We’ve eaten a few times at the fairly new Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill, the latest restaurant strip to open near the Fort. I hear the whole complex has a Venetian theme and there will even be those faux gondolas in the future. It all sounds exciting, but the restaurants we’ve tried on this strip has so far been wanting. Old Vine Grille was a costly disappointment and Stackers burgers weren’t really as juicy and tasty as one expects to be. I am forever waiting for Ristras Mexican Grill to open, mostly because San Juan is a long drive from where we live. But the Ristras branch in Venice Piazza is taking so long to be unveiled.
It was good that hubby’s gut feel led us to the doorsteps of Harry’s Bar & Italian Restaurant, a small trattoria by any standard but very much welcoming with its white chairs and multi-colored plate setting. Silly me even had to ask the server if the resto had any sister-companies and his mention of Trattoria Gourmet (in Shang-ri La Mall) and L’Opera (in The Fort) certainly made us decide to finally sit down for dinner. 😀
The menu wasn’t a long one, and if one prefers to take the hassle out of ordering, one can just opt for their current promotion – four courses for P600, plus free brewed coffee or tea.I think this price is reasonable enough, considering how expensive it is to dine in a “good” Italian restaurant.
So yes, this is what hubby had for his four courses:
Verdure alla Grilla or Grilled Vegetables in balsamic dressing for the antipasto. The zucchini and eggplants that went with this salad were roasted just right.
For the primo, he had spaghetti aglio e olio which is your basic pasta mixed with chili, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Needless to say, this one was al dente!
For the main course, the diner has a choice between Chicken Parmigiana or the Livornese (fish fillet slowly cooked in white wine and rosemary.) Hubby had the former. It’s worth noting that their parmigiana didn’t use the usual tomato-based sauce, but a creamy white wine and sage sauce which was delizioso nonetheless 😉
Dolce (dessert) was Panna Cotta – described in the menu as classic Italian cream custard with truffle honey. A perfect meal-ender, together with the coffee!
As for me, I just ordered the salmon spaghetti cooked in vodka since I wasn’t so hungry. It also gave me a little excuse to indulge in a lil alcohol while pregnant. Besides, when it was time to eat my dish, I hardly noticed any trace of vodka. Harhar.
Btw, diners get a free serving of foccacia bread with tomato-onion salsa.
Rating: A great Italian meal without the hefty price. We would definitely eat here again.
Harry’s Bar
G/F The Venice Piazza
McKinley Hill, Taguig City
Tel. No. 798-0594
Snow says
Wow, the dish looks good. I’m going to dine with my hubby here one of these days. I love Italian food. 🙂
ajay says
Hi Snow. Me too 😀 Hope your experience will be as good as mine.
Angela says
Hi, I was searching for European Restaurants who could cater for my wedding and I found your blog especially that you mention a 4-course meal for P600. Is that for all of these in the photos? Or P6oo each? They look yummy and well presented, I’d really love if they cater for my wedding. Thanks and I hope I get more details. Thanks you. 🙂