Taste buds travel to Italy this holiday season as Rustan’s brings forth its pop-up restaurant offering authentic Italian cuisine.
True to its word of “Enchanting the Holidays,” Rustan’s L’Opera Caffe on the 5th level of Rustan’s Makati is decked with Yuletide garlands, Italian green walls, and elegant holiday decorations—making the magic of Natale come alive.
L’Opera serves lunch and dinner buffet every weekend at P1,200 nett per head. To ensure the authenticity of dishes, Italian executive chef Luciano “Paolo” Nesi whips up classic Christmas dishes of his homeland such as lasagna salmon, cannelloni filled with cheese and spinach, and pannacotta with a selection of toppings.
Diners can also choose from a scrumptious ala carte or set menu on weekdays, from appetizing cold cuts and vegetable salads to savory main courses and pleasing desserts that promise to leave them in the holiday mood for days on end.
Appetizers include assorted salami and parma ham, gravlax with assorted crostini, Caesar’s salad; soups are Italian minestrone and mushroom soup; pasta dishes are homemade ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese, maccheroni with meat sauce, and linguini in salmon and caviar sauce.
Main dishes include grilled US Angus beef tenderloin in truffle sauce, deboned spring chicken with aromatic herbs, salmon in Prosecco wine sauce; and dessert items are tiramisu, pannacotta, and fruit salad.
Diners can take home some Natale spirit through iconic delicacies Pandoro, an eight-pointed star-shaped golden bread; and Pannetone, a sweet bread loaf filled with nuts and raisins symbolizing fertility for the coming year.