When In Manila, you got it right with Balboa – like The Rocky Balboa – which opened a new branch in Greenbelt 3 this November 2014. It first opened its Italian-American fusion cuisine to customers in March 2013 at Shangri-La Plaza. Now the dynamic owners led by Ricky Laudico, Marvin Agustin and Raymund Magdaluyo opened their second baby in the heart of Makati.
Contemporary flair of old Italian-New Yorker cuisine is what Balboa is all about.
Walking in Balboa is a feast for the eyes with its overall victorian theme that has classic paintings, vintage pieces, and an overall graceful and warm atmosphere to it.
They’ve got starters, soups, breakfast all-day, pizza, pasta, steaks, main courses (like roasted and baked chicken, italian sausage, porchetta, osso bucco), seafood (prawns and prosciutto, grilled salmon, parmesan crusted halibut, pan fried white fish), risotto, desserts and drinks.
For starters, we had the Monroe Salad (Php 309 (solo) / Php 499 (sharing)) which has Parma Ham, Gorgonzola, Pine Nuts and Arugula. Good salad.
The Balboa Signature Pizza (12 inch Php 499 / 16 inch Php 868) lives up to its name with Baby Back Ribs Meat with Camembert Cheese (i love this part of this pizza!) and Cherry Tomatoes.
But if there is a dish that would make us come back for more it would be the US Angus Rib Eye (Php 1,789). A 600 gram dry-aged steak with 1 choice of side dish. We had ours medium rare. Along with the mashed potatoes, it had that home-cooked taste to it, only even better. And although most people would usually go for pizza and pasta for places like this – the steak is a must-try.
Another best seller is the Fresh Spinach Tagliatelle (solo Php 319 / sharing Php 509 ) with Prawn and Tomato Creme. With what we’ve had already, this was a perfect match because the taste wasn’t that overpowering. Great complement.
The Red Sangria was something more like juice (Php 188)
And we ended the meal with St. Honore (Php 238) and great tasting freshly brewed coffee
St. Honore is a cake that Balboa brings in from Italy. It is named after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs St. Honoré.
This is a great date place with the ambiance, as well as a place to have some great food with friends. The Balboa Signature Pizza with its surprising cheese taste and the US Angus Rib Eye are for the win and should be something that could make you go back for more.
When In Manila, and you’re looking for great traditional American, All Day Breakfast, Italian and Pizza then Balboa is one great place worth going to.
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Check out Balboa on facebook https://www.facebook.com/balboapH
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