Picobello Ristorante Italiano

Last week, Davao City's food blogger extraordinaire, Blogie Robillo, gave me a gift certificate from Picobello Ristorante Italiano. The food enthusiast (read as: mahilig kumain) that I am, I was all smiles as I profusely thanked Blogie for his generosity and immediately thought of telling my constant companion, Lyle, of the good news. I have been to Picobello a couple of times before and although I am more used to pizza and pasta served at food chains like Greenwhich and Pizza Hut, I always welcome yet another chance to experience Picobello's authentic Italian cooking.

And so yesterday, November 6, was the day when Lyle and I decided to have dinner at Picobello. We met at SM City Davao to purchase supplies we needed at our respective households and at 6:00 p.m., we headed off to Gaisiano South Citimall where the restaurant is located.

When we arrived at the restaurant, only two tables were occupied. Perfect, I thought. We were just in time to avoid the restaurant's peak hours as it is always packed between 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. owing to its very popular long-running buy-1-take-1 on pizza promo.

It didn't take long for us to be seated and be ably guided through the menu by a very courteous waiter, Ricky. And after asking about the restaurant's bestsellers, Lyle and I decided to order the soup of the day, Con Salsiccie pizza, Canneloni, Spaghetti Alla Marinara, and diet soda.

For starters, we were served whole grain bread (accompanied by a dip which is actually olive oil-and-balsamic vinegar dip according to Chatee and Picobello's Operations Manager, Marlon Navarro) and the soup of the day. The chicken soup was tasty and perfectly went well with the bread.

And then came the best part of our meal...

The pasta dish which I ordered, Canneloni (PhP185), came as a surprise. I was expecting medium-sized canneloni in classic tomato sauce so imagine my delight when I saw two large, perfectly-baked crepe-style pasta tubes laid over rich tomato sauce, filled with vegetables and ground meat, and topped with Parmesan cheese and Bechamel sauce. Absolutely yummy!

The Spaghetti Alla Marinara (PhP220), which I ordered for Lyle, was also delicious. It is a seafood-based pasta dish in tomato sauce and flavored by an assortment of herbs and spices. The serving is large enough for two so I ended up having half of it as Lyle was so busy loading up on pizza.

The pizza we ordered, Con Salsiccie (PhP270), is as expected, hand-tossed and baked to perfection in the restaurant's brick oven. Con Salsiccie is a sure winner among many of Picobello’s loyal patrons as it is topped with Mozzarella cheese, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and salami. I think this pretty much explains why Lyle only let me eat two slices of the pizza being the self-confessed pizza lover that he is.

Overall, dinner at Picobello Ristorante Italiano was a positive experience for us. And although main food selections generally fall within a Php180- PhP300 price range (we exceeded the GC's limit by a couple of hundred bucks..hehe), the combination of delicious food and good service is more than enough reason for me to dine there again.

Piccobelo Ristorante Italiano is conveniently located at the 5th Floor of Gaisano South Citimall, Duterte St., Davao City.