Mention Italian food to any Bacoleno and the first restaurant that he or she would mention would be “Carlo: Ristorante Italiano.” In fact for as long as the Bacolod Food hunters could remember,it WAS the first and the oldest italian restaurant in bacolod.
A newcomer has come to dethrone Carlo from the throne, Italia italian restaurant.
Italia is tucked away beside riverside hospital. A bright red tomato sign is the only indication that an Italian restaurant is there.
Once inside, the Bacolod food hunters couldnt help but feel relaxed as the charming decor and lighting really sets the mood.
Martin couldn’t help wandering around the restaurant and to his delight he found an authentic wood burning oven used to cook pizzas.
A cook cooking a pizza.
The Bacolod Food hunters settled for pasta despite the recommendations of the waiter that they try the steak. They had the pasta calamari, mildly spicy with tomato sauce and basil.
They also had some pesto pasta.
Some garlic bread too!
The Bacolod Food hunters enjoyed their pasta. It was al dente, perfectly cooked and the sauces were wonderful. Martin mopped up the remaining pesto sauce with bits of garlic bread. Some salmon was also ordered. It was a bit disappointing since it tasted flaky and dry. You could tell tell the fish had been frozen.
Dessert soon followed. It was a simple braso de mercedes but was made a bit special by some syrup poured on top of it. The braso de mercedes itself is not sweet so the syrup makes a wonderful addition to it.
A late Bacolod Food hunter arrives and orders the pizza supremo! It was wonderful with the crust crunchy and NOT A single bit oily. The black olives were so fresh and the pizza cooked perfectly that every flavor was clear and distinct, from the saltiness of the olives to the sweetish pepper like taste of the sausages and pepperoni.
Italia is an ok restaurant to eat at and the service is excellent! All throughout the meal the waiter (who appeared to be the only one in the whole place) kept popping up to refill glasses of water and to take away empty plates.
Prices are a bit steep though.
WARNING: Some people have complained about the place. Please read the comments below. We did not experience bad service or anything when we went there but these complaints should be read and considered before going to italia.
my friends and I ate at that place when we were in college. i have to say we were all impressed, NOT! we ate there for lunch but we were the only ones inside (which speaks volumes about their popularity) apart from Dr. N.a.m.i.n who was just leaving the place. the food were substandard, unpalatable and the servings were small. the service was terrible and slow. the price was ostentatious for such meager course. that experience was a huge disappointement for us and we won’t go back again. sorry but that’s what we’ve went thru.
By: jj on May 4, 2008
at 9:35 pm
Yes, It’s still empty but this time service is fast. They’ve improved. Servings are HUGE (look at photos!) It’s still expensive though.
It’s okay to put a negative comment about them but they’ve cleaned up their act. Give ‘em a chance.
By: Martin Banana on May 5, 2008
at 2:17 am
hi there. i’m a bacolod lass, now based in FL, USA with a never-ending yearning for food from back home. nothing like it. keep up the blog and keep us updated with developments in the restaurant scene. there was a new italian restaurant last year near l’fisher owned by a young bacolod chef. kanamit gid. loved his salads and pizza with arugula and salmon. go visit
By: maria sg kusina on June 9, 2008
at 3:15 pm
I’m guessing it’s the Uma Cafe. =) Yep. They serve really good food. A little expensive though. =)
By: ace on October 14, 2009
at 6:34 am
so so Yummy!! Its just so mouth watering…
By: Pune Cuisines on July 9, 2008
at 11:19 am
Were in Italia in Dumaguete and don’t know how to describe it.
The Pizza was good, but there could be a bit more on it. Pasta dishes were excellent. The restaurant by itself a little bit steril but ok.
The meat-dishes are a rip-off compared to other restaurants in Dumaguete with better quality. (Black Angus 600+ peso/100grm at Italia, 695Peso for 250 grm in other places)
This is something we had the choice.
Where we had no choice is the big Italian man in dirty cloths sitting there with his notebook and chatting. Waitresses told us he is the chef, but he never was in the kitchen and also did not care at all when our order were messed up. (wrong dishes)
Also we ordered a cold-cut-platter with bread. the platter came, the bread 20 minutes later. he did not care at all, just staring at a woman on his screen.
We also were charged for wine we never had and it took 20 minutes to sort that out. Neither he nor the cashier (or manager according to our waitress) talked to us or appologised, they just let us sit there.
we would not care if we eat a snack in a net-cafe, but this guy is just disgusting and the place runs unprofesional. No wonder that it is empty, there are other places to go with better service and quality.
I hope you guys in Bacolod have better expierience, for Dumaguete I would say:
Ok for take out, but for that high prices I expect way more quality,service AND friendlyness when dining there.
all the best
Paula
By: Paula on December 11, 2008
at 3:55 am
Hi i am Giancarlo Tasca; i am a maitre d’hotel in Dorcherster htl in London, my wife she is filipina chef from dumaguete. we hang out in italia. The pizza was as must be in italy; and the pasta was outstanding. The service was good no any problem. The chef italian Fabrizio; we have nice chatting we do not see all the bad you describe. For us was a good meal and the restaurant is ok.
The only suggest i can say in an italian restaurant Italian musica not american
By: Giancarlarlo on February 3, 2009
at 12:03 pm
I agree with JJ, i should have heeded his advise and stayed away from this restaurant. I was totally RIPPED OFF. I ordered a steak and spag, prices were really steep considering the ambiance (floor looks dirty, waiter looks shoddy, place smells musty) but there are very few places in bacolod that serve steaks and pasta. So i got me a small rib eye (210 grams) but I swear what I got must have been 170 at most – but what the hell so I was still ok to pay the 395/100 gram price. The food was served and I ate, nothing special – not bad also, but when i got the bill I was being charged for 495/ 100 grams. I argued with the waiter but he would not listen and simply said thats what I ordered. I paid but this I have to do, warn people of this restaurant because I do not want the same thing to happen to other people. Its good to pay good money for good food and good experience and when a bad and dirty restaurant tries to pose as a clean – fine dining great food place when its not and charges very high prices while shortchanging their customers (maybe since there are very few people going there they have resorted to dirty tactics), people have to be warned. So please for those that supported this place in the blog – maybe your their firend, well tell them to close shop, they do not deserve to be in the food business!!!!
By: Wazoo on March 23, 2009
at 12:31 pm
I am so sorry for your bad dining experience. What I wrote was what I experienced. I had an ok time…. I never experienced something terrible like that. Gosh, Italia seems to be getting a lot of bad publicity. I will edit my post to reflect your comment.
By: Martin Banana on March 23, 2009
at 3:09 pm
ouch that’s too bad. italia is my favorite pasta place! i love almost all of their pasta but i haven’t tried their steaks… it’s that expensive!? that seems quite high:( and what strong reviews from wazoo he seems to have had a terrible impression … hmmm i don’t know but everytime i go there i always have a pleasant experience i even think their waiters are extra nice… anyways, i hope they can just maintain their quality for their pasta!
by the way, i’d like to thank martin banana and the bacolod food hunters for this site. keep it up martin!
By: curly on April 19, 2009
at 6:36 am
Hello Martin,
My wife and I moved to Bacolod in February of 2008. Over the past 15 or 16 months we’ve eaten in many of Bacolod’s restaurants. Italia, is without a doubt our #1 favorite restaurant. We have eaten there at least once a week and have always been treated to super service and excellent food. The waiters, Mario and Eugene, are very attentive and bend over backwards to make each visit enjoyable. We have never yet gotten a bad meal or poor service. Italia is a wonderful place to eat — which is something I couldn’t say for 21, where I was charged the equivalent of $4.10 for 1 piece of shrimp, or Imays, where we waited 45 minutes before we were told they were out of ribs.
Thanks, Martin, for the great web site.
Best regards
Jim
By: Jim1644 on May 26, 2009
at 1:30 am
Wow.
The last time I was there, everything seemed to be so special. I was with my college friends and we had a good time that night when we had dinner at Italia. The food was great but I agree that some of it were meant to be served for a single person only.
Nice site. =)
By: ace on October 14, 2009
at 6:33 am