A couple of my high school friends and I decided to meet up for dinner one Tuesday evening. It had been a long and grueling day so I really looked forward to a good meal. My friend Mikey suggested that we head over to Il Ponticello. I was taken aback as I had always thought of it as a bar, where live rock bands play. I was in no mood for bar chow, but he was insistent that I’d be surprised at how good the food actually was. I was too tired to argue, so I gave in and said I’d be there by seven.

Il Ponticello is located on the 2nd fl oor of the Antel 2000 Building in the heart of the Central Business District of Makati City. This made it an ideal meeting place since we were all coming from our respective offices.

When I arrived, I was pleasantly astonished at how the place was set up. The lights were toned down and candles on the tabletops provided a nice warm glow. The restaurant’s ambiance was calming. There was no space here for my worries and stress; I had to leave them all out by the door. Apparently, “Il Ponticello” means “the little bridge” in Italian. It was the owners’ goal to provide their customers with an escape from the struggles of the urban jungle. As the night went on, I realized that it was not just the environment that provided the guests with a sense of comfort but the food as well.

The menu contains dishes from different regions of Italy such as Sicily, Sardinia, Tuscany, and Lombardi. Using only the freshest ingredients, the restaurant promises to deliver the most scrumptious dishes, all made from scratch. In the day and age where everything is made “instant”, it was a welcome change to the weary routine. We were a group of eight that night, so luckily we were able to order a wide array of food.

We started with three appetizers. The Carpaccio Di Manzo, paper thin slices of tenderloin beef with parmesan cheese and zucchini, was Italian antipasti in all its glory. It was so light and easy to eat I had to control myself from eating too much. Imagine a small casserole of warm, homemade, oven-baked spinach lasagna without the pasta. Now mix it all up, slather it on a crispy garlic crostini and take a bite. This is the Formaggio Fondente experience. This dish is comfort food defi ned.

The Imperatori is their version of the Caesar Salad, which made use of a silky olive oil dressing over greens, bacon, croutons, cheese, and fresh, crunchy onions. I don’t think I’ll ever have Caesar Salad any other way from now on. Each appetizer oozed with delectable flavor. I noticed that the three serving plates were emptied in about a minute.

Being in an Italian resto, we had to have pizza, but we all couldn’t decide on which pizzas to order. Luckily, before a third world war began, the server happily informed us that pizzas could be ordered half and half. Therefore, we ordered two pizzas. One was half Al Quattro Formaggio (four cheeses) and half Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola cheese with porcini mushrooms), while the other one was half Montagnola (prosciutto, mortadella and luganehe), all meat for the men, and half Gameretti (shrimp and arugula), for the ladies. Every slice contained a burst of genuine Italian flavor. If I really had to choose which one I enjoyed the most, I’d probably say the Al Quattro Formaggio. The gorgonzola, pecorino, provolone, and taleggio blended together so effortlessly resulting in a lusciously creamy taste with every bite.

For our main course, we shared three pastas and one risotto. The Asparagina Parmenese (parma ham and asparagus spears in a light asparagus cream sauce) solidified my thought that “Ponti” as it is also called, is the place to run to for the ultimate comfort food. The Tagliolini Con Le Capesante, a special spinach pasta with seafood cream sauce, shrimps and scallops, was uniquely served on top of the scallops’ shells. My other dinner companions raved about the all-vegetable pasta dish called the Siciliana. But at this point, I knew my stomach could only take so much. I decided to dig into the Risotto instead, the Alla Boscaiola, which is a rich porcini mushroom risotto served with Italian sausage.

Dessert came in the form of a velvety yet unbelievably light Panna Cotta topped with strawberries and a deliciously sinful Ciocolato Della Nonna. Both desserts perfectly complemented my warm cup of coffee. I’d go back to Il Ponticello even just for its show-stopping desserts!

I was glad that my friend Mikey talked me into having an actual meal as opposed to just drinks over bar snacks at Ponti. It is a quick escape into a gastronomic indulgence that everyone deserves to treat themselves to after a hard day’s work.