Va Bene Pasta Deli - Makati's Best-kept Italian secret ****

Who knew that one of Manila's best Italian restaurants can be found on top of a Petron gas station?

I discovered this thanks to the invitation of my ex-boss and "mother" years ago. My first time at Va Bene was as wonderful as the last. This place serves deliciously divine Italian pasta and more. The place was nominated on the Miele Guide for 2012 and 2013 and was one of the Tatler's best.

 

Va Bene which  means good in Italian is run by Chef Massimo Veronesi together with his wife Carolyn. He used to run Peninsula Manila’s Mi Piace Italian restaurant. This restaurant albeit small, has some of the most delicious freshly made pastas and antipastis. Some of the flavors may be too overwhelming, some find it a bit bold, but the beauty of it is ordering food to share so you can try some of the different pastas and Italian specialties. If you're into pasta, I'll guarantee you'll go nuts over the different pastas served here.

Polipo/ Doc Ock Salad P 450

You have to try the Polipo, thinly-sliced braised octopus and arugula in lemon dressing.
The arugula complements the fresh taste of the octopus, while tomatoes and the lemon dressing offsets some of the bitterness of the arugula.

Here are some of the pastas we ordered

ORGANIC EGGS TAGLIATELLE

ROLLED SPINACH CANNELLONI 

POTATO GNOCCHI A LA MICHELE sautéed prawns, bacon, pumpkin sauce, mozzarella cheese

RICOTTA EGGPLANT TORTELLINI light arrabiata sauce, basil pesto, pecorino cheese

CRAB TORTELLONI

Parking can be quite hard. And the food is not cheap. But you're paying good money for first class fine dining pasta. You can't get any more authentic than seeing an Italian chef and his team preparing your dishes from the see-thru kitchen window.

 Saw from their website that a second branch has recently opened in BGC.

MAKATI BRANCH:
2nd Floor Petron Gas Station EDSA Cor. Pasay Road
Dasmarinas, Makati City

BGC BRANCH:
Cinema Level, 3rd Floor Bonifacio High Street Central Cinemas,
Fort Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig

Numbers: 556-9442 / 2169879
MOBILE
09177225780