food is terrific!Pizza is great as in THIN CRUST!…Quattro Formaggi..YUMMY!!! and the pasta..just GREAT!!