DINO DE LEON: FOOD - Giuseppe Pizzeria and Sicilian Roast

Giuseppe Pizzeria and Sicilian Roast

For some reason, after my trip to Jakarta a couple of months ago, I have been longing to eat Ravioli (yeah I know it's weird but this was the one I ate that I enjoyed the most). Sharing this with my wife, she took the initiative of cooking one for me. It was indeed a labor of love as she had to create the dough from scratch which involved mixing, mashing, wrestling and all other muscle building actions you can think of.

I had to help her thin out the flour using a hardwood rolling pin as her arm muscles are too tired already. And man, I am now regretting why I didn't let her buy a pasta maker! But after all the muscle aches, we were able to successfully create our home made ravioli.

Unfortunately, it was more of a rubber-ioli as the damn dough was still too thick. We vowed to just eat/ buy a cooked dish when we wish to eat this.

Then I was introduced to Giuseppe Pizzera and Sicilian Roast which is situated along Maria Luisa Road. It's an Italian restaurant which price points are in between the Casa Verde and Anzani type of restos.

Parking is quite hard as there's only about 5 slots. It was dinner time the first time I ate here and it was jam packed so we decided to have lunch here instead. And I was right on as we arrived in time for their store opening which is 11:30am.

Our mind was already set to have their spinach Ravioli so it's just a choice of what dishes to complement it with. We decided on a mushroom soup and a four-cheese pizza. Juvvy was actually eyeing some fish or meat but after what we had for dinner the day before, I had to push that we go the vegetarian route.

Another reason I decided on a pizza was this is one of Giuseppe's specialties. They are known to be the first (if not only) restaurant in Cebu that serves pizza cooked inside a brick oven.

While waiting for our orders, we were invited by their staff to look at their grocery at the 2nd floor. Man! It was more of a mini-warehouse of italian ingredients and pastas!

They offer champagnes, wines, frozen seafoods, etc. Anything you need to cook up an Italian dish, they have it. But as with their menu, prices are quite high.

Preparation of our food was fast with our soup being served first (obviously), followed by the four-cheese pizza and then my long awaited ravioli. In terms of the taste, I have mixed emotions about it. The mushroom soup is quite good and filling as it also has angel noodles mixed into it.

The pizza was a bit of a let down. Our expectations were probably a little too high and with taste buds built for Shakey's and Pizza Hut, it really didn't deliver. The dough was cooked nicely but then again, I was expecting more flavor for a brick oven cooked pizza.

For the ravioli, it was pretty much the same. I was expecting a juicy/ rich filling of spinach and cheese but it was quite dry for my taste. The sauce on the other hand was too rich but this is my fault as I didn't look closely and was expecting a cream sauce instead.

But despite our dissatisfaction, it is still a restaurant we would go back to dine-in again. Staff are very courteous and the ambience perfect to enjoy a nice and quiet lunch/ dinner. Next time we will probably forego the pasta/ pizza combo and order their famous Roast Pork with Risotto instead.

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