If there are two things people associate me with, at least food-wise, they are definitely truffle and pasta. In fact, one of the Creative Directors in my office calls me "Pasta Girl".
Needless to say, I am always on the lookout for good pasta restaurants, especially if truffle is involved. So when I found out that a restaurant close to my office was up and running, I was excited to try it out.
Trufa Pasta Bar, on Esteban St. in Legazpi Village, Makati, is a pasta dining experience. Paying homage to Spanish and local flavors, and of course with Italian techniques in mind, customers get the chance to completely DIY their pasta dishes — from the sauce, to the noodles, to the add-ons.
Take note that as of this writing, the restaurant is still in its soft opening stage, so its management team may still be ironing out many details or processes.
As soon as you enter the place, you can see their workstation and get the general idea of what it is that you'll have to "DIY".
The interiors are somewhat rustic, somewhat Pinterest-esque: from the wooden tables, to the solid black chairs, to hanging plants and chalkboard menus. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting, and doesn't feel like a typical stuffy Italian/pasta restaurant.
The menu is served to each customer on a slate board, and a good portion of it is devoted entirely to your pasta options. First you have to choose your salsa (sauce), then your pasta (noodles), followed by your alegria (add-ons/toppings). Regular pasta eaters would probably know which noodles go best with certain sauces, but the staff is friendly enough to give you their recommendations if you consult with them.
After you decide on your meal, you line up to place your order and to pay. While in line, you can examine the menu once more (listed on a chalkboard) or discuss your options with any of the staff who frequently roam the place.
I was curious to see how long it would take for the orders to be brought in (considering everything will be cooked from scratch, and customized according to the customers' individual preferences), but I was surprised to see that the dishes started trickling in in under 15 minutes.
In the meantime, my mango juice, sweetened with a freshly pressed sugar cane, arrived first. I quite like how it tasted.
My officemates and I (we were a table of four) got two kinds of dishes, with slight variations per dish: two went for the Gambas (with different kinds of noodles), and two of us went for the Trufa (with the same noodles but different alegrias).
The first dish that arrived was my producer friend's Gambas, with spaghetti noodles and additional gambas. She made me take a forkful of the dish, and we were sadly unimpressed with the flavor. It was bland (it definitely needed more salt) and it didn't seem as if there really were additional gambas; it made me wonder how bare the dish would've looked without the extra gambas.
My art director colleague ordered the same dish, with tagliatelle noodles, and also commented on its lack of flavor.
This was one of the two Trufa dishes, which my boss ordered. He asked for extra mushrooms (setas).
Mine had an add-on of more queso, naturalmente, because I am a hardcore cheese lover.
As these two truffle dishes were placed on our table, I could immediately smell the truffle aroma emanating from the plates. However, after the first bite, I could barely taste the truffle; its mushroom flavor overpowered any hint of truffle that may have been there. I had to ask the server to add more truffle flavor to both dishes, which only improved the truffle flavor by a bit, since the truffle oil was just drizzled over the pasta as opposed to being integrated into the sauce.
It was creamy, yes, and I liked the cook on the noodles, but I couldn't really taste anything "truffley" on it, unfortunately. And I was really expecting a lot from this dish given the following:
- Its restaurant name (trufa is Spanish for truffle);
- I have tried so many pasta restaurants in Metro Manila and out of town, so I have reasonable expectations;
- I have cooked truffle cream pasta several times, so I know what flavors to look for.
Since this is a review, and possibly because this restaurant is still in its soft opening stage, here are my watchout points — or, as we say in advertising, my builds:
What I Liked:
- Location: For those who work in the Legazpi Village area, we have another dining option that's walkable (it's located right across Your Local/Yardstick Coffee), without having to go all the way to the nearest mall, which is at least 30 minutes away.
- The Look: I'm fond of the industrial look mixed with a lot of wooden pieces, so I liked how the restaurant had a similar theme going on.
- Waiting Time: It didn't take the dishes very long to be served (under 15 minutes for all four orders), considering that each of them were cooked from scratch, according to our preferences.
- Friendly Staff: They are very accommodating, and more than willing to impart their "knowledge" in terms of pairing noodles and sauces.
What I Didn't Like:
- The Noise: We were there around 12 noon, and the restaurant wasn't fully packed, but it sounded as if it was. Sound bounced from everywhere (including sounds of their machines, the airconditioning units, as well as hubbub floating from the different tables), and it didn't seem like a place conducive enough for good conversation.
- Insufficient Exhaust System: After a while, my colleague's eyes started tearing up because she could feel the smoke circulating around the place.
- The Serving Size and Prices: I failed to upload a photo of the Caesar salad that was ordered, but for PhP 220, it was such a typical plate, and nothing really stood out. Moreover, the pasta dishes themselves had such small servings in relation to their plates, that it was hard to justify the prices per plate (for example, my trufa sauce was PhP 340, plus the add-on of queso, which was PhP 40).
- The Flavor: All four of us were underwhelmed with the flavor of our dishes. They definitely lacked not just salt, but even a certain depth of flavor that one would come to expect from a pasta-specialty restaurant.
Would I come back? I'm not entirely sure; perhaps to try a different kind of sauce, or maybe if people say that things have improved.
Would I recommend it to people? Sure, but with a caveat. It's an interesting experience, for sure, to be able to customize your dish, especially since artisanal restaurants have been all the rage the past few years (Project Pie, Ramen Nagi, etc.). With this, Trufa was definitely worth a try. And since it seems to be getting positive reviews from other people, perhaps it does cater to a certain niche of people.
I hope that since it isn't fully operational, they'll still be able to iron out the kinks (for me, definitely look into their pricing and serving sizes, as well as improve on the flavor of their dishes) in time for their actual launch, so that more and more customers will come trickling in.
Trufa Pasta Bar
Unit A, Planters Building,
109 Esteban Street, Legaspi Village,
Makati City
(+632) 7712581
I hope that since it isn't fully operational, they'll still be able to iron out the kinks (for me, definitely look into their pricing and serving sizes, as well as improve on the flavor of their dishes) in time for their actual launch, so that more and more customers will come trickling in.
Trufa Pasta Bar
Unit A, Planters Building,
109 Esteban Street, Legaspi Village,
Makati City
(+632) 7712581
