Late-night Italian at Padrino

Location: A-Venue Mall, Jupiter St. Makati City

Because we tried to catch the 6:30pm showing of a movie that turned out to be disappointing anyway, we didn't have dinner until 9:00pm when we were finally able to decide where to eat. Ever the pasta-lover, B wanted Italian food and suggested a place called Padrino where he had a good dining experience once, some time ago.

Padrino is in the ground floor of A. Venue Mall, developed only two years ago by Antel Group. I remember my first trip there to be also my first taste of the Sicilian Pizza, a reasonably priced Italian fastfood that's now everywhere where there's a university.

Padrino is created by the same people from L'Opera Ristorante Italiano in The Fort. B has raving reviews about L'Opera as THE ONLY Italian restaurant in Manila. But L'Opera is not only known for authentic and quality food but its gastronomic price range as well. That said, we were surprised to see the price list of Padrino, which is even cheaper than restaurants in Greenbelt.

The good thing is, lower price didn't equate to lower quality. The service was also good. On the table:

Complimentary bread basket with sweet butter, liver pate and tomato salsa

Spaghetti Alla Pescatora (Php300) As you can see, it is teeming with seafood, unlike some restaurants that give you one or two clam shells, two squid rings and call it seafood pasta. B could not find anything wrong with this dish (a rare occasion!).

Wurstel Classic (Php300) described on the menu as "An Italian country side version of a hotdog made with hearty serving of grilled Italian sausage served on grilled homemade bread." Until today, I can't believe I ate those two sausages by myself! Either I'm German at heart or I was just hungry.

Aside from the bread, there were steamed vegetables with parmesan, grilled onions and potato chips on the side. The bigger one on the left was not really tasty, just very salty; I remember having to salvage it with a lot of ketchup. Looking back, maybe I should have sliced the sausage and made everything into a sandwich? I did NOT eat everything on that plate at least.

We knocked back a couple of beers (Php45/bottle!!!) with the food. It helped me appreciate the loud music courtesy of the DJ in the restaurant. We're not sure if it's because we met the owner of the restaurant or service and food are normally that excellent. Too bad the presence of foreigners dining with Filipina hookers was off-putting; then again nobody asked us dine in a place across Makati's Red Light District.

The restaurant's loud music is fully heard outside to attract customers who want to chill some place al fresco. Padrino's Php300 pizzas and cheap beer are definitely a hit among groups.

When we got the bill, we were given coupons that said free pizza for Php500 purchase on our next visit. Mine was until January 31 only; good thing B's coupon is not dated. Padrino may not be an ideal date place, but it's definitely a good one to get together with friends.