The other day, I was invited to check out the newest branch of Toni & Sergio in Eastwood. It’s still on soft opening, but they are having promos, the most exciting of which is the P20.00 pizza just for tomorrow!
TONI & SERGIO GASTRO ITALIANO
This is the second branch of Toni & Sergio, the first branch is located in Venice Grand Canal Mall. Toni & Sergio is owned by the same family that runs the upscale Italian restaurant Parmigiano (in Newport Mall & Alabang). The Toni & Sergio Eastwood branch is located at the second floor of Eastwood Mall, in the balcony area.
Toni & Sergio is their mid-range restaurant concept. Toni and Sergio are brothers. While the first branch in Venice Grand Canal Mall is decorated with photos and memorabilia from Toni and Sergio, the branch in Libis has Toni’s son Julius Iapino’s hobbies adorning the walls. The Eastwood branch also has a bar.
One of the special things about Toni & Sergio is that they have their own brick oven, and that’s what they use to bake their pizzas, etc… Their pizzas are also all hand-mixed and hand-pulled.
THE FOOD
The food at Toni & Sergio is Italian and Spanish. This is because Sergio, while he is Italian, works in Spain and is very familiar with Spanish cuisine.
Here’s the menu:
My favorite dish of the ones that we got to try is the Creamy Baked Risotto (P410). It is a cheesy, creamy risotto that also has some corn kernels, Italian bacon, mushroom, and is baked in their brick oven.
Chicken Poppers (Sriracha flavor and Truffle Cream flavor):
Creamy Spinach and Chicken Pizza:
Fried Chicken Pasta in Aurora Sauce (tomato cream):
Paella di Pollo (Paella with Chicken):
Paella Negra using mostly squid:
Desserts – I wasn’t able to try the Strawberry Panna Cotta, but those who did said it was delicious. I had the Brownie ala mode (lower right) and the chocolate brownie at the bottom of the cup was extremely thick and gooey.
The menu at Toni & Sergio was developed to be more accessible to regular people. The prices are more mid-range than their high-end Parmigiano restaurant. Taste-wise, the dishes have also been tweaked to appeal to the Filipino palate.
They also have drinks available like Italian soda, cocktails and beer. Their sangria is not bad:
PROMOS
Toni & Sergio has these ongoing promos happening in their Eastwood branch:
Spin the Wheel
Each table has the chance to spin the wheel and claim the prize indicated – this promo has already started yesterday. I don’t know how long this promo will be going on for.
P20.00 PIZZA PROMO!
Limited to first 50 customers on Saturday (August 3, 2018) – Get any flavor of their regular pizza (12-inch size) and only pay P20.00 for the pizza!
This is the size of their pizza:
SUMMARY
Toni & Sergio is an Italian / Spanish restaurant owned by Italians who have moved to the Philippines. The sensibilities and respect for the cuisine are there. However, keep in mind that they have tweaked the recipes to cater to the local palate, and also to keep the prices affordable. Don’t expect the same expensive authentic ingredients as other higher-end Italian restaurants have. Although Toni & Sergio still imports most of their ingredients from Italy to be able to give Filipino diners the authentic Italian flavors, they keep prices lower than similar Italian restaurants.
However, I do think they do a good job of making Italian / Spanish dishes less intimidating to regular people. The Chicken Poppers taste familiar, but may introduce truffle cream to people who have never tried truffle before.
As with the first Toni & Sergio branch, the popular orders are still their cheese pizzas and paellas. I like their Bistecca alla Toni & Sergio served with golden risotto, which I’ve had twice at the Venice Grand Canal Mall branch.
Toni & Sergio
Second Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toniandsergio/
