Bellini’s Ristorante
Bellini’s is owned by an Italian named Roberto Bellini and his Filipina wife Luisa. Roberto Bellini used to be a papparazo ( yes, he has been a papparazo for 30 years) and he came here to the Philippines in 1986 because he was assigned to cover the EDSA Revolution then. He met his wife, Luisa in Malacañang Palace then they got married and lived in Italy for 10 years then decided to come back to Manila and establish a restaurant. Luisa actually learned the recipes from Roberto’s mom and then she took 15 years to perfect the recipes. Right now she’s taking care of the kitchen while Roberto takes care of public relations.
It was a special day for us that’s why I brought Karla to Bellini’s. It wasn’t my first time there, the very first I’ve been there was back in college when I accompanied my friend King for her Italian language class then. In short, saling pusa. I fell in love with the food then and I decided that someday I will go back to that restaurant with someone that I want to share a special day with 
.
Years passed and nothing has changed. The quality of food is still the same. The waiters are still very hospitable and knowledgeable. That’s what I like about this restaurant, they really know what they serve. I think some of them can speak Italian . When we went there, it was a Saturday night lots of couples were having dinner. There was also a folk singer there to serenade the couples having dinner :p . Mr. Bellini, Mr. Bellini’s son is there as well as his family. They were half-Italian and half-Filipino, nice mixture of breeds anyway 
( the curly breadsticks and wine)
( Grilled Eggplant with Milky Cheese)
Karla and I decided to have an appetizer, pasta and pizza. There were several curly bread sticks that were served while waiting for your food. For our first dish, we ordered an appetizer called Grilled Eggplant with Milky Cheese. It was the best man! I think I can make one of my own, it seems simple. It’s just sliced eggplants with some tomatoes, onions, olive oil and topped with milky cheese and bacon. The price of this appetizer, Php 185.00.
(Putanesca)
Next on our course is the Putanesca. This is the best Putanesca I have ever tasted. I loved the sauce. It’s really very tasty. It doesn’t taste so sour, it’s a bit spicy. The price of this dish: Php 225.00.
(Calabrese)
And lastly, we really have to try their pizza. The thinest pizza ever! We chose the Calabrese pizza which has salami, capers and mushrooms. The ingredients were really very fresh, this is what I love about this restaurant. The small pizza has 8 slices, it’s good for 2-3 people. Price of the pizza, about Php 300.00.
The ambiance: 4/5
The place is small, it’s really very cozy. It’s filled with paintings, pictures taken by Mr. Bellini and mural paintings on the ceiling. The location of the restaurant itself is quite odd since it’s in Cubao Expo ( formerly Marikina Shoe Expo). It seems out of place but when you go inside the restaurant it seems that you’re being drawn to another world which is very much different from the outside. If you’re familiar with the movie, “One More Chance” with John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, most of the scenes were shot in this location. It’s also a great date place for all of you sweetie couples there.
The price: 4/5
They are a bit expensive but it really paid off since they really use fresh ingredients so that would compensate its high price. Price range of their food is Php 185.00- 600.00. I would suggest that bring about Php 1000.00 just to make sure .
The food: 5/5
I just love it. Really.
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Tags: Bellini's, Cubao Expo, date place, Italian, Roberto Bellini
6 comments ↓
I’ll have to disagree with the review. I’ve heard so much about Bellini’s prior to going there. I heard that it was good. I even saw it on one of the books “manila’s best kept secrets” So one day I decided to try it out. I agree that the ambiance is somewhat authentic italian. Although where we were seated, it reeked of cockroach smell. But I still gave it a chance, we were there for the food anyway. We ate the bread sticks, a bit too ‘powdery’ but fine they’re just bread sticks. Then the pasta came… the spaghetti tasted like the breadsticks! And the preparation made it taste like pancit!! Yes, like I wasn’t in an italian resto, but some weird place. The pizza too… still tasted like the bread sticks. It seems like all the dough was made at the same time and all tasted the same… bland and very un-italian. Sorry, I will never go back there again.
@noelperlas,
authenticity is just an imagination anyway, all we see are replicas 
people have different experiences and different tastes
when we used to live in cubao, we frequented bellini’s a lot..sometimes hindi pa nga sila bukas andun na kami e…in fairness kahit hindi pa halos naka uniform ang staff they already accomodate us…it definitely isnt a fine dining place but for authentic italian cooking i find the prices really reasonable…i love the pizza…for me, nothing can beat bellini’s pizza…love the thin crust, love the toppings, love the price..i love the seafood cartoccio and the to-die-for ravioli.. i love the mango/ orange cake esp when its newly baked..the house wine is also very cheap considering the serving size… i miss bellini’s so much
@sunshine,
we haven’t tried the mango/orange cake. we’ll try it soon
i am also disppointed with this place, i rather eat at Tratorria uno in Ali mall….
@hiro,
where in ali mall is tratorria?
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