Azzurro Too: Hip, modern and delicious too

Hip and young. Modern. And very much alive. No, we’re not talking about Glorietta’s G4 and Rockwell’s Power Plant Strip in Makati. Before residents in the Ortigas Center area could make their usual drive to Makati through C-5, they just woke up one day to discover that their own neighborhood had become so new and so throbbing with life. Shangri-La Edsa Mall is now busy and all lit up at night with restos like California Pizza Kitchen, Cibo and Starbucks nourishing food trippers and insomniacs. Robinsons Galleria, with its renovated ultra-modern theaters, now boasts of hip, modern, affordable restos like O Cafe, Sushi-Ya and very soon, Mangan.

But the mall that started it all in the area was SM Megamall with its Mega Strip making the young café society stop, look, eat and drink. The top crowd drawers are Kitchen, with its trendsetting modern interiors and very good food; Super Bowl of China, with its cheap cuisine; and the two rival coffee shops, Seattle’s Best and Starbucks declaring that it’s a place that never sleeps.

It was apparently this wake-up call that lured a successful Makati-based resto, Azzurro, towards the Ortigas Center area where Azzurro Too now attracts its share of the young and pretty sosyal crowd.

Leading the pack is the Azzurro Too CEO herself, young and pretty Sheila Romero and her partners Les Romero, Lydia David and Maielle Matimtim. And before you can gush over their delicious food, you will be greeted by the handsome sight of British chef Phillip Goulding, perhaps one of the cutest in town.

But Phillip would rather hear you say his culinary offerings are the best in town. Trained in British and Italian restos before becoming chief examiner for a chef’s school in London, Phillip says: "We’re cooking not for glamour. We’re cooking because we love to cook."

Sheila proudly declares that Azzurro is the only resto offering four kinds of Mediterranean cuisine–Greek, Spanish, French and Italian. "We can cook anything, from traditional Filipino breakfast to foie gras," she smiles. Azzuro Too’s menu is impressive: "Tapazz" items include include Premium Oysters (P75), Crab Claws (P95), Sauteed Schublig (P110), Beef Tapa Strips (P110), Calamares (P100) and Stuffed Olives (P130).

There’s Risotto Nero with Squid (P235), Caesar Salad with Feta Cheese (P165), Paella Valenciana or Vegetable Paella (P250) Blue Marlin or Gindara Mushroom Risotto (P380), and assorted steak, poultry, pasta, panini and pizza offerings. We particularly enjoyed the Ravioli with Spinach and Feta Cheese. Next time we vow to try Arroz Con Marinara (P250) served in a bowl with garlic bread, spicy saffron and basil rice, sun-refined tomatoes, blue marlin, gindara and white shrimp. Or perhaps Panfried Seabass with Spaghettini Putanesca (P385), fillet fish with basil, parsley, pasta and a sauce of anchovies, olives and baby capers.

"We introduce new dishes every two weeks, Phillip and Sheila explain in unison. "So that Azzurro Too regulars will always find something new and exciting to try."

After dinner, the place transforms into a bar and its mezzanine provides a cozy and comfy hangout for the young, the yuppies and the office executives as well.

What makes Azzurro Too attractive to gourmets and to non-meat eaters is that the chef is flexible. You ask for it, he’ll cook it.

And yes, service is good, too.