Discovering Galileo

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It’s time to shout Eureka. Right on one of the tricycle-laden and polluted side streets is one of Mandaluyong’s best kept secrets waiting to be discovered: the Galileo Enoteca Deli.

It is a drunkards’ heaven. Wines of all kinds are lined up—from big to small, red, green, and clear—that the bottles serve as the place’s main décor. The adobe finishing, the dim yellow lights, the uniformed waiters, and deli right at the entrance could immediately transport anyone to La Italia.

A real wine connoisseur could find solace here having the widest selection of the finest authentic Italian wines. It’s one of those corner restos in Europe where drinking at any time of the day is well, like the most natural thing to do. The adobe’s wonders and the lighting must have done its purpose that though it’s 37 degrees outside, drinking on a mid hot day in Mandaluyong is not such a crazy thing to do.

There might be sporadic fits of matapobre oldies picking up their pre-ordered wines or cold cuts, to distract the serenity of the place. But other than that, Galileo, as what it is more popularly known is generally peaceful, classy, and quiet. Primarily packed with matrona-like oldies and middle aged first timers in the afternoon, and smooching couples at night is a good place for someone who would want to go on a hiatus from the usual cellar bars around filled by seventh graders pretending to be college kids, learning to drink or high-strung celebrities who act like kids.

Nobody would think that the stretch of Calbayog in Mandaluyong would house such a quaint and charming fine dining restaurant. Politicians and celebrities who want to get drunk or date their mistresses or probably their girlfriends whom they deny on the Buzz are said to frequent this place.

The Look of Love
Romance is in the air. You want to propose or you want to finally get on bed with the hottie or probably impress your mother-in-law hilaw? This is the perfect place.

Right at the moment you stepp on Galileo's stone tiles, a certain feeling electrifies you. It’s enchanting; probably the same feeling when someone sets foot on Paris. Nothing grandiose, but the manner that everything was put together is magic.

There are cans of tomato paste on one side, then boxes of pasta on another wall; then there’s the maze of wines on all the other walls, and a selection of cheese, and cold cuts. To think about it, the place is a huge wine cellar slash pantry strewn with wooden furniture to pass as a restaurant.

The result is not bad. Not at all. It maybe the wine mixed with the aroma of pasta, or the weird way of giving you that feel like you are in one of Regine Velasquez’ movies, but the place just gets you intoxicated. Whatever illusion it is, it must be working well.


Wine and Dine
It’s cheap. A 400-peso set meal is made of loads of bread, soup, three types of Italian pate, cold cuts, and cheeses that would send Remi of Ratatouille on a cartwheel. The main dish can either be vegetable, fish, or chicken based, depending on one’s fancy. A glass of wine comes with the meal, and one can choose from among dry red, chilled white, dolci frizzante, and spumanti. Coffee or tea is served after.

For first timers, the best thing to do is to go with the meals. Since the menu is written in Italian it’s hard to decipher which one goes well with the other. Or let alone to know which is which. And since eating Italian is a style, it’s advisable to try on their suggested sets. Try to be more experimenting the next time to make the best of this experience.

The eggplant parmigiana and chicken set though is not highly recommended. The parmigiana is nakakaumay while Max’s fried chicken is far much sumptuous than this one.

So the next question would be, what wine do I order? Girls are advised to go for the dolci frizzante. It’s a really sweet Novellino-like wine. In fact, dolci is even sweeter than Novellino that it feels just like a better-tasting grape juice, plus the alcohol kick. This is the safest bet, especially for non-alcohol drinkers as this is to be drank over easy conversation.

Guys usually go for the spumanti. Aside from being the popular choice, it is the most expensive among the four mentioned. There is an additional of P30 when spumanti is order along with the set meal. So for those who really want to impress, this is the best choice.

The Italian coffee served after the meal has that distinct flavor. Nearest taste is the barako brew, just two levels stronger. Maybe the thicker the accent, the spunkier the coffee? Lame.

Love it. Hate it.
Do you know how toy collectors go crazy about hard-to-find original transformers robot? This is the feeling The unexpected location is actually part of its charm. It makes a food adventurer feel that Galileo is one great food discovery.

Say it is in Greenbelt 3, beside Bubba Gump. No “dating,” right? Placing it in a street called Calbayog, though it sounds so un-Italian, makes Galileo more exciting.

Fast food lovers, stay away from here. You might think that a kilo of cheese for 190 is too much, while you can buy six boxes of cheddar for the same price. But really, the cheese tastes different; the flavor explodes.

Prepare six hundred pesos per head for a Galileo discovery. But this is sulit for the good food, the experience, and the great service.

Getting There
Parking is the biggest hassle. For freaks, fine, don’t bring your car. But good luck to you. As you wine and dine with the biggest haired matronas you’ll smell like sweat as you just unboard your hired tricycle. But really, though Galileo has only three real parking slots available, Calabayog is a nice friendly residential street. On a scale of one to ten, ten the highest, the probability of having your car stolen is five. But please don’t expect it to be Legaspi or Bel-Air Village like.

Along EDSA-southbound, just past the Shaw MRT station, is a low-end hotel called Richville. A hundred meters from the hotel, is a Mercury Drugstore. Enter the street before Mercury, then turn on the second street on the right. Just go straight. Galileo is on the right side of the street.

If you get lost, you can easily ask directions how to go to Reyes Gym as the resto occupies the same building as the gym.