Siargao fave sets up shop in BGC

RED MEAT FEST Wagyu strips served with chimichurri sauce —PHOTOS BY MARGAUX SALCEDO

I had the pleasure of dining at Grifoni’s with friends over the Lunar New Year.

Grifoni’s in BGC is by Kermit, the legendary surf resort and restaurant in Siargao, which has been featured by no less than Conde Nast Traveler: “Should you find yourself craving a change of scenery from the local fare, flag down a habal-habal and have the driver take you directly to Kermit’s. Owned by an Italian expat and outfitted with a brick oven imported from Italy, Kermit’s serves up what might be the best pizza and fresh-made pastas in the country.”

Grifoni’s is by Gianni Grifoni, a native of Florence who originally came to the Philippines in 2009 to work as a marine conversationalist. A surfer, he fell in love with Siargao and decided to move there in 2010, opening Kermit Surf Resort and Restaurant, which has become quite legendary.

Grifoni’s in BGC is a luxe casual dining Italian restaurant serving more than pizza. The menu also includes several starters: chicken wings that are roasted, not baked; beef salpicao; and their version of gambas called Gamberi all’ aglio, which is shrimp tossed in extra virgin olive oil and garlic but here it is mixed with Vigan longganisa. I would also recommend the wagyu strips served with chimichurri sauce.

CAN’T GO WRONG Pizza Amore with prosciutto and arugula

As an Italian restaurant, they of course, have burrata. You can have this as bar chow with prosciutto or on their pizza alla burrata.

And then there are their famous pizzas. Their namesake pizza, Gianni’s pizza, has tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami and fior di latte, which is not milk but a semi-soft cheese known for its fresh and mild taste. The Kermit’s pizza is a simple tomato-based four-cheese pizza topped with parma ham. They also have pizza odes to the places where Kermit has opened: the pizza dedicated to Siargao, called the Siargao Pizza, is topped with mixed seafood while the Pizza Ilocos has Vigan longganisa.

Then they have the classics: margherita, which they appropriately refer to as the “queen of pizza;” quattro formaggi or four-cheese pizza; and an all-meat pizza with ham, salami and mortadella.

For the pescatarians, they offer pizza al salmone, which has salmon, capers, arugula and brie; for the vegans, they have the pizza vegan, which has onions, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives and arugula.

Classic Neapolitan Margherita

They also have a lot of pastas, which you can’t go wrong with: bolognese, pesto, aglio e olio, amatriciana, pomodoro, plus lasagna, which you can’t resist as it is made “della Nonna” or like an Italian grandmother’s.

With all that, you can skip the dessert. Although if you have space, while they have a tiramisu, I would recommend the affogato with salted caramel ice cream. The cocktails, such as the negroni, are recommendable as well.

The restaurant, with its high ceiling and laidback interiors, offers such a chill vibe that before you know it, it has been three hours and you are still in the mood to stay and enjoy the company of your friends and the negroni. You can really just chill all day! I guess that’s the Siargao way!

Grifoni’s: Seven/NEO, BGC. 0966 069 4046.