Friuli Trattoria in Maginhawa Street

Having been back in Manila for more than a month now and being able to discover not-so-new and new food places in the Metro, I somehow have this feeling like I've been living under a rock. It's true what they say that being away from home for some time can make you feel like a tourist in your own country. Slowly, Paul and I are starting to re-acquaint ourselves back into Manila's bustling food scene and we got out families and friends to thank for.

Recently, I went out for an impromptu, but long delayed lunch date with my sister Pan. It's so cool that we're both working very closely now allowing us to have lunch every single day and that means nonstop catching up to make up for all those years that I've been away. During one of our errands to Quezon City, we decided to stop by Maginhawa Street in Teacher's Village. This place has been known to have a line of interesting restaurants, cafes, bars and recently, food parks. Since this isn't really that close to home, we never really got around to visiting this part of town back then. Luckily though, my brother in law, E, grew up in this area so he has been recommending a number of his favorite restaurants for us to try -- Friuli Trattoria is one of them.

Apparently, this restaurant has been around since the early 2000s being a regular hang out for university students as the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) are just nearby. Looking at the menu, I can easily see why students love dining here. The prices are super affordable. Imagine a whole pizza for a little above Php 200? That's crazy! Since we got there really late for lunch, I quickly ordered the Mozzarella Sticks (Php. 160) which is one of our favorite starters in most American restaurants. Look at how HUGE the sticks are! One order gives you 4 huge mozzarella sticks. Admittedly, it's not the best that we've tried as we found the coating to be too thick and chewy. It somehow reminds me of those Mozzarella Cheese Sticks that you get in the supermarket, which you can either bake or deep fry it at home.



Thankfully, our mains came out so quickly! I am forever craving for pasta that I'm not sure if it's my pregnancy hormones talking or it's really just me loving pasta so much. We tried their best-selling Spaghetti with Tuna and Mushroom (Php. 135) as this was highly recommended by our server. Initially, I was eyeing the Angel Hair with Putanesca (Php. 155) or the Spaghetti with Pesto (Php. 165) but since she told us that this was their house specialty, then we knew we just have to try it. She was right! We love the balance of the cream sauce as well as the generous portion of canned tuna and sliced mushrooms. It's a very comforting dish which students (and even working people like yours truly) will love time and time again. I'm glad we went with her recommendation and I'll surely get this again on my next return.

For our pizza, we went for the Margherita (Php. 205) which is a thin crusted pizza topped with huge slices of fresh tomatoes, garlic, herbs and lots of mozzarella cheese. I just think it's lacking some fresh basil which should also make up a typical Margherita Pizza but for the price, I totally forgive them for keeping it simple. The pizza serving is huge as well. It's good to be shared by 4 thus, Pan and I had a slice each as the pasta and the Mozzarella Cheese Sticks filled us up quickly and we asked the server to wrap the remaining slices up for Paul and E to enjoy at home. The boys pretty much enjoyed their pizza slices and Paul even told me that I should take him there soon. Yay!

I can't believe that it's only now that I've visited Friuli! I really should start to explore Metro Manila more.

Friuili Trattoria is located at 79A Maginhawa street, UP Village, Quezon City. They also have outlets at UP Town Center.