Gabriele Italian Restaurant

Ayça Fatih Dalkılıç

4.0

I will rate the food at 3 but the staff service is a 5 so I'd give it a 4. I do not agree with the very low rates of others because while the food here is not perfect, it is still worth the money that you paid for it. The serving is generous. I ordered pasta last night (aglio e olio) and it was ok (had to take it home after 2 bites as I realized I was not yet hungry & I thought, I'd enjoy it more with some "repairing" at home).* This (3 rating) is partly because I have high standards in food, being married to a wonderful chef-in-progress. I will definitely go back again because I want to try the other dishes in the menu. The aglio e olio may be a bit bland but if I dined in-house, I think all I'd do is ask the chef to add in some more herbs and some dash of garlic. The base sauce (olive oil) is perfect actually. It just needed some "kick" from herbs.There is way that we can still talk with those in the kitchen without ruining the whole dining experience. We know the efforts that is put in every dish on the table (think of our mothers and spouses). I think "kitchen artists" will know our preferences more if we just try to work with them, too. It is always a two-way thing. Giving them unfairly bad reviews may work but we could also give them our feedback right there and then (in a polite way, of course) so something can still be done rather than "suffer through" the plate (God's provision) and then write a bad review later (behind their backs). In the second case, the experience is fully wasted, while in the 1st, there is still the chance of saving the food (and the experience). I think food appreciation is mostly subjective and I believe that even the best cook/chef will have their "bad hair days". We, diners, can try to situate our complaints in the right context. Complaining about decors or cramped spaces should also be contextualized--e.g., Italian culture is mostly 'larger than life'--Italians are very expressive and their love for colors and decors are part of who they are (think Italian Renaissance, Michaelangelo, etc. -- one can get the drift). Therefore, let us be fair also. Now, the coffee--I read someone complaining about it. I imagined she was served a coffee that had been brewed earlier in the day. Let us also remember that restaurants have financial bottom lines. They are not running a charity. If there is something left in the brew, it will be a waste not to serve it. (Even at home, I can take reheated coffee anytime!) If we want 1st-class coffee, let us buy it in Starbucks or brew a fresh one at home. For Gabriele, this should also be taken well as it also needs to find a perfect balance between throwing away some left coffee in the pot or simply telling diners that coffee had been brewed earlier and if they don't mind having it. If they do mind, then, by all means, brew a fresh one for very discriminating clients. It is also about communication. It is just sad to read bad reviews (possibly from well-meaning people), which ruin the chances of equally well-meaning business owners. One bad review is ok but getting 5 of them for things that can still be addressed is very unfortunate. (Restaurant owners, learn from the feedback; reviewers/bloggers, let us think about life-long entrepreneurial dreams and the jobs of waiters and food servers every time we click "publish".)Dear website readers, please give this restaurant a chance and ask the chef for improvements if you think your food needs some more work. Don't just dump website with bad reviews. Most of all, contextualize the dining experience. We cannot expect 100% authentic Italian or Vietnamese food in Manila. If you want authentic Vietnamese, go to Vietnam. (I am not connected with Gabriele but I think it does not deserve most if not all the bad reviews here.) I think this is the most unfair thing among all the food/resto reviews that I see online. This is simply wrong.I especially celebrate the very nice and respectful staff. Shoutout to the owners--please give your team a pat on the back. They are doing great work. [And for its chef--you may want to improve a bit on the seasonings and herbs. Our household is 100% free from MSG but our food is yummy. One of our "secrets" is actually just a seasoning (of multiple herbs, no MSG) bought in Rustan's Supermarket at around 200+ pesos per bottle. But the base oil/sauce is perfect! I love it! (5 stars for that!)Over-all, we will give Gabriele another chance especially that they seem to have good stock of Italian wine on the shelves! Bring it on!*We dined at Tom Sawyer's because hubby wanted the chicken. Gabriele's staff kindly served my pasta (in take-out box, with my consent) at our table across the hall.

WhataYummyWorld

3.0

At the elevated ground floor of Tiendesitas' fashion village, you'll find restaurants located near the back entrance of the mall. This is where I found Gabriele Italian restaurant.The setup was simple, there were seats inside the place but it was dim and seemed cramped not because of people but it felt like they tried and maximized the space for their guests. My friend and I ended up with the seats outside. The ground floor of the mall is not at all picturesque nor scenic, the seats also felt out of place but we had to make do with this.The waiter approached us, I forgot his name but he was really kind. He suggested some meals and we went with that. We had the Penne ala Marinara and the Gabriele Four Ham pizza. It was a very filling meal, it was more than enough for 2 people. I liked the pizza more though, it had a good size, the crust had a nice crunch, and they were generous with the toppings. The pasta was not so bad as well, but Marinara can be tricky to make especially if we weigh in the freshness of the seafood.Gabriele restaurant was actually a pleasant surprise given its odd location. I wouldnt have expected that they'd provide quality meals in that small fit at Tiendesitas. Overall, I enjoyed the food but found the outside seats uncomfortable as it didn't give us privacy, and that's something that matters to me when I eat.

Ika Dewi

3.0

The setup is simple and personally, I find it very homey which I like.The price of the food, in relation to the serving size, is acceptable.The taste of the food, for an Italian cuisine is bland. Not something I would come back to even if I'm heavily craving for an Italian dish.The Staff, there were only a few when I was eating and they were accomodating. Overall, it is a passable one time visit experience but given that it is close to other restaurants and/or food place in the area, I don't think a re-visit would be happening anytime soon.

Kyra Rios

3.0

While roaming around in Tiendesitas, I found this restaurant and decided to have a snack, I can say that their burger and cake is good. Haven't tried their other meals yet but it looks good, and most importantly not overprice. I will leave another review once I tried their other food.

Chaterine Leo

3.0

Garlic shrimp pizza - cheesy with chunks of shrimp and a thin crust; quite good but did not taste any garlicPenne Salmone - not worth it; was just little bits of salmon, a few pieces of olives, with cream and some Parmesan cheesePenne with Italian Sausage - oddly, this also had a cream sauce —- which seemed exactly the same as the one used for the SalmoneAngus beef steak - contrary to what the menu says, this is NOT steak but a burger. Very misleading and not worth itNote they do not serve any service water, but the mineral water is relatively reasonably priced at P35.For the food, just 2 stars, but added 1 star for being pet-friendly.

Glen 'Edi' Jones

5.0

I've been eating here for years now and they never disappoint. Their aglio olio is the best. The ambiance is nice and quaint with bossa nova music on the background. It's a place to enjoy good food and relax with loved ones. To top it off, they even have cute cats outside!

Bianda Martha Rosendy Sihombing

4.0

NEW RESTO FIND ALERT!Its been a while since I have visited Tiendesitas. It is not one of the family's usual haunts. Last Thursday, I got the chance to re-aquaint myself with the mall via the event Lets Adventure Crawl Pare, a collaboration between Ortigas Malls and the online group Lets Eat Pare...

Cihan Çukurova

3.0

Ortigas Malls in partnership w/ LEP brings about one awesome adventure crawl mga pare! four malls, a plateful of restos to chow down on, add in some shopping and tons of activities to complete this whole daw excursion. after greenhills, we headed to tiendesitas and we got to eat carbs on carbs on sugar: pizza, pasta and cake.gabriele’s italian restaurant served us aglio e olio pasta w/c was surprisingly delish even though it looked simple or BAU. their cheese pizza was the usual slice but good thing it was served piping hot along w/ what looked like mojos - well they are but it was a bit bland. also, they have an ongoing promo that when you buy a slice of cake, you get an unlimited refill of your cup of java. nice one right?!

Jihan Fadhilla

4.0

Gabriele Italian restaurant is a casual sit-down restaurant that serves freshly baked pizza. What we got to try during our visit were their Aglio Olio Pasta, Four Cheese and Marinara Pizza, a slice of cake, and coffee. Their Italian food is pretty straightforward and I like how the dough they use for their pizza is freshly baked.

Ma Carmela Concepcion Sales

3.0

Went here on a Friday evening around 9pm with Oktoberfest going on upstairs and surprised to see this restaurant without a single customer. I really worry for restaurants such as Gabriele in decent locations like Tiendesitas.Anyway, we had a glass of Merlot and Moscato each and a good Caprese Pizza. I'd have liked the crust to be crisper, but, other than that, the pizza was quite tasty. Service was good