Picobello: Davao City

Davao is known as the manukan country, there's just chicken everywhere. Fried, inasal, BBQ and the list of chicken variations go on. I was already sick of grilled food, so we searched for an Italian restaurant. After calling a few friends, we ended up in the 5th level of the Gaisano Mall near Rizal, where Picobello was located. Picobello turns out to be a well established Italian resto in an inihaw dominated city. The place looks like an authentic pizzeria, and I was so excited as it is tucked away inside the rundown mall.


We started with their freshly baked pizzas. The crust was not thin, but it was soft and hot. We ordered two variants, a Four Cheese, and a Chicken and Olive one. Both were satisfying, though the Four Cheese could be better.




The Calzone was huge as you can see. Slicing through it was a pleasure as the aroma of the cheese and flavors burst out.


The pasta dishes were nothing special compared to the best Italian restaurants in the country. But what the heck? We were sick of Filipino food and inihaw, so this was an oasis meal for us. This spaghetti marinara dish lacked flavor, but the tomato was fresh. That saved the dish.


The Lasagna was juicy and the layers were generous.


The Gorgonzola Penne was too salty for me. All the servings for the pasta dishes are good enough for 2 to 3 people I think, great for sharing.


I still had to satisfy my taste buds, so I ordered one last dish, an Italian sausage. And this sealed my lunch. It was spicy, juicy, tender, meaty and had great flavors. Everyone dug in, so I was left with only 3 bites. I wanted to order more and chop it into pieces for me to take out to the hotel.


So when in Davao, head for the old Gaisano Mall. I passed by another Italian restaurant in downtown Davao (I think it was La Tegola of Cebu), but I wasn't able to try it. Picobello has a cozy atmosphere perfect for a sumptuous Italian escape in manukan country.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 5, 2009 at 3:31 PM

    I lived in davao and let me say picobello is my favorite italian resto. We used to go there every Sunday afternoon. They've got a buy one, take one pizza promo from 2PM - 5PM everyday. Yum Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Island ExplorerMarch 30, 2009 at 1:47 AM

    Yes! That's why we started our meeting at 2PM!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 6, 2010 at 5:15 AM

    have you tried Antonio's in SM Davao? They serve Filipino dishes and they're just soo good. You might also like to try Claude d'Ville in downtown davao, i think it's in Bonifacio street..they have sumptuous steaks and the place is cozy and warm ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. fashchroniclesSeptember 3, 2013 at 4:10 PM

    The four cheese pizza is looking delicious! I also visited them again just recently and finally blogged Picobello. Hope you can check that here: http://davaofoodguide.blogspot.com/2013/09/picobello-italian-ristorante-long.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Us-Usan Island: Guimaras

Image
After having a pleasant lunch in Nagarao, we decided to hire a boat to explore the surrounding islands of Nagarao. There was this one island that the staff recommended, Us-usan Island. As soon as I saw a strip of sand glistening from a distance, I knew we were in for a treat. Us-usan Island. The water wasn't as clear though as in Nagarao and in most of Guimaras. The sand bar jutting out of the island seemed like a catwalk on the sea. This provided a nice swimming area for the island's visitors as well. We began to explore the island, hoping to circle it in less than an hour. The island has a narrow shoreline, probably because it was high tide. There were also foliage all around, so it was quite a struggle going around. We were treated though with amazing views of the sea. This tree was alone and offshore for around 100 meters. It was quite strange to see a single tree in full bloom in the middle of the sea. After 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at a mangrove area. There were ...
Explore...

JCO Donuts and Coffee

Image
Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin...
Explore...

Legaspi Suites Hotel: Davao

Image
Legaspi Suites is the only boutique hotel in Davao. What makes it boutique is its size and attention to design and ambience. Legaspi Suites is located in a complex that was once an ancestral home. The landmark still remains in tact at the middle of the complex and a 4 story apartment building was built around it to house the hotel. Once you enter the lobby, you would feel that the hotel thought about its design, which is uncommon in Davao. I would think this would be normal in Cebu already, but in Davao, good design is still scarce. I got the cheapest room, a standard room for P1,600 since I was only staying for one night. The room was huge and very bare. I'm assuming this room was made simple because of the class. The rooms have different colors, as seen from their brochures. I passed by a suite room which was open, and I thought it looked charming. My room was located on the second floor beside the spa, so I had a view of the courtyard downstairs. I love this place because it had...
Explore...