Restaurant Discovery: Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

I just adore my foodie friends N and J. They are so much fun to be with. Friends who chew together get fat together! L-O-V-E. This started the wonderful friendship of T3—The Takaw (gluttonous) Trio.

 

One weekend last month, my foodie friends and I decided to explore Katipunan to discover new food treasures. Our first stop was Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza.

 

J and I almost got lost but we managed as N told us to look for a building with a huge Mercury Drugstore at the ground floor. It was quite easy to spot the building with that as the landmark.

 

We headed to the second floor where Gino’s is located and managed to get seats right away. The waiter quickly gave us menus but we patiently waited for N before ordering. While waiting, we noticed that there’s an opening between Cello’s and Gino’s. I wonder if they are siblings or something.

After a few minutes, N arrived and we started to “brainstorm” on our first stop’s food to try. In about 10 minutes or so, we decided to try: Sausage Pizza (PHP350), Tagliatelle (PHP260), and a pitcher of Calamansi juice (PHP150) in preparation for the next 3 stops.

We were all famished as we really prepared for this restaurant hopping session but as foodies, we managed to practice self control and took photos of Tagliatelle (pasta with lengua, parmesan, and mushroom) first when it arrived. Service was actually fast as while we were still busy fussing over the pasta, the 12” Sausage Pizza arrived.

 

The Tagliatelle was really flavorful. Despite the small serving for the price, I find it worth every cent as I could only eat about half of what’s on the plate before my palate gets tired of it. Don’t get me wrong, I really loved it. It was creamy and it was not too salty. The lengua was also well-cooked. It’s just that I prefer my pasta to be less flavorful for me to finish one plate of it.

 

The Sausage Pizza was also good. The combination of the tomato, kesong puti, homemade sausage, parmesan, red onion and basil on soft dough sure hit the spot! My only problem with the pizza was that the dough was too soft. It somehow killed the whole eating a pizza experience which is by hand. We had to slice it and use a fork to eat it as the pizza bends when lifted.

The calamansi juice on the other hand was a bit sweet for my taste. I prefer the tangy calamansi juice as it makes me feel that I’m burning more calories.

 

Nonetheless, it was one great dining experience and I look forward to trying their desserts next time. I spotted chocolate-covered bacon but my pleading didn’t sway N and J for us to order a plate. I guess I need to work on my charm.

*Off to the next stop!*

Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza is located at the 2^nd floor of 341 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights, Quezon City.