Restaurant Review: Cara Mia Gelateria

For the longest time, I thought that Cara Mia only serves gelato and cakes. Their gelato and cakes are undoubtedly mouth-watering, but I wasn’t sure if I could say the same with their other offerings. To solve the mystery, Boyet and I decided to give it a try one Sunday afternoon.

When we arrived, the store was really busy as customers flock to try out their best-selling gelato. Though they have a wide array of gelato and cakes to choose from, I can’t say the same with the food choices. With a very limited menu, the server even came back to me twice to tell me that my initial orders were not available.

Boyet hit the jackpot on his first try because the Baked Rosemary Chicken was available. The chicken is served with rice and buttered vegetables. According to Boyet, the chicken is just so-so. But with the help of the sauce that came with it, the chicken became more special. The buttered vegetables are good too. My husband is not the biggest fan of vegetables so hearing this from him is such a surprise.

After two failed attempts, I finally settled with a Panini for lunch. Chunks of chicken, pesto spread, roasted bell peppers, mozzarella cheese and rosemary are sandwiched in toasted ciabatta. It was love at first bite! The bread is crunchy and I love the hint of sweetness brought by the roasted bell peppers. You can either hit or miss in using pesto. One wrong move and your dish can get overpowering. Fortunately, the Chicken Pesto and Mozzarella hit the perfect balance. And besides, can you ever go wrong with mozzarella cheese?

I thought that we would settle our bill and leave right away. But surprisingly, Boyet wanted to have some dessert. We scanned the menu and had a hard time choosing from their gelato cakes. I then saw a big picture hanging on the wall - a photo of a cake along with the big caption that says that a food critic from a local newspaper tagged it as the Best Dessert for 2012!


Rouge is layers of strawberry, blueberry and vanilla gelato on graham crust. Imagine getting three flavors of gelato for dessert! It’s heavenly good!!! It’s topped with frozen berries which added variety to the cake. For people who don’t like cakes that are too sweet, you’ll surely love this. It is jE's AnAtOmY’s Best Dessert for 2013! As if my opinion matters! :p


Cara Mia Gelateria
Level 2 Midtown Wing
Robinsons Place Manila