Restaurants

Comfort Food for the Family at The Old Spaghetti House

Pinoys love spaghetti. It’s a staple at parties and meetings, for the young and old, in various degrees of complexity and sophistication—from the sweet home cooked spaghetti your favorite tita makes, to the greasy, oily type they have in school canteens (well, my school canteen, at least), to the understated yet elegant pomodoros of fancy Italian restaurants, to—one of my personal and much-missed favorites—the obviously-fake-but-yummy-anyway instant spaghetti of the Lucky Me persuasion.

So it’s no wonder that The Old Spaghetti House, while small and unassuming, is always full, with diners ranging from young couples to huge families spanning three generations. This is a classic comfort food place, especially since the menu goes beyond spaghetti, to reliable starters (typical bar favorites like Garlic Mushrooms (P105), Calamares (P130), and Nachos (P125)), rice meals (including the Golden-Crusted Chicken, Ham & Cheese Crepe (P130) that brings back fond memories of Full House and Gateau de Manille from my college days), sandwiches (though I haven’t tried these yet), and pizza. They also have a great selection of desserts, including the crave-inducing Crème Brulee Royale selection (P95) and the sinfully good Colossal Choco-Chip Cookie ala Mode (P120).

We eat here more or less regularly, so I’ve already managed to accumulate a bunch of photos (not all that bright, since the interiors are rather dark and cozy, and the rest of the time we eat here at night). What I love about this place is the quality of the food—you can order pretty much anything on the menu and be more or less assured that your food will be good, which is probably what makes it popular with the play-safe large groups that need to cater to lots of different tastes. Plus, the prices are extremely reasonable, with nothing on the menu over 255 bucks (for the record, that’s a pizza; the Salmon Fillet with Spinach Cream Sauce is P220, and the US Beef Salpicao is only P170). Most pasta dishes fall within the hundred peso range. The place is also very kid-friendly, complete with toys and co-diners who will, if not gladly, at least good-naturedly tolerate the screams and whines of unruly children.

Oh, and one last plus for me: they’ve got good bottomless iced tea (P65), the kind that has a little something extra mixed in, perhaps vanilla or some other syrup; and they have a respectable selection of coffee drinks for some after-dinner digestive help (I usually need this since I tend to overeat here; the portions are pretty big and I keep going even after I know I’m full). We leave you with more pictures of food from TOSH… enjoy!

I felt like trying something new once, so I had an Apple Shake (P60). It was pretty refreshing!

Speaking of apples, they have a new dessert item… The Apple-Cinnamon Cheesecake (P115). It’s a bit confused and more than a tad too sweet… the cheesecake tastes like custard and the apples make up a small minority of the ingredients, which include a mystery nut glaze (probably pili) and butterscotch-y sauce.

Choose a Colossal Choco-Chip Cookie ala Mode (P120) for dessert instead! You won’t regret it! (At least until you step on a weighing scale…)

Or have this excellent dessert… the Creme Brulee Royale (P95), an assortment of three creme brulee flavors: regular, chocolate, and citrus.

Other dishes to try: the Aglio Olio with Anchovy and Capers (P115), still simple but not as plain as the usual olive oil and garlic blends; Baked Ziti (P115), piping hot comfort food; classic Pesto (P100); Jamie’s favorite Artichoke and Spinach Cheese Dip (P180); and soft and tender Parmesan-Crusted Fish Fillet (P155).

The Old Spaghetti House
Bridgeway Entrance, Festival Supermall, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang
850-9959
Restaurant hours: 10AM to 10PM daily

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