Food Find: Casa Nostra Restaurant

07 Sep 11 | By WDB in Featured, Food Finds

*We’re pleased to introduce a new category here on Food Bloggers: Food Finds, featuring restaurants and dishes that we deem noteworthy. These finds are from around the world, and we’re kicking it off with a little gem of a restaurant in Manila, Philippines, written by Guest Blogger WDB.

Makati, where I live and work, may not be the most densely populated City in the Philippines- but most of the time, it feels like it. Makati is simply happening – our version of a City that never sleeps. It’s why I refuse to live anywhere else.

Yet in the midst of all this happening, one often finds hidden gems- places of surprising serenity that make you forget about the hustle and bustle outside.

Casa Nostra Restaurant is a hidden gem.

Like many great places, the restaurant’s exterior is unassuming. Located in a sleepy office district on Pasong Tamo extension, directly across a brightly lit 7-11, its dark green awning and heavily tinted windows simply cannot describe the delight that awaits you inside.

Stepping into Casa Nostra is a little like exhaling after holding your breath for as long as you can. It is relaxing and elegant and candlelit and casual all at once. Servers with quiet smiles greet you Buongiorno while Italian guitar music plays softly in the background. The tablecloths are crisp and white, the chairs wide and comfortable.

Their website mentions that they bake their bread fresh every day- and, as you crack open a warm roll and dip it in the complementary bowl of Caponata, you can tell right away. The Caesar Salad you order is fresh and crisp, tossed with just the right amount of dressing. The beef Ossobuco is the finest you’ve ever had, slow cooked and falling off its bone, the latter oozing with rich marrow.

You are told that their pizzas are amazing, their homemade ravioli is the best in town, and that their Limoncello is also homemade. The next day, as you check their online menu, you make a mental list of dishes to order on your next visit.

Casa Nostra is located on the Ground Floor of the Ecoplaza Building, Pasong Tamo Extension in Makati. They are open Monday thru Saturday for Lunch and Dinner. For more details, call them at 403-9854 to 55.