Had dinner with blogger friends the other day at Casa Italia Cafe over at Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City. It's rarely new, one of two stores of which the other one is in SM North Edsa. As the name says, Casa Italia serves Italian comfort food. It's a franchise from Singapore with Italian roots, so the store is more modern rather than plain rustic. I was expecting a woodsy, dark, oak barrel laden restaurant much like what the Godfather movies portray but I saw a different one when we arrived. Let me take you around!
The Interiors
The place tickled my fancy. It was colorful, very modern and fresh. I could tell they heavily invested in the interiors as some of the pieces were also Italian. The tables, the seating, plus one or more feature walls was reminiscent of an American Italian Diner if I were in the states. This area is pretty crowded with different restaurants and they need to stand out, I think they really did. It's cozy, relaxed, not too uptight when you want to dine and unwind with friends. You don't need to wear a tie or heels to fit in. The staff were all warm and accommodating so we weren't intimidated even if the space was huge!
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| This is the ground floor where you can order your freshly made Gelato. They also have other things on the menu which you can take. They have dining areas here and upstairs. |
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| They do what the Italians do. They have a section selling freshly baked breads and pastries, plus really good espresso, and just about the regular coffee flavors you need to get throughout the day. |
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| The Gelato section is crazy. My jaw dropped just by seeing the sheer collection of flavors that they do. The usual favorites are the Green Mango, Avocado, Philippine Mango, Strawberry and Formaggi (Cheese). Aside from the sweet ones, they serve real deal Gelato with Whiskey, Cocktails that's got the same amount of alcohol content as the thing itself. This is part of their after office hours series, a smart idea for those who would like to unwind and just literally "chill". |
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| If you see the jars on the bottom right side of this photo, they actually serve you Gelato with unlimited toppings. You can help yourself to any of the items here - which would make it a dream by any standards. |
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| The second floor has a larger dining space, all in all it could fit around 50-60 people. They've got it maintained well too as it's very clean and pretty! |
The Food
They serve Italian staples, more of comfort food for you and me. They cook quite good, they serve it hot so make sure you have room for carbs as you order them. The serving size is big but can be also shared if you are not much of an eater.
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| This is their Carbonara. I love the huge slice of Bacon on top, it makes the whole thing legit. The sauce was a little runny probably because of pasta water as it was just taken out of the kitchen. They didn't season it that much probably because they want you to work a little. There's a salt and pepper shaker in every table so you can adjust to your taste. |
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| Their Bolognese was so good. I had to for myself way to the dish of my friend to get to taste this. Theirs is not too sour, a thing that I like when they use tomatoes for sauces. I'd have this to share. |
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| You can't complete a meal without dessert so I had their Green Mango Gelato! |
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| See anything unusual? Look closely on the topping. That's actually Shrimp Paste. Filipinos love Green Mango with Bagoong (local name) so they whipped this up for kicks and the recipe was approved in their main office. This is super good, you would have to try this when you step into their store! |
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| For protein lovers, this Roasted Chicken was divine! They used herbs and put in potatoes on the bottom, probably spent quite some time in the oven to reach this point. Don't forget the lovely gravy, we actually did and we were sorry we ate all the chicken on the plate ha-ha! |
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| For drinks, Casa Italia Cafe actually serves locally crafted beers plus imported ones like what you see above. I like the Katipunan Indio Pale Ale and Hoegaarden. They even have a happy hour, get them beers cold while spending a bit less than the ones compared in other bars in the same area! |
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| For those who love Gelato but still want to get a kick, they've got Johnnie Walker Black Label and other cocktails made into Gelato form. Now you can have your lovely frozen treat and get that kick you need for casual drinking. A pretty smart idea for those who just left the office and want to spend time here rather than braving the Makati/EDSA traffic. |
Casa Italia Cafe is located near Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. They've got piping hot hearty meals, refreshing drinks and a whole lot of Gelato flavors to choose from. After work, invite your friends and family so you can enjoy, unwind and indulge yourself because you deserve it. You've done your job, let Casa Italia take you to Italy right in the heart of BGC.
For more information about their restaurant:
Casa Italia Cafe Philippines
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