About Al Dente Ristorante Italiano
Al Dente Ristorante Italiano is the Iloilo-family-celebration-Italian destination — the Smallville-Mandurriao restaurant near the Atria-Park entertainment-complex that has held the Iloilo-family-Italian-celebration-dinner reputation through the al-fresco-dining option, the wood-fired-pizza-execution, and the value-for-money buffet-and-pizza-night programme. The restaurant occupies a two-story Italian-villa-styled building with the ground-floor indoor-dining and the al-fresco-patio (running the cooler-evening service from October-March).
The menu is the Italian-trattoria canon. The signatures are the wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas (the Margherita with the buffalo-mozzarella, the Quattro Formaggi, the Diavola with the spicy-Italian-salami, the Iloilo-prosciutto Iloilo-version with the local Iloilo-cured-pork), the hand-rolled fresh pastas (the lobster-ravioli, the spaghetti-carbonara, the linguine-vongole with the Iloilo-coastal-clams), the Italian-classics (the lasagna-Bolognese, the chicken-parmigiana, the eggplant-parmigiana), and the al-fresco-patio Italian-buffet (running the Sunday-lunch family-buffet format at PHP 850 per cover). A two-course Italian dinner for two runs PHP 1,800-2,800 ($32-50).
The room is the Iloilo-Italian-family-celebration canvas. The Italian-villa-styled architecture, the al-fresco-patio dining option, the warm-Italian-trattoria-decor (red-and-white-checked tablecloths, hanging Italian-flag-and-Italian-villa-art wall decor), and the family-friendly waitstaff make Al Dente the standard-issue Iloilo Italian-family-celebration answer. Capacity is around 200 across the indoor dining-room, the al-fresco patio, and the private banquet salon.
Reservations matter for the Sunday Italian-buffet, the Friday-Saturday weekend evenings, and the family-celebration peaks; two-to-three days ahead is enough. The restaurant accepts cards, the staff speak strong English, and the Smallville-Mandurriao Atria-Park complex is a five-minute-walk from Bauhinia.
Best Occasion Fit
For birthdays — the al-fresco-patio Italian-villa-celebration setting, the wood-fired-pizza-and-pasta family-friendly format, and the Sunday Italian-buffet anchor make Al Dente the standard-issue Iloilo family-Italian-birthday-dinner answer. As a first date the al-fresco-patio Italian-trattoria setting reads as the relaxed-but-considered effort. For team dinners the private banquet salon handles groups of ten-to-thirty.
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