Amici

Friends in italian, it's also a nondescript cafeteria (literally) near Don Bosco which serves some of the best pasta and pizza in the city. One would expect no less since the restaurant is run by Salesians of Don Bosco. The restaurant uses mostly imported ingredients from the homeland, thus, food is wonderfully authentic.

For first time visitors, the set up in the restaurant can be a bit confusing. The pasta station is located in the newly built extension (if you are entering from the Pasay Road entrance, this is what you see first). The pizza station used to be a window on the side, near where the pizza ovens are located; but I think they have since relocated the order-taking to the gelato/beverage bar.

Amici makes its own gelato or Italian ice cream (I must admit, when I first started going to the restaurant, the ice cream was the big thing; there was no pizza or pasta station, only the regular cafeteria fare which is still being served today). Wonderfully inexpensive (at least when compared against other gelaterias), the ice cream has a smooth, milky texture; my personal favorites are the strawberry, chocolate chip, hazelnut, and blueberry. Amici also has a scooping station across the street in the new Waltermart along Pasong Tamo.

Parking is non-existent; we usually park at the church or across the street in Makati Cinema Square (or MCS to rabid collectors of less than authentic DVDs). The proximity of the two does make for a rather pleasant lunchbreak.