Bobo's Pizzeria

I am really not a fan of think pizza's. I love pizzas with thick and tasty dough so the first the that I saw the pizzas from this store, I just focused on the toppings. We had our pizzas to go and I find it delicious. Their sauce isn't bland too. The price is reasonable enough.

Ate with my bff last Valentines and they have a promo na sobrang worth it. Sobrang flavorful nung heart-shaped pizza and chewy yung bread. Masarap din yung aglio olio (sorry 4 the spelling if mali) tho medj maalat. Also liked the concept of outdoor dining kaso since medj highway yung location, better siguro if they also consider having a closed area talaga

Brick oven Pizza adds flavor and richness to the pizza though. Bobo's creativity produces some of the finest pizzas in the street of Maginhawa. More @ chasingcookouts.wordpress.com

In one of Zomato and PLDT SME gatherings, I met other restaurant owners, learned new concepts with them and shared experiences. Here, I also met Brian who eventually invited me to Bobo's Pizzeria.

The name actually stands for its main offering- Best of Brick Oven Pizza. Its name surprises like what they offer in a small yet cozy hub along the densely populated food area of Maginhawa.

Besides a variety of pizza, they also have pasta and risotto creations. Their brick oven masterpieces offers light thin dough with flavorful toppings for a steal deal. The tasty Napoletana was just Php 175 for a whole pie. You can even have two types on that 8 inch diameter.

Osso Bucco Safron Risotto was my favorite. It came
with creamy rice and a generous portion of succulent beef and tomatoes. We were supposed to share this, I forgot and ate most of it. Superb deal at Php 185.

The pastas presented were my least favorites but still a bargain. The Pesto had a weak taste. I guess it could use more pesto presence and parmesan for more intense flavor. The Bobo's Pasta which was a combination of meat and veggies had a nice touch of tomato sweet and sour tomato sauce and spiced meat.

Since it's located on the open street, expect unfavorable temperatures and no restroom. It is a place though for great Italian picks!

When we are having a foodtrip at maginhawa area, I always see this restaurant because of it's huge signage at the roof. But, this is my first time to eat there. and here are my review.

Food: 4.0/5.0 - Considering it's price, Bobo's pizzeria is one of the most delicious restaurant along maginhawa. Pizza's ranges from 165-225 pesos. I liked the "all meat pizza" among all flavors because it has generous toppings of meat and lot's of cheese. Next is the pasta dishes. Must try is their Aglio Olio Pasta which is a oil based pasta with tuna chunks and chili flakes. the pasta is al dente and the olive oil is just right. I also liked that they made it spicy in order to satisfy my palate. Almost all their pastas are good and well flavored. They also have Rissoto. I liked the il pesce Pesto.  This is the best dish they served that time. although their rice is quite dry, The flavor is still there. The fried fish complements well to the pesto rice. and lastly my favorite part is the dessert. They have two dessert pizzas to choose which is the apple cinnamon and the choco nut flavor. I liked the apple cinnamon pizza but i think it can improve more. 

To sum it up. Bobo's Pizzeria offer's straightforward italian dishes at a lower cost. 

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Ambiance: 3.0/5.0 - A 15 seater restaurant near the popular streat food hall lacked on some aspects. Their utensils are all disposable( Yellow Cab type). their place is not airconditioned which turns very hot on summer and their tables and chairs are on the sidewalk area. I hope that they will improve their looks because foodies nowadays are attracted to themed and well designed restaurants.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

*this  meal is complimentary. Thank you zomatoPH

Last week, I was invited to have dinner at Bobo’s Pizzeria along Maginhawa St. in Quezon City. This was my first time to explore the Maginhawa area which has become a food street in the past few years. We just never got around to going there because it was a bit out of the way for us, and when we talk about eating in QC, the places that come to mind are Banawe and Morato.

Anyway, I was so happy to finally see Maginhawa! There are so many new restaurants to try out! Most of the places are small, seating maybe 10-30 people on average.

BOBO’S PIZZERIA

Bobo’s Pizzeria is literally a “sidewalk” restaurant – they have tables and chairs set up on the sidewalk in front of their little hole in the wall along Maginhawa St. in Teacher’s Village in Quezon City.

They offer Italian-inspired dishes like pizza, pasta, risotto. I was able to try several pizzas, but the one I liked the best was their Margherita Pizza (P175), which was really delicious. Bobo’s has a brick oven which helps in producing a wonderful pizza crust.

Their toppings were generous by the standards of thin-crust pizza, however, I thought the meat toppings lacked some flavor – the pepperoni and other meats were not as salty nor as flavorful as I expected them to be.

For the pasta, I was able to try the Puttanesca (P145) and the Aglio Olio Tuna Pasta (P145). The pasta was cooked al dente, however, I think both dishes still need a bit of fine-tuning. The tuna pasta is hot & spicy, FYI for those who might not expect it to be.

For the risottos, the ones I liked were the Meat Balls (P135) and the Salsiccia Tomato (P145). The Meat Balls actually taste more Asian than Italian, but it was good. The Salsiccia Tomato is Italian Garlic Sausage in tomato sauce, I kept going back to get another taste of this dish! It wasn’t too spicy and I liked the rich tomato sauce. 

Take note of the rice used – it is a short, round rice that is used for risotto, and not the regular rice we are used to. Risotto is also cooked differently than regular rice. The way risotto is cooked results in a creamier, plumper, more flavorful rice. 

The Osso Buco Saffon (P185) was also good (this is a slice of beef shank, including the marrow, in a tomato-based sauce) and you’d be hard-pressed to find any restaurant selling Osso Buco and Saffron Risotto at this price.

Servings of the risottos and accompanying meats were generous – enough to fill up a hungry person. For the meat balls, I count at least 7 pcs! The Salsiccia has 2 whole sausages.

For dessert, Bobo’s has Apple Cinnamon (P145) and Choco Peanut (P145). They were both delicious, the Apple Cinnamon was my favorite that night, the pizza crust so thin it was delightfully crispy! I do hope that they offer other desserts as well, because even though the dessert pizzas were good, at that point, I was getting tired of eating pizza again (I never thought I’d ever say those words).

For drinks, they have Sola Iced Tea and the local Stellina’s Lemonades.  

SUMMARY

Bobo’s Pizzeria offers Italian dishes at affordable prices – most of the pizzas are priced below P200! Risotto meals, yes, it’s not regular rice, but risotto, are priced around P150. For the price range, there is no cause for me to complain about the food at Bobo’s Pizzeria; the Margherita Pizza was actually quite good. They use a brick oven and that does add some points in Bobo’s favor. I also liked the Salsiccia Tomato (Italian Garlic Sausage and Risotto) – I would recommend this if you like a hearty sausage and rice dish.

However, the set up is al fresco (open air) – the tables and chairs are set up on the sidewalk. This may appeal to you, making the ambience feel more like authentic street food. Or not. Personally, the challenge of dining al fresco, on the sidewalk, in humid Manila weather, detracted a bit from my enjoyment of the meal. They have an evaporative cooler to help keep their customers a little cooler.

We also had to be extra alert regarding our personal belongings since it was an open area where other people could come and go and walk by. To be fair, the staff of Bobo’s Pizzeria do look after their patrons and steer any vendors away.

During that meal, we used plastic utensils and paper plates. I get that using disposable utensils is more hygienic and there is no need to wash things, but just FYI so you won’t be surprised when you go there.

Parking is available and free, if you can get a spot on the street 🙂 It’s a busy place.

Bobo’s Pizzeria is a good value Italian-inspired al fresco dining option for those who don’t mind the lack of amenities and are okay with being “cowboy”.