Carbs Overload at Cantinetta

Update: Cantinetta at the Podium has closed for business.

Another trip to the salon, another Podium restaurant to try.

Cantinetta caught our fancy this time.

Cantinetta is an Italian restaurant with the menu offering soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, risottos, and grilled specialties. Needless to say, we had a carbo overload during our visit. 

Complimentary Bread



With Spreads

Ordinary made extraordinary by Cantinetta’s delicious liver pate.

Bruschette Miste Bread with Three Kinds of Toppings (380php)

1. Beef = Hohum 2. Seafood = Good because of the strong garlic flavors 3. Vegetables = My favorite! Perfect combination of spinach and mushroom. Would not order this next time though because the complimentary bread basket is more than enough.

Tartufo Pasta Truffle Cream Sauce with Parma Ham (550php)

I like Mamou’s truffle pasta better. This is creamy but lacking real truffle flavor.

Margherita Pizza  Fresh Basil and Tomatoes Pizza(380php)  

Nothing special. Dry with not much sauce and cheese. The thin crust is at least crispy. Waste of carbs.

Bistecca Alla Cantinetta Tuscan Style Rib Eye Steak (1,900php)

with Truffle and Pepper Gravy

This is how I like my meat done. Perfectly cooked, flavorful, and with a generous amount of fat. So good that a purist like me didn’t need the gravy. I want more!

Word of Caution: There’s an annoying server at the Podium branch who "critiqued" the food we ordered. He gave unsolicited order suggestions and still pushed when we said we were perfectly happy with our choices. This got me all riled up and somehow ruined the dining experience. I hope I don't see him next time. 

Cantinetta is located at the G/F The Podium ADB Avenue Ortigas Center. Mandaluyong City. Cantinetta also has branches at Rockwell and Pasong Tamo.

Bad Night at CPK (Greenbelt 5)

This was supposed to be a food post about an old favorite, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). Food, however, will have to take a back seat as I express my disappointment with the unusually crappy service my group experienced.

Aside from the food, a reason why I continue to patronize CPK is because of the good service I receive whenever I dine at their Glorietta 3 branch. Servers are always accommodating and attentive which certainly adds to the overall dining experience.

It’s a different story in their Greenbelt 5 branch however as service, I experienced firsthand, is below standards. It was a Saturday night so the place was brimming with people. Upon inquiry, we learned that they only had separate tables available to accommodate our group of 7. We noticed though that the maitre d could have easily fixed the problem if she had the initiative to ask the diners of one table to move since they just arrived and were dividing the two free tables. The maitre d was probably no longer interested in welcoming more guests as we had to personally talk and request for them to transfer. They were kind enough to agree.

After what I felt was a long time to make the necessary table arrangements, we were finally seated. I immediately requested for a glass of water since I was parched. We had finished ordering but there was still no sign of my water. In fact, I had to follow up my request two more times before it arrived. The refill of water also didn’t come automatically as per usual experience. I had to call a server’s attention every time my glass became empty.

Our food, to their credit came at an acceptable time. For those interested, here’s the spread that night:

The Original BBQ Chicken Chopped (585php), Garlic Cream Fettuccine(365php), Marinara Linguini Chicken (545php), Cheeseburger Pizza (445php)

After finishing dinner, we requested for our bill but had to wait a good 10 minutes before it was given to us. It didn’t escape my notice that we were the last patrons of CPK at this point so there was no excuse for the long wait. Talk about servers no longer caring. I understand that they were probably tired from the long night, but making us wait for the bill was simply ridiculous.

It’s important to note however, that this unpleasant experience at the Greenbelt 5 branch won’t prevent me from returning to California Pizza Kitchen. I just now know better and would avoid dining at their Greenbelt 5 branch at all costs. Consider yourself warned.

California Pizza Kitchen is located at Level 2 Unit 77 & 78 Greenbelt 5, Makati City. For more information and other locations, pls. visit cpk.com.ph.