Like what I wrote, Celi Sarabia is a generous woman. As part of the birthday stay at Hotel Céleste, she treated us to their hotel’s new restaurant, Lucia (pronounced as loo-chee-a) Ristorante by Chef Davide Lombardi of Lombardi’s Authentic Italian fame.
The interior is contemporary yet cozy, designed by Nix Alanon.
I think we’re too early for dinner. LOL
What a lovely place for events or intimate gathering with friends and family.
Now, the food…
I am being honest here, Tom and I didn’t know what to expect from Lucia. It’s a new restaurant and it was our first time to try the food at this place.
I used to travel a lot to Italy for many years for work. I’ve been in different regions, cities and provinces and have savored an array of authentic dishes created by great chefs and homecooked heirloom recipes made by my Italian friends and their mamma‘s. For me, good Italian food is simple and flavorful — the pastas are always aldente, the sauces are light and made with the freshest ingredients, the meat is seasoned well and cooked to perfection and the desserts are mouthwatering.
Let the games begin!
The bread basket is simple — freshly baked bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the side.
Antipasti Freddi: Mozzarella Di Bufula Al 3 Pomodori
Oh gaaad. This salad couldn’t be simpler and refreshing enough! It all boiled down to the homemade mozarella cheese and good olive oil. It’s a big serving so two to three persons can share it. I recommend you start with this dish.
Le Paste: Spaghetti Lucia
One of the Lucia’s signature dishes. This seafood pasta is a favorite of ours! The sauce is light and flavorful. Molto buono!
Ravioli Di Magro
Italian dumplings with ricotta cheese and spinach swirled in butter and topped with shaved black truffle. Need I say more?
The ricotta cheese filling was superb! This was Tom’s favorite.
I Pesci: Dentice Alla Pugliesi
The Roasted Red Snapper with Pancetta and Broccoli was perfectly cooked. The crispy skin complemented the delicate fish fillet. If you want a light dinner, order this!
Le Carni: Tagliata De Manzo
The thinly sliced beef tenderloin baked with olive oil and rosemary with truffle cream sauce and vegetables is my favorite! I recommend that you have it cooked medium rare to fully enjoy this dish. The truffle cream is also TDF!
I Dolci: Panna Cotta Del Piemonte
This is probably the best panna cotta we’ve had in Manila. It’s cooked cream with fresh vanilla beans and a touch of raspberry reduction. The best part is that this dessert costs only P160 (good for 2) but tastes like a 5-star dish!
Lucia Ristorante was a revelation! The menu is tight, every dish we had was well-executed and elegantly presented. Eating their food brought me back to Italy. The food is simple, authentic, unpretentious and tastes like it came from la mamma’s cucina!
Tom and I were lucky to bump into Chef Davide Lombardi during our last night in Hotel Céleste. I find him very down-to-earth and passionate about food. He shared with me that the restaurant’s name was in honor of his mother and most of his recipes were inspired by her.
Happy customers!
I had to bring Aryanna to Lucia so that she could savour the wonderful meals Tom and I had. We had our mother and daughter bonding over lunch.
(Photo taken using Instagram)
We pretty much ordered the same dishes except for the pasta. We ordered the Taglierini Tartufati, it’s homemade fresh taglierini with mushrooms and black truffles. The homemade pasta was aldente and the sauce is very light yet savoury.
(Photo taken using Instagram)
Aryanna can’t get enough of the Panna Cotta Del Piemonte!
Aryanna: Oh. My. Gaaad. I’m in panna cotta heaven!
Me: Told ya! Check out the fresh vanilla bean bits!
Aryanna: I’m so ordering this for takeout!
Me: Try to cook it at home.
Aryanna: Are you kidding? For P160 for two, I’m not going to slave in the kitchen to make this! Besides, I concede. This is the best.
Our bill:
Aryanna and I shared all the dishes and we even had leftovers to take home.
All the dishes we’ve tried were cooked perfectly. Nothing was overly creamy or with any heavy sauce, just like the dishes I’ve had in Italy.
Bravo Chef Davide Lombardi! Lucia Ristorante is now one of our favorite restaurants! In fact, as I’m blogging, I’m already planning another lunch date with Aryanna at your restaurant. We’re going to try the Lasagne Della Casa Con Crema Di Porcini and Tagliatelle Alla Carbonara next! Mamma mia!
Lucia Ristorante serves lunch and dinner. The restaurant is located in Hotel Céleste, No. 02 San Lorenzo Drive corner A. Arnaiz Ave., Makati. Phone number (+63 2) 836.0023 or 887.8080 loc. 2
Comments 2
Was wondering about the bill so that I’ll know how much to bring then viola! 🙂
Hi, Jenni! I know this is off-topic, but can you please, please feature “how to style men” or “how men should look like” or something like that, and feature Tom as the model/inspiration. I really like Tom’s style!