Ramen and rolls – such a combo right? Now imagine you have a Zomato Gold account and you get buy 1 take 1 perks! Tried out Tori Ichi at SM Mall of Asia some time ago. There were a lot of light colored wood finishings with highlights of red decors giving a Japanses vibe. They also have a tatami room areas (with sliding doors) if you need a little privacy.
Place looks lovely, menu design is appealing and staff is friendly. We had blackened chorizo pasta, steak and eggs, sausage and egg pizza. Food was good and there were a number of other dishes I'd like to try next time. The price on their family size pasta though is little too expensive.
Food Coma in Balboa
We tried Balboa for the first time. And we were pleasantly surprised and satisfied with our meal.
The salad had the right mix with a flavourful dressing. The clam chowder was thick and tasty with mussels. The salmon on mushroom risotto was perfectly cooked. And the balsamic pork was deliciously tender, like an adobo with an italian twist.
And our watermelon cucumber was very refreshing.
We’ll definitely try Balboa again. 😋
Food 5/5
Drinks 4.5/5
Cleanliness 5/5
Ambience 5/5
Price 3/5
Service 4.5/5
We ordered half 5 cheese and all meat pizza, and truffle pasta.
OMG ang sarap dito bakit iniisnab namin ito dati?!? What happened to me?! friendly staff, and competitive price range.
Steak, babalikan ka namin, HUMANDA KA! :)
Whenever I crave for Italian pizza, I usually go to Balboa. The price is pretty steep but the taste and flavor are worth it! I was quite sad when the branch in Greenbelt closed down so now I have to go all the way to Shangri-La. I’m hoping they open another branch in Makati soon. The staff are accommodating, their pizzas are delicious, and the lasagna is nice and cheesy. 🧀
French Onion Soup 👋
Cream of Pumpkin Soup 👋
Porchetta with Truffle Mushroom Rice ♥️
U.S. Porterhouse ♥️
U.S. Tenderloin & Italian Sausage 👍
We’ve been here several times. Awesome food, great ambiance, place isn’t cramped, and the best about Balboa is their staff—polite, professional and attentive.
👍 - ok
♥️ - must try
👋 - so-so
I can not believe Balboa was launched in Shangrila Plaza in 2013 or 5 years ago and I have not even tried it once.
It took the event Shang GourmetFest last October 17 to make it happen ...
Ehhhh. I’m the king of the world. Yan ang peg kapag bagong sahod. Pasteak steak nalang. Hahaha. Sarap ng @balboa_ph steak partida sirloin palang yan pano na kung mas maganda ung part ng baka.
This is in Shangrila mall adjacent to Corazon restaurant. Ambience is good. Accommodating staff. Food well-served. Will visit again soon and try the others.
Five years since its launch in 2013, Balboa has been a classic favorite among Italian-American food lovers. This June 2018, they are plating up new dishes to take a fresh perspective on their current Italian and New York inspired cuisine. They plan to involve their name in the growing food trends and come up with a rather ambitious menu.
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New York style Italian cuisine takes a new swing at Balboa's. Starting June 1, they will be offering 13 new dishes, in the hopes of luring you and me to their branch in Shangri-la Mall. Since Balboa has been around for five solid years, it's time to revamp their menu. This time they got Chef Jolo Morales, a young 24-year-old chef with much ambition and passion for food.
Chef Morales had remarkable experience working in the kitchen of a 3-star Michelin Grace Chicago with Chef Curtis Duffy and 2018 Asia's Best Restaurant Awardee, Toyo Eatery.
The new line-up features an adaptation to current food trends, matched with classic Italian pieces. Chef's creativity is further seen with his use of local ingredients while infusing Italian techniques, making sure these new flavors still appeal to the Filipino palate.
I had the pleasure of getting invited together with some members of the media last week. Although I wasn't able to dive in all 13 new creations, I did capture the essence of Chef Morales dishes. Are you ready to know what I had? Here they are:
To start, we had soups. Mushroom soup had three kinds of mushroom, shitake, oyster, and shimaje, giving it a thick and bold taste. Roasted Pumpkin was plain yet satisfying. It had a touch of apple confit to it for sweetness.
Fresh Cut Jicama was a refreshing bowl of nutrients and art. It had a spectacular arrangement of delicious colors and textures. It has jicama (singkamas), arugula, water spinach, spinach, thin slices of prosciutto ham, parmesan, sage oil in mango vinaigrette and balsamic vinegar reduction.
Chicken Cacciatore gave a new look to the usual chicken meat. This one was rounded up in smaller pieces, smoked and cured. On its side were baked polenta and pureed tomatoes.
The other main I enjoyed more, Sole. Besides the delicate slab of tasty fish, it had a charming mash of sweet potato and crushed pieces of toasted cashews.
There will be three new pasta offerings. Our table got a sampling of one, Balboa's traditional Carbonara made even better. It was creamy good in every forkful. It had cubed and seared porchetta and fried shallots topped with parmesan cheese, parsley oil, and cured egg. Must try!
To finish off this journey, we had a glass of a lemon dessert that was both icy and foamy. It was a sweetened lemon sherbet with a strong citrus finish.
If you've been to Balboa before, it's time for another start. If you haven't, you may also check out their best selling US Porterhouse Steak, freshly made Balboa Pulled Pork Camembert Pizza and artisan pasta, Truffle Mushroom Linguine.
specialties according to staff is pizza pasta and steaks. didn't try the steak but the pizza and pasta was good. fried chicken for the kids was actually tasty as well using small native chicken instead of the standard whiteleg horn. service was okay, they need to man their outside tables though for faster reaction time. serving time was surprisingly fast. food is mostly italian but interiors and the name sounds spanish (just my opinion).
Joy Arianna Rodriguez Talanay
+4.5
Went here to dine for Valentines day.. I ended up ordering their bolognese and vanilla milkshake..I love their vanilla milkshake and the ambiance is nice..will definitely go back for more milkshake.
Not our first choice for Mother's day celebration but I'm glad we did. Other restos were packed so this was an accidental find. Our food was ok and the service was efficient despite the volume of customers.
Had a wonderful time here! Great food especially the Roast Chicken and Truffle Mushroom Linguine. Staffs were also accommodating and friendly, they joined us having fun on our event! Even the place is very neat and beautiful. Two thumbs up!
Friday traffic never fails to discourage me from exploring other places. Just like last Friday, R and I were supposed to visit Xocolat near UP. But since traffic gets more intense on Fridays, we decided to go to Shangri-La instead. And I find it tough to choose where to eat there since I already tried all the restaurants. (Good thing my favorites such as Spätzle, Kettle, Balboa, Brotzeit, and Duck & Buvette are there.) R let me choose where to eat and I chose…
Balboa! It has been a while.
I still remember how much I raved about its roasted chicken. I told my family, friends, and colleagues how much I love Balboa’s roasted chicken. I’m a fan. (Okay, enough of the chicken.)
This time around, R and I ordered the following: Cream of Squash (PHP209), Bacon Steak (PHP448) and Lasagna (PHP319). For drinks, R got the Salted Caramel (PHP175) while I chose Lychee, Lime and Honey (PHP138).
Ricardo Peredo Sarile
+3.5
The place looks great! Very homey! Loved the uniforms of the waitresses. But, I was a bit disappointed by the quality of the food. We ordered chicken tenders and lasagna (familia size). Nothing great for the price. The lasagna was a bit bland. I added a lot of ground pepper to give it flavor. For the price, I'd rather stick with Italliani's which is just a stone throw away from Balboa. But I'm willing to try out their other dishes if only to find a dish of theirs that would redeem my last experience.
Alberto Tenedero Jr.
+3.5
Tried out Balboa for the first time yesterday and it was just alright. We ordered their All Meat Pizza, Clam Chowder, Calamari and their Porterhouse Steak. The Calamari was quite disappointing due to the thinness of their squid as you can barely taste it in there. Clam Chowder was a bit light ( which is a plus for me) but still contained the ingredients I am looking for (Clams and potatoes!). Steak was just alright while their pizza was not bad. All in All, their pizzas are a must try!
I really like Balboa. I recommend their roast chicken with garlic and mushroom and the barbecue ribs. I also love their Abbey Road Oysters, its bomb :)
The Balboa Restaurant is an italian restaurant that specialises on pizza, pasta and steaks. They offer one of the most chic, glamorous and luxurious places in Shangri-La.
We ordered their Saint Germain spinach and artichoke dip which is beyond delicious. We also ordered their four cheese pizza, south western dry rub chick and truffle rice. Their truffle rice is heavenly - truly one of the best truffle rice I have ever tasted.
Overall, it was a delightful experience eating at Balboa. Certainly one of the must try restaurants at Shangri-La.
Went to Balboa on a Friday evening to check out for ourselves why this resto gets ratings at 4.5 on one end and 2.5 on the other. Based on the soup and three dishes we had, our rating is right in between.
We loved the Jolie pizza - steak with gorgonzola cheese and caramelized onions on an excellent crispy base. Every bite was a delight! Also loved the Roma pasta - meatballs spaghettini - lovely meaty flavor.
The cream of pumpkin soup was good and the other pasta we got, Spagna - beef stroganoff and fusilli - was below average.
A pleasant experience all in all with very efficient service
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At first I was expecting not that much from Balboa, some spoke of it as over rated.. But everything changed when I personally got the opportunity to try some of their dishes.
For our Appetizers we ordered: Stewart Salad and Crab Croquettes! Both had a generous serving. Both tasted really great. I lovehow they make the garlic/ranch dip for the croquettes!!! I love the freshness of their salad and the mixture of each ingredient that blended very well and created a wonderful salad!
For our mains: we opted to order two kinds of pastas. Ravioli and Baked ziti! Both were good for sharing. We were not able to finish it but I must say, everything was cooked and prepared as it should be.
It was definitely NOT over rated for me.
I had a great experience in dining in Balboa and would surely return!
And oh, before I forget..they make really good green mango juice (we requested for it not to be sweet) it was made exactlly how we requested it to be. Exceedi g our expectations, the juice had mango bits too!!! :)
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For starters I ordered the Buffalo Mozzarella, which had 2 slabs of mozzarella cheese. I liked the chewiness of the cheese, and the breading was just right.
Next was the Louis Armstrong (all-meat) pizza, which had salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, and pancetta. The pizza had generous amounts of meat (and all were very flavorful) and cheese on top (it may not be mozzarella, but it was still good).
I also got the Michelangelo (Angus ravioli). They didn’t scrimp on the serving, as it had about 6 pieces of medium-sized ravioli in it. The meat inside was cooked to let the juices come out with every bite! Was it really Angus beef? I’m not too sure, but it was delicious! The tomato-based sauce added another layer of flavor to the entire dish.
Next was the Picasso (truffle mushroom linguine). As you may know I’m big on truffle oil, so anything with truffle oil is good! And this one didn’t disappoint! The sauce was really good, and the pasta was cooked al dente (as it should be).
The Cookie Butter Milkshake was divine!
*burps*
Good value for money, ample serving sizes, attentive crew. I’ll definitely return to try other items on their menu.
Reasonably priced food. Good portioning. Great ambiance and good customer service. The food was great and it didnt take a long time waiting for it to be served. Servers are attentive and quick when you need them to be 😊
Highly recommended!
If not only for the absent minded staff inwould give it 5 points. I think the crew are new and not used to serving. They forget our orders.
Forget the crew, the food was fantastic!! We got shrimp as appetizer. The name was mallorca and it was seasoned with garlic and cooked with wine. It was indeed tasty and mouthwatering. Then the pasta was served. The oil-based pasta named pompeii has a hint of lemon and is very satisfying. The mushroom truffle pasta was also good but it could be better with more cream and milk. The chicken we ate tasted like lechong manok with a mix of adobo :) I am not a big fan of pizzas so let me not judge their 5 cheese pizza.
And the desserts were perfect! Strawberry cheesecake was the best. I didnt know what they put there but i cant get enough. The churros were also perfectly baked. Tiramisu is fluffy and tasty.
I drank the lychee lemon honey which was good too.
Again, highly recomended!!
The Memphis dry-rub has a crispy top and tender meat, with chewy tendons in between. The only let down would be that it's serving is only 4 slices, leaving you wanting to order another helping.
The Mallorca is scrumptious! Whatever it's marinated in had my dad and I noshing the plate clean.
There's something about this restaurant that screams "elegant and sophisticated dining" when you first see it. The ambiance of this restaurant really gave that look.
With my whole family, we tried their four cheese pizza, angus ravioli, osso buco, grilled salmon and bacon steak. Food was really good and great for sharing with a big family.
Downside is how late our orders would arrive but because of the quality of the food, this was just a mere hiccup. Still a good restaurant to try.
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Had my post-graduation celebration at Balboa. We were roaming around Shangri-la, looking for a place to eat. I saw a standee tarp that they had a discount and I was also craving for pasta and pizza that so, after a long debate, we ended up dining in anyway.
The place was so nice, very comfy. Fancy interior with a touch of vintage, well-ventilated and lighting too. The staff were also accommodating- kept on checking back at us from time to time.
Aside from the nice interior, the food was good too. For starters, we had Buttermilk Calamari. I just love the buttermilk dip, so good. Generous amount of serving too. My mom ordered her BBQ Salad- it didn't have much dressing so, I didn't like it much plus, it had too little everything and many leaves.
My cousin and I ordered a family-sized Truffle Mushroom Linguine for sharing since we were eyeing the same dish. I think this is by far the most delicious truffle mushroom pasta I've had. Creamy sauce, the pasta wasn't over-cooked and it had a lot of mushroom which was yummy. So so so good!!
We also ordered two solo pizza because my we had to take some home for my brother who didn't want to have dinner out so, he just asked us for a take home. We had Parma Ham & Farmer's Egg and Fennel Sauge with Arugula. The pizzas were a bit hard to bite on. Too thin for my liking but it was okay, still enjoyed it though.
I fell in love with their Truffle Linguine, definitely coming back for more of their pastas!
Patrick Joseph M. Luis
+4
Balboa is a nice and fancy restaurant in Shang. I had their Italian Sausage and Pesto Spaghettini. Quite frankly I was surprised by the amount of their servings as the dish is big enough for two or three people. The pesto sauce was really delicious and really complimented the sausages really well.
Good food at decent prices although service charge seemed too heavy. The family size pasta is more or less just good for two people but the Seafood Tagliatelle we ordered was spot on. It was full of seafood pieces and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The Spinach and Artichoke dip was delicious but I wish there was a thicker layer of melted mozzarella at the top.
Delightful ambience. I won't recommend it for big family dinners but definitely a good place for a dinner or brunch date for two.
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For a Saturday evening dinner rush, Balboa, as compared to its neighbors, had fewer diners.
Perfect.
My mom and I were hungry and in no mood to wait in line to be seated.
At first I thought Balboa was a Spanish restaurant, because of its name, but the menu looked Italian enough for me to realize it wasn't.
We ordered the Monroe salad, Baked Chicken with chorizo, and the Pancetta, Apples, and Ricotta pizza.
The solo serving of salad is enough for two people to share I think; three if you aren't big on eating salads. The salad was okay, but the Gorgonzola was my favorite part of it. It cut through the taste of the salad.
The Baked Chicken was an instant favorite. My mom thought it was too salty, but to me it was fine. The chicken was moist, and the gravy was great, very flavorful.
The pizza was good as well, but I would say to eat it right away. We had started to eat ours about 5-10 minutes after it arrived at our table, and by then the crust had become hard, and the knife could barely cut through it. Maybe if we had eaten it earlier it would've been easier to eat. Aside from the crust issue, the pizza itself was good! I have always been wary of fruits being in my typically savory dishes, so when my mom ordered this I was a bit skeptical. However, the combination of pancetta, apples, and ricotta was actually great! The apples were sweet, but not too sweet, and the ricotta was creamy enough to kind of withstand the flavor of both the apples and pancetta.
All in all, I would say give Balboa a try!
Looking for a homey ambiance? Go to Balboa. Furniture and lights are classy.
Their spinach artichoke is not that good; I still prefer Cibo's or Relish's spinach artichoke. The Buffallo Mozzarella and Aglio Olio Spaghettini were fine. We had this truffle-something pizza, which was crisp thin. I would suggest getting their San hovore for dessert.
Kinda expensive for so-so food; but ambiance and staff are good.
The Prosciutto, Mushroom and Arugula pizza was a disappointment; it was a little weird for our palate. It was their Angus Ravioli that somehow managed to meet our expectations. However, they have small servings; the famiglia-sized pasta won't be enough to fill two adults. The star of the night is the lychee, lime and honey juice!
Service is at par and very attentive. Their sangria's are so-so and so are their iced tea. The pizzas and the pastas tasted ok. Presentation is ok. Their roasted half chicken is worth the trip. Very tender and almost falling or the bone. Osso bucco, italian sausage needs improvement. It was bland.
They ran out of Foi Gras and Rissotto. Pizza and Steaks are excellent. Salmon is so so. Don't order the mash potato sides, not good. Service is ok, could be better- seems under staffed
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Balboa - Pizza, Pasta and Steaks
Today, we decided to eat in a restaurant that none of us tried yet. We were walking in the new wing of Shangri-la and saw Balboa and Green Pasteur. Since we had a pregnant woman with us, we decided to eat in Balboa instead.
All of us were hungry so we ended up ordering so much! Everything was really good, except for the dessert.
Buffalo Mozzarella Php 278
With marinara
It was good, although it wasn't hot anymore when it was served to us.
Pancetta, Apples and Ricotta Php 319
This was really good! We all enjoyed this!
Truffle Mushroom Linguine Php 348
Best dish for tonight! We all loved it so much!
Angus Ravioli Php 538
It was really good, although it needs more sauce. But nevertheless, we enjoyed it
US Short Ribs Php 508
In Red Wine, Gorgonzola with Mashed Potato
This is their best seller and we now know why! It was really good! It was really flavorful and tender!
Parmesan Crusted Halibut Php 478
With Wild Mushroom Risotto
This was also good!
Porcini Php 478
Although it was good, it was a bit dry.
Cookie Butter Milkshake Php 189
This deceived us. It was just Reese's Peanut Butter. Lucky for me, i love Reese's Peanut Butter. They should have just stated that it was Reese's Milkshake.
Lychee, Lime,Honey Php 138
Bottomless Iced Tea
White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Berry Coulis Php 208
The panna cotta was too thick and it lacked flavor. Also, it was not "berry coulis" it was just strawberry jam on top.
I will definitely look forward to eat here again. But i don't think that i would order their dessert again.
You'll be getting your money's worth dining at Balboa. The Four Cheese Risotto is a killer and will make you want to ask for the menu again. Still hoping they'd open more branches because their stuff is exquisite.
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Balboa is located at the new East Wing section of EDSA Shangri-la – across Corazon’s and beside Green Pastures. I love to stay and stroll around the new East Wing since I feel so relaxed each time I am there.
As we entered Balboa, I am incredibly and irrevocably in love with the place. It is so cozy and homey. This place is best to bond with your family and friends. A nice place to catch up, chitchat for hours.
We were so amazed with the place and busy taking pictures that we almost forgot to order. HAHA!
Anyway, on to their food!
Balboa offers pizza, pasta and steak. Prices of their food were a bit hefty on pockets, but thanks to the GC. It saved us. xp
We had Seafood and Fresh Lemon Tagliatalle (in olive oil) Php378. We tried this type of pasta to go against the usual carbonara, spaghetti and lasagna. I had my first bite and it was good. Although, my friend and I agreed the pasta noodles were not al dente. I want to love this pasta but it is too salty for me :(
We also had 12″ Vegan Pizza Php319 and I was amazed-balls! Totally in love with this! The crust was crispy and thin, just the way I like it. I am so amazed that this not taste Vegan at all. I love the fact that the eggplant somewhat tastes like meat. I can definitely eat this all day!
All in all, my friend and I were happy with our stay here at Balboa. I would also like to commend their staff and managers who were very attentive in serving us (giving us water and getting empty plates without us asking).
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I have been craving for foie gras for the past couple of months and since its a bit expensive, I try to clamp on that feeling as much as I can. But thank goodness for Zomato, I finally satisfied that craving. I received a GC for php500 worth of food at Balboa and did some menu researching and found out that thay have foie gras for php498. Yes, at long last!
So me and my friend scheduled a dinner get together and decided to dine here since we have not tried this place yet. We ordered the Pan-seared Foie Gras, Spinach Prosciutto Truffle pizza and Seafood and Fresh Lemon Tagliatelle pasta.
The Pan-seared Foie Gras was good! Exactly as I imagined it! Though there was 2pcs only of the coveted food. Toast was present and some caramelized onions to complete the dish, drizzled with a lot of olive oil! I loved it!
The pizza was great too! It was thin, crisp on the crust edges and topping-filled. We finished all slices, just the 2 of us. That's how good it was.
And the pasta was al dente! Simple yet so delicious. Shrimps and calamari slices and the garlic bits is good all together. Good for sharing too.
The service was great, they were very attentive. The ambiance was cozy and elegant and not too noisy.
I would love to come back and try their other pizzas and pastas in the near future.
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First of all, thank you to Zomato for sending a voucher so we could try this good food place!
It says: pizza, pasta, steak. I got to try the first two, but not the steak, unfortunately, as I was trying to eat lighter/healthier. Clearly, that's a mistake, as there was nothing light about the meal we had. I should've ordered that bacon steak thingy! Anyway...
We had the buffalo mozzarella with marinara as appetizer. It was just the right kind of cheesy. The sauce was great! You'd think one or two pieces would be enough, but you'd want more. The pizza (four cheese) was served along with it, too. The bread was good, thin crust, but I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping for it to be cheesier. Yes, I'm mad for cheese!
Then there's the Aglio Olio Spaghettini. I liked how it's light and not so oily with just a dash of being spicy. For those wanting a tastier pasta, you might want to opt for something else. The grilled salmon had a sort of charcoal-y taste to it, but it was great with the creamy sauce and mashed potatoes.
The best dish we got to try was the Prawns and Prosciutto. It was a bit on the salty side, but I loved it still. The spinach sauce was the bomb! A very satisfying indeed.
While their milkshakes were nothin outstanding, the dessert we had was sooo good! That espresso cheesecake was really a great way to cap off dinner. It was not bitter nor too sweet. Plus, the presentation was pretty!
Furthermore, the service was excellent. The staff were friendly and helpful. Overall, it was a nice dining experience.
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Filipino or Italian? Our host asked. Italian was an easy choice for me. Not that I dislike Filipjno food, I just prefer a cuisine not easily prepared at home. So Balboa it was. That made it even more exciting as all three of us have never tried the restaurant before.
The restaurant is located in the fourth floor of the new wing of Shangri-la Mall. Design wise, it was very impressive. But then again, plush interiors give an impression of being expensive. And Balboa is, although not as different as most restaurants nowadays charge for their food.
For starters, we ordered the Oyster Rockefeller. It was unlike any I've had before which were mostly cheese and oyster. Balboa's version had bacon and spinach too. And the cheese was extraordinary. The ingredients gave the dish plus points in texture and taste.
Our pizza order was half all-meat and half seafood. It was good but I wished there were more toppings. The crust was thin, the edge brown in some parts, crispy and flaky and the center more soggy than crisp. I would have preferred the center to be more cooked.
The U.S. Short Ribs was very flavorful and tender that it fell off the bone. It was well complemented by the mashed potato.
The Grilled Salmon was alright but not extraordinary. The side was not appetizing though.
For drinks, we had the Carrot Pineapple, Cucumber Pineapple and Lychee, Lime and Honey. We all agreed that the Carrot Pineapple tasted best. The Lychee, Lime and Honey had a strong but not unpleasant aftertaste.
Service was okay. They gamely took our photos too.
The restaurant participates in ZAP so if you want to get some cash back, I suggest you sign up.
The food was good, I especially liked the Monroe Salad and the Squash Soup. We had Grilled Salmon and Roasted Chicken for our main course. It was good but not spectacular. The interior is nice and they have a great wine selection.
Truffle Mushroom Linguine.
Buffalo Mozzarella with Marinara.
I was not that satisfied with the buffalo mozarella. O didn't liked the sauce either.
The pasta, on the other hand is delicious.
The place was cozy and cute.
I love their interior.
Food is great! Solo servings can be shared. Place has comfy seats and nice overall ambience. Menu is a bit pricey but it is definitely worth it.
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