Here's something to look forward to when you're in BGC

For four years now, the Guidicelli family has made their Da Gianni at Westgate the go-to for the Alabang crowd when they’re seeking hearty, comfort food Italian cuisine. It’s country-style Italian cooking served up in the city. Both Matteo, his father Gianluca, and partner Pisha Abrille have taken pride in how they don’t compromise on the ingredients and authenticity of their dishes, and it’s how the family would serve these same dishes at home.

In a section of Landers Central at the Landers BGC, you’ll find an interesting gazebo with a brick oven, and it’s the first extension of the Guidicelli culinary adventure. Il Fornaio da Gianni literally refers to the oven, and the concept is that if Da Gianni is more about languid, laid back eating, that’s very chill. Il Fornaio will be a little more grab and go, about meeting the expectations of the busy BGC crowd, while still offering quality, generous servings and attractive price points.

The famous Gianni pizzas are still on offer, and I’d personally recommend the capriciossa—mozzarella, baked ham, artichoke, mushroom and tomato; or the burrata—a good sized dollop of burrata in the center of the pizza, surrounded by prosciutto, arugula and cherry tomatoes. These two are easily among my favorites, and I appreciated that the thinness of the crust allowed one to get full on the generous toppings of the pizza, and not on the dough alone.

What is offered at Gianni that you won’t find in Alabang are the selection of sandwiches and filling snacks. There’s a meatballs sandwich that would take the place of a meal anytime of the day. it’s homemade meatballs paired with mozzarella and provolone cheese, and egg. The Italian sub is a variety of hams and cold meats (salami, prosciutto and mortadella) paired with veggies, a sliced hard-boiled egg, and doused in Italian dressing. Again, just looking at the sandwiches had me imagining that I could easily wolf down half the sandwich during my lunch break, but that I’d still be bringing half home for dinner.

There’s also readed chicken fillet sandwich that’s served in a black seed brioche bun. At this point, I was honestly giving up, raising the white flag to the food that was being bused out of the kitchen. But Da Gianni had other intentions, as their osso buco came out, and I liked how it was a very unique version. Most that are served up are tomato-sauce based, while this one was more gravy-inspired.

Mention was made of their tiramisu and panna cotta. Made of firmer stuff, I was happily deaf and stuffed at this point; and said I’d try their desserts on another occasion. My guide that evening was Matteo’s business partner Pisha Abrille, and we joked about how she was ‘peddling’ Italian cuisine, a traitor to her own heritage of paellas and gazpachos. She laughed saying how the men in her family were the ones who did the cooking, and that. of course, they’d often tease her about slipping a Spanish dish here or there in the Da Gianni menu.

As Pisha was very happy to say, Gianluca and Matteo are both very passionate about what Italian cuisine means to them. For them, establishing Da Gianni was really about giving the public a little piece of their heart, about sharing their much-loved dishes with the Philippines that’s home to them.

So indulge in, and get to taste, what Alabang has been fortunate to be enjoying for close to five years now - Guidicelli comfort food that are genuine Italian delights.