When I go to Boracay, I usually try out as many restaurants as I can. However, during my short weekend trip recently, I stayed at Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel all throughout. Being sick was the main reason why I didn’t go around and another was, we were invited by Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel to try out their hotel and experience what it’s like to stay there.
Due to those reasons, all my meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) were held at Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel’s in-house restaurant, Don Vito Ristorante Italiano.
Don Vito Ristorante Italiano is famous for their freshly baked breads, seafoods, pasta, wood-fire brick-oven pizza and their gelato. It’s an Italian restaurant that serves a fusion of Western, Asian and Filipino dishes.
We were able to try out almost all the specialties in the restaurant, sampling them during different times of the day. I wouldn’t wanna miss the chance of sharing with you what those sumptuous dishes are. Once you step foot in Boracay, do not forget to give Don Vito Ristorante Italiano a try. Their dishes are just so good.
I must admit, I wasn’t able to eat much in spite of the mouth-watering dishes ready to be eaten by me. Seeing my travel companions happily finishing the food and my longing to eat more after tasting the dishes, I knew I missed a whole bunch of culinary paradise. I had to choose my health over my love of food that time. I excused myself most of the time during meals to have a rest at my hotel room in Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel.
As I write this, I’m so dying with envy. I was wishing I was well and I could bring back the time that I was there. I’m taking this post as a reminder that once I go back to Boracay, I’ll give Don Vito Restaurant a visit and order my favorites so I can fully appreciate the yummy goodness of their dishes.
Appetizers
- Homemade Bread and Butter
Don Vito Ristorante Italiano’s ensaymadas are a must-try. You’ll also get a surprise when you take a bite as they have a special ingredient inside those super yummingly fresh-to-goodness pastry. While sampling the bread, we were actually suggesting to the owner that they must make more of those and offer it outside Don Vito too!
- Papaya Shrimp Boat (Php 350)
This was the first dish that I saw in Don Vito and boy, was I impressed! Look at the presentation! It was so nice! We were all staring at the dish and were all shy to plunge in, haha! Anyhow, we still had to try out the dish so we did! Well, the presentation matched the taste! It was a refreshing shrimp salad dish. I had eaten a similar dish before but it was garnished with cream. Don Vito gave it a twist by putting fresh papaya, how neat & healthy!
- Shrimp Cocktail (Php 250)
Love shrimps? Then this appetizer is for you. Don Vito’s shrimp cocktail has shrimps served cold and crisp with a crispy cocktail sauce and lemon. Perfect to order at night time 😛
- Rock Oyster Supremo (Php 250)
12 pieces of baked fresh oyster topped with mozzarella cheese & herbs. baked to perfection.
This is one dish that I will keep raving over and over! This has got to be the tastiest baked oyster I have tasted so far! I will definitely go back to Don Vito for this. Their Rock Oyster Supremo will be the first dish I will tell the server when I order in the future. Supremo as the title says – yes, indeed!
- Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (Php 180)
This is the first time that I saw mozzarella cheese sticks being served on a bed of salad greens. It looked healthy doesn’t it? hahaha! Not sure? However, it worked! Imagine my surprise when I saw how much it was priced! You’re getting more than what you paid for. The dish was drizzled with pesto sauce for flavoring. I really love the uniqueness of Don Vito Ristorante Italiano’s dishes.
Salad
All salads are served with Italian foccacia bread.
I wasn’t able to taste any of the salads but I was completely full just by taking pictures of them. So here’s a photo essay of the 2 salad dishes that were served during our stay there.
- Chef Salad (Php 275)
Medley of select garden greens, topped with swiss cheese, ham and boiled eggs. choice of dressing.
- Exotic Mandarin Salad (Php 300)
Soup
- Boracay Island Harvest Chowder (Php 100)
This chowder was full of flavors. It was too rich for my taste! Wow! I felt like I’d be full already just by finishing this one cup 🙂 Don Vito’s Boracay Island Harvest Chowder consists of mixed seafoods and sweet corn.
Main Dishes
As I’ve mentioned, I wasn’t able to fully enjoy Don Vito Ristorante Italiano due to me being sick that time. I took pictures and took a bite on some of Don Vito’s specialties. Among all the main dishes listed below, I was only able to taste the Osso Bucco… So please forgive me as I share with you another photo essay of Don Vito Ristorante Italiano’s main dishes.
- Grilled Island Herb Chicken (Php 295)
A juicy boneless half chicken, special marinated with a hint of thyme, basil and tarragon, served with mushroom gravy sauce, rice and vegetables.
- Osso Bucco (Php 420)
Beef shanks braised in tomato, roasted garlic and red wine, meltingly tender, flavorful combination of beef and vegetables.
A must-order!! I love beef shanks and sometimes, other restaurants overcook it. I love that Don Vito has perfected this. If I recall, I was the one who finished this dish on our side of the table 🙂 So tender, so tasty and oh so delicious!
- 1L Wahoo Lemon (Php 295)
Fresh grilled tanigue fish served with lemon butter sauce.
- Parmesan-Crusted Swordfish (Php 295)
Grilled fresh swordfish fillet topped with parmesan crusted.
- Pepper Steak (Php 1,400/12 oz)
New York steak grilled to perfection with peppercorn mushroom.
- Jumbo Prawns Neptune (Php 450)
Prawns meat sautéed in butter, shallot and young coconut shredded, and herb pernod wine.
Pizza
Oh, yes! Don Vito prides itself for having authentic, hand-tossed pizza baked in the traditional brick oven. You even see a chef statue outside the restaurant ushering us to try out their popular pizza! 😀
Don Vito Ristorante Italiano’s pizza is available in 2 sizes: family (14″) and large (11″). They have several kinds of pizza but you can also order additional toppings depending on your liking.
We tried three of their pizza bestsellers during our first meal at Don Vito. They were so good! That also adds to the fact that I prefer thin-crust pizza 😀 I’ll rank the three based on my liking… so wanna see my verdict? Read below 🙂
- Giardinera Pizza (family-Php410, large-Php 330)
Roch’s # 3 choice.
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, asparagus, bell pepper, zucchini, onions, tomato and fresh basil.
- Islander’s Pizza (family-Php 435, large-Php 350)
Roch’s # 2 choice.
Hawaiian style pizza, topped with pineapples, ham, shrimp, tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, grated romano cheese, chopped basil leaves and sprinkled with oregano, red pepper flakes and olive oil. served on thin crust.
- Don Vito’s Special (family-Php 430, large-Php 350)
Roch’s # 1 choice: Don Vito Restaurant called this their godfather of all pizza. I mean hello? It was the same for me. Among the three pizzas we tried out, this was a clear winner 🙂
The godfather of all pizza, topped with tomato sauce, diced ham, sliced fresh tomatoes, pepperoni, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. served on Don Vito’s very own homemade thin crust.
Pasta
all pasta served with foccacia bread.
Here’s another photo essay but I must say, the linguine carbonara is still lingering in my hearty food mind 😛
- Fettucine Don Vito (Php 330)
Fettuccini noodles tossed with sun dried tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, topped with grilled breast chicken, finished with aromatic herbs and spices.
- Linguine Carbonara (Php 320)
Egg noodle pasta cooked to perfection, tossed in a creme of garlic and shallots, double smoked bacon and green onions, topped with parmesan cheese.
- Classic Spaghetti with Meatballs (Php 360)
Spaghetti in tomato sauce, served with meatballs made from ground beef meat, mixed with sautéed onions, parsley, garlic and egg.
Dessert
A meal will never ever be complete without dessert. In Don Vito Ristorante Italiano, their Gelato is the one that people always come back for. Even without having a meal, people drop by Don Vito to have their fix of authentic Italian Ice cream. It’s something you can have anytime of the day, anytime you want…
But you know they also have other desserts and I was able to try them too! Check it out.
- Tiramisu ala Don Vito (Php 150)
I love how Don Vito presented their Tiramisu. The lady finger cookies were a nice touch, making the dessert more playful. If I remember it right, I was eating it one by one while also spooning the rich mix of brandy, creme and mascarpone cheese, garnished with chocolate and coco powder.
- Don Vito Gelato (Php 100)
Don Vito’s very own authentic Italian ice cream. Everyone’s favorite in Boracay! 🙂
- Spiced Pineapple
What a beautiful looking dessert. I could see, based on the dish how creative the chef was. Having one main ingredient into a dessert that looked like a million dollars. The pineapple dessert was presented 2 ways: (1) sweet cinnamon, pineapple topped with creme brûlée and (2) a scoop of Don Vito gelato placed on a cookie. Eating that dessert was pure blissfulness.
- Season’s Platter (Php 300)
Don Vito Ristorante Italiano didn’t just give us a generous serving of freshly sliced fruits but they presented it in style. How lovely 🙂 If you love to eat fruits before or after your meal, then don’t miss out on Don Vito’s Season platter.
Wow! That’s so much food in one post! hahaha! I think I’ve been writing this for several hours now and my stomach isn’t happy! My mind longed for Boracay and Don Vito Ristorante Italiano. Their food is just one of the best in the beautiful paradise of Boracay.
In fact, Asia Tatler Dining gave Don Vito Ristorante Italiano a great recognition as one of Philippine’s Best Restaurants of 2011. Isn’t that enough proof that they serve the yummiest food?
I’ll be back Don Vito, I promise 😉
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Don Vito Ristorante Italiano
Ground Floor, Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel, Beachfront, Station 2, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines
63 (36) 288-5999
http://www.boracaymandarin.com/dining.php
Omg I miss Don Vito Ristorante! Lovely photos Roch, as always 🙂