Finding Va Bene Pasta and Deli

Having built my career in the restaurant industry for 12 years, I have developed a love for Italian dishes. The search for restaurants that serves authentic Italian dishes is not that hard here in Metro Manila. But who would have thought you'll find one within the premises of a gasoline station in  Makati along EDSA? That restaurant is Va Bene of Chef Massimo Veronasi. He was a former chef of Mi Piace at The Peninsula Manila.  

I accidentaly came to know about Va Bene while watching The Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate" by Ms. Stephanie Zubiri.

Italians show their generosity by serving complimentary bread with chopped tomatoes, basil, garlic with parmesan cheese.

There was a slight downpour the night we came. So we ordered one of their soup. The soup was still piping hot when it was served. I love the earthiness of the wild mushroom accentuated by the truffle oil. The Zuppa had creamed portobello mushroom, porcini powder and truffle oil. We did not order antipastis anymore.

For our salad we had the Caprese. The mixed lettuce was fresh and not wilted. Capers worked its saltiness on the salad well. Black olives, buffalo mozzarella, lightly roasted white onions, sliced tomatoes on balsamic reduction was perfect to prepare us for our main dish.

Unfortunately pizza was not available at the time of our visit. We forgot the menu name of the pasta dish that  we ordered. It was like an arrabiatta sauce with calamares and the linguine was fresh and made inhouse. Va Bene prides itself with its handmade pastas. The dish was delicious and the heat of the chili was to our liking.

Our dessert is a personal favorite. How can you go wrong with homemade profiteroles filled with chocolate sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and candied walnuts? 

We capped our dinner with a shot of Limoncello as after dinner digestifs. It is believed to soothe the stomach. We decided to have our coffee downstairs.

Overall the dinner was great. The food was fresh and never pretentious. It was straightforward rustic Italian. The food came out of the kitchen by course and service was not intrusive and pushy.   

Seating is limited in this branch at the Petron gas station. They already have another branch at BGC. We will definitely come back to try their pizza and other main dish.  



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