When I came back to El Nido after not being there for a year, I found myself lost in all the new establishments. I went to my favorite restaurants first, of course. But the first “new” restaurant that I found myself in was Trattoria Altrov’e, right at the corner of Calle Hama and the street where I used to live in 2005.
It’s a restaurant open only for dinner and located on the second floor. By the entrance on the ground floor is the pugon (brick kiln or oven) and the pizza preparation area. Guests have to leave their footwear at the bottom of the stairs and climb up to get to the restaurant.
It’s a small place and can get really full quick. Prices can be steep, a pizza can cost up to Php400+ BUT it is really, really good.
I fell in love with this place the very first time I went there.
My favorite place table was on the raised platform right by the windows and near the bathroom because it was very cozy! I loved the low tables, and the pillows on the floor.
It was great for just hanging out. Aside from the fact that they have really good customer service, i.e. they provided Lia with coloring books and crayons every time we were there, Lia also loved the bathroom! It has got to be the most comfortable bathroom in all of the establishments in all of El Nido town. Lia loved going to the bathroom all the time! It smelled nice, had rugs on a clean dry floor, and toilet paper. It’s clean and spacious. Outside, by the door, they have a sink with a mirror, liquid hand wash, and a towel to wipe your hands with.
They have pizza, pasta, risotto, desserts, and drinks on the menu. We always had pizza every time we were there. And the pizza is really good. I’d recommend this place anytime to anyone.
According to a review on Virtual Tourist, Altrove has the best pizza in town!
“This restaurant is located along the main road. You can’t miss it, as you see the brick oven facing the street. You have to leave your slippers at the entrance and enter barefoot. The floor is made of dark hardwood as are the walls. The ceiling is lighter and high with 2 ceiling fans cooling the guests. The CR is perhaps the cleanest in town. They have nice ambient music and serve delicious food. The ingredients are mostly imported. Their pastas are mouthwatering and the pizza is to die for! ”
I had loved eating in El Nido. The restaurants are pricey but I loved eating out. (Yes, I spent a lot of my money on that!) When I first came to El Nido last July, I was looking like this:
And before I left in September, I was already looking like this:
Boy, was I ecstatic about that weight gain! 😛
When Lia and I go there, just the two of us, our bill’s usually about Php600. But the pizza can be so filling that when our group went there for dinner last September, we had pizza, two pasta, and drinks all around, our bill only amounted to Php1,300+. That is not expensive at all for a group!
My friends and I loved this restaurant. What I loved about going out in El Nido was the good food and the company of good friends. That’s what I really miss the most.
The owner, Martin, and the manager, Žiga, are both Slovenian though (not Italian!) and at least one of them can be seen everyday at the resto, making sure that everything is in order and that guests are getting seated, orders are being taken, needs are being attended to and food is being served quick. Lia and I went there once when it was raining really hard, and the staff met us at the stairs with an umbrella. I appreciated that gesture very much! Even Martin himself played with Lia while we were there. Lia called him “scary man” though, because they were playing the scary monster game. Martin is quite nice though. Really, one should dine at Trattoria Altrov’e even once, when one finds himself/herself in El Nido.
Find Trattoria Altrov’e on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TrattoriaAltrove
Here are some more photos from their Facebook page:
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Related links and reviews:
[…] for the Shirley Temple and Tanigue in lemon butter sauce, The Alternative Inn for their pinacolada, Trattoria Altrov’e for their pugon-baked thin crust pizza, Pukka Bar for their clubhouse sandwich, pressed coffee and […]
[…] at the corner stands Baracalan on one side, and Trattoria Altrov’e on the […]
[…] us to have a dinner where the ladies can wear their dresses. With the aid of the internet, we found Trattoria Altrov’e as one of the most recommended place to dine. We went there early since you have to be in cue to be […]
[…] Here are some photos of Altrove I found on angkulet.com. […]
Hiya. I hope you don’t mind, but I borrowed a few shots of Altrove from your page — and back linked them with a written reference to your site. I hope that’s OK!
http://asiatravelbug.net/2013/04/03/brilliant-birthday-at-trattoria-altrove-in-el-nido-palawan/
Mike
Hello Mike,
Belated happy birthday! Thanks for the back link and the citation. 🙂 I love Altrove. Even if the place is owned by Slovenians and not Italians. 😉 I’m glad you had a good time in El Nido. Do come back! Hahaha!
Cheers!
Angku
Thanks, Angku! Glad to be blog-connected 🙂 As for Altrove, I thought the main guy was Swiss or something? We talked at the end, but my memory is a biiiit foggy after all those beers. lol Anyway, I still have Tour B and C to do so I’ll be back to El Nido before long 🙂
Haha! If it was a lanky blonde guy with kinda big eyes, it’s Martin. My daughter plays with him when we are there and she calls him “the scary man”. If it was the blonde guy with eyeglasses, Ziga. They’re both Slovenians. 🙂
One of the Italians in town once said, “I don’t want to eat fake Italian pizza made by Slovenian men.” But well, it’s really the best pizza in town! Haha! And I love their restroom too!
lol It doesn’t surprise me an Italian would say something like that. But those Slovenians make the best pizza I’ve had in the Phils or Japan. The only place I go to that compares is a place called Bella Napoli in Bangkok.
OK, next trip, we’ll go for dinner and say hello to the scary man. lol (That’s so funny!)
Have you been to Malapascua in Cebu? There is an Italian resto there too, Angelina, and supposedly, they also have good pizza. The last time I was there I forgot to get the pizza so I could compare which is better, Altrove or Angelina. So silly, the search for the best pizza in the Philippines! Hahaha.
http://old.angkulet.com/2010/12/28/places-to-eat-in-malapascua-cebu/
I have, indeed, been to Malapascua. Here’s a post about it:
http://asiatravelbug.net/2012/05/20/lifes-a-hammock-chillaxin-on-malapascua-island/
And that post you have about the restaurants there is so amazingly useful. I love that kind of thing. I find most travel bloggers just write a general intro about a place with some nice pics. You’ve researched (my kind of research. Eating and drinking!) a LOT of cool places around Malapascua. Super useful…so from one traveler to another, maraming salamat!
Thank you Mike! And you are welcome! I was just back there first week of March and there are so many new accommodations! My first blog on the accommodations was not really so extensive so I wanted to redo it. And I will. I’m just going through the travel photos one by one as I have been to Bohol and El Nido again but Cebu is supposed to be up next. Bantayan was soooo goddamn beautiful. I LOVE that island! Food is sooo delicious anywhere and everywhere in that island!
I loved Bohol. Definitely gotta do there again. As for Bantayan…my dilemma is…do I go there and see something new? Or return to Malapascua and delve deeper. Is Bantayan better than Malapascua in terms of beaches? And fewer noisy roosters and chickens all day? lol
It is definitely not an island for divers as there is no diving there whatsoever BUT I do think it is better than Malapascua for relaxing and eating! The island is bigger so the chickens and roosters are farther apart! Go there and see something new, is my vote, at least. 😛 If seeing more beautiful beaches is still considered “new” to us. As one wedding photographer of mine said to me, “Why do you keep taking photos of beaches? They all look the same!” Haha!
Nah, all beaches are different. I think we see eye to eye on that! OK, it’s settled…Bantayan it is!
hi, please like fb fun page thanks
https://www.facebook.com/TrattoriaAltrove