Review: Bel Piatto Cafe & Bistro

First things first. This is my first ever resto review so kindly bear with my amateur style. 😉

To those who frequent SM City Batangas, this sign might look familiar:

Located right across SM, Bel Piatto Cafe & Bistro is quite easily accessible. Though open for more than a coupla months already, I have only recently been there to dine. Both times, I had breakfast while waiting for SM to open. There are a coupla parking spaces in front, and more at the back (not sure about this though). The interior is cozy and decorated in warm browns and neutrals:

The first time, I had a real breakfast. Think bacon, ham and cheese omelet, and rice. Would have wanted some coffee to go with it as well, but unfortunately I gotta keep off the stuff for now. Anywho, the meal was pretty heavy on the tummy and I wasn’t able to finish all of it. For the price, they did not scrimp on bacons (though I would have preferred mine to be a bit more toasted) and the omelet was pretty big if a bit thin. It was also a bit salty for my taste, one factor too why I wasn’t able to finish it. Otherwise, my hunger was sated and I was pretty satisfied. The meal cost P135 if I remember correctly. And another P35 for the bottle of mineral water. Pardon me, but I didn’t have my camera with me that time so I wasn’t able to take pictures of the food. 😐

The second time, I opted for pasta instead of breakfast fare so I had their Carbonara. And this time, I had my camera with me. So, feast your eyes! 😀

At first glance, the pasta portion seems meager as it kinda looks pushed into a corner with the toasted bread. But it actually is quite plenty since the pasta is heaped pretty high, and with lots of ham, bacon and mushroom slices too. I liked the presentation, though they could have moved the pasta a bit more towards the center of the plate for maximum impact. 😛 As for the taste, it’s not the best carbonara I’ve had, but it’s not the worst either. It’s actually okay, bordering on good. The pasta is al dente and the sauce tasty enough for me, though a bit dry. If it had been even a bit creamier, I would say this would have been really good. The toast is whole wheat if I’m not mistaken, and would have been good for mopping up the extra sauce once the pasta is finished, only there wasn’t any extra sauce left afterwards to mop up with the bread. 😛 Not really a bad thing, but like I said, a bit more sauce would have made this dish much better. All in all, not bad for the P160 it cost me.

Both times, service was fast and the crew friendly and accommodating. I have no idea though if the food service is just as fast if the place is packed, since both times I was there, there were only a couple more people other than me (being so early in the day).

Bel Piatto still has lots more food and drinks I have yet to try like the frappes and cakes (once I am free of my current food restrictions, that is). They also have some delicious-looking entrées of both the meat (pork, chicken) and seafood variety which I would go back for to sample one of these days.

The place also has free WiFi but you have to ask the crew for a username and password. I think there’s a limit to the usage (2 hours if I’m not mistaken) which is quite reasonable and oughtta be more than enough for checking your email and Facebook while waiting for your food, and posting some pictures afterwards.

Oh, and the CR is quite clean too. Always a nice thing in any form of establishment.

All in all, my dining (or breakfast-ing) experiences at Bel Piatto have been quite satisfactory. And yes, I would come back for more. 🙂

How about you, have you been to this place?