Regina Troy Barrios

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Al Dente

<p>The first thing you see at Al Dente are the neon signs with attitdue. Then you see the chef. </p><p>Donatello Montrone is a man who loves his pasta, and has spent a decade in Manila wondering why no one is making the Italian food he actually wants to eat. And so, in the grand tradition of people who get tired of waiting to be fed properly, he rolled up his sleeves and opened his own restaurant.</p><p>Al Dente opened in BGC in 2024 and immediately began running through plates of pasta. Even now, as plates fly out of the kitchen in the kind of orderly chaos that gives an editor palpitations, Montrone looks less like a chef serving dinner and more like a man redeeming a national grievance.</p><p>His partner in this mission is Toni Abacan, local industry mainstay and the manager keeping the two-story Forbestown space humming. Their third co-conspirator, Davide Pasqualini, holds down the bar upstairs like someone specifically hired to prove limoncello belongs in spritzes. (It does.)</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJtdkmSM2X0/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1080&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1005539%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><h3><strong>A pasta bar that refuses to be a museum</strong></h3><p>Al Dente looks retro in the way a well-curated playlist sounds retro—cheeky signage, deep-tone tiles, tiny tables made for long conversations and short attention spans. But the kitchen is all business. The team flies in what they can, makes what they can’t, and avoids that deadly strain of “authenticity” that turns restaurants into heritage sites nobody actually enjoys.</p><p>The menu is a mix of faithful Italian classics and dishes that would’ve made Montrone’s nonna raise a brow before asking for seconds. This is Italian food as it should be—serious ingredients, unserious atmosphere, and no requirement to take out a loan just to order truffle.</p><p>You begin, ideally, with the <strong>Cold Cuts and Cheeses</strong>. If you ever wanted to know what Italian childhood tastes like, it’s somewhere between the delicate melt of his in-house cured pork and the earthy snap of his fennel-forward sausages. These paired with the <strong>Focaccia with Truffle Cheese</strong>—a creation involving burrata water (yes), fresh truffle (also yes), and what I can only describe as a morally compromising amount of creamy cheese—sets the tone for the evening.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOiINLdE_NW/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1080&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A1139305%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>And if you thought truffle would appear once and discreetly leave the stage, think again. Montrone sends in <strong>Baked Provolone with Truffle</strong>, a bubbling, molten plate that arrives like a dare.</p><p>The <strong>Arancini</strong>, in carbonara or truffle, reinforce a central truth of life: anything fried, stuffed, and spherical is not here to debate its worth. Even the Lumpia, reimagined with their signature cheese, is a well-executed argument for cultural cross-pollination—one that can burn your tongue if you’re not careful.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764896136130SnapInsta.to_586585446_17928885213148960_4032162092916959314_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/></div><p>The pastas are where Al Dente’s identity crystallizes. The restaurant lets you choose your noodle, which is democratic in theory but occasionally leads to crimes I witnessed in real time (someone pairing carbonara sauce with fusilli—an act of chaos I will never forget). Montrone has opinions about this, but he is polite enough to keep most of them to himself.</p><p>Go for the <strong>Aglio e Olio with Bottarga</strong>, where house-cured roe grated over garlicky pasta provides a briny jolt that feels almost medicinal. Then there’s the <strong>Ragù di Salsiccia Lucana</strong>, featuring in-house sausages spiced with fennel—robust, aromatic, and with the warmth of southern Italy cooked into every spoonful.</p><p>Filipino diners, however, will beeline toward the <strong>Aligue pasta</strong>, a dish that feels predestined. Montrone recommends conchiglie—the shell shape that catches crab fat the way Manila humidity catches your hair.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764896631253SnapInsta.to_587320365_17928885204148960_6009339013534414586_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/></div><div><br/></div><p>The kitchen’s meats deserve equal billing. <strong>Lucanian Sausage &amp; Potatoes</strong>—simple, no-nonsense, deeply good—captures that unmistakable joy of grilled meat hitting just the right balance of char and juice. The <strong>Lechonetta</strong>, meanwhile, is a pork belly roast that bows to local tradition without trying to impersonate it. It’s stuffed with herbs and lemongrass and served with cranberries or coriander sauce, which is your cue to play matchmaker on the plate.</p><p>Then there are the <strong>Italian Meatballs</strong>, comforting enough to make even the crankiest diner shut up. Chef Lorenzo, one of Montrone’s recruits, insists every region in Italy has its version, but they all share a common goal: taste like they were cooked by somebody’s grandmother. Mission accomplished.</p><div><strong>The Nutella Tiramisu that deserves its own fan club</strong></div><p>The<strong> Nutella Tiramisu</strong> is the restaurant’s most shameless offering. No rum, no pretense—just layers of custard, coffee-soaked sponge, and a generous spread of Nutella. Complaining about it would be like complaining about puppies. There is no moral high ground here, only joy.</p><p>Upstairs, the drinks tell their own story.</p><p>Davide runs a bar that serves cocktails and spritzes that lean into the playful. The <strong>Limoncello &amp; Passion Fruit Spritz</strong> is practically begging to be photographed, while the<strong> Cucumber Spritz</strong> tastes like a spa day in drink form. The <strong>Tiramisu cocktail</strong> is a boozy milkshake masquerading as a grown-up beverage, and the <strong>Rhum &amp; Roast Negroni</strong> is for people who like their drinks brooding but secretly sweet.</p><div><strong>The verdict</strong></div><p>There’s a cynical part of me that always flinches when an Italian opens an Italian restaurant abroad—too often it’s a museum of nostalgia, or worse, a tourist trap with better lighting.</p><p>But Al Dente is neither. It&#x27;s got  honest-to-goodness, impeccable Italian food you can sink into without fuss. Come to relax alone, with friends, or bring a date or client—you’ll find it relaxing enough to unwind, polished enough to impress.</p><div><em><br/></em></div><div><em>Find Al Dente at Unit F, 134 Forbestown Road, Taguig—open daily from 11:30 a.m., call 0968‑312‑8174 or follow @al_dente_philippines on Instagram to reserve your table</em></div>

<p><b>Al Dente is the rare Italian restaurant in BGC that delivers pasta so good it quietly resets your standards—and makes every other place taste like a compromise.</b></p>

Al Dente is the rare Italian restaurant in BGC that delivers pasta so good it quietly resets your standards—and makes every other place taste like a compromise.

Warning: One Meal At Al Dente Will Ruin Every Other Pasta Place For You

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Warning: One Meal At Al Dente Will Ruin Every Other Pasta Place For You

Troy Barrios

Published December 05, 2025 09:12 AM PHT

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Updated December 08, 2025 04:15 AM PHT

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