Gobble Up Some Gorky's!

With the plethora of Italian restaurants here in the metro, it's difficult to distinguish the taste of the food these restaurants offer. The most that we can classify them is high-end, middle-class, and low-end. You've got the affordable Italian food chains like Greenwich and Sbarro, then you have the so-so priced but really good Italian food like Amici and A Veneto. Then you have the likes of Italianni's and California Pizza Kitchen which charge for what the level of goodness they offer. Our newest find, Gorky's, falls in the middle-class section because of price and a little bit in the flavor, but not so much in the aesthetics department. Here's why.

Gorky's Pizzeria is just a small place located along Pasong Tamo Extension. Based on our estimate, it can seat around 25 people max. Good thing we got there around 2 in the afternoon so we avoided the lunch hour. We can't imagine eating in the place with so many people; we won't be able to breathe (not to mention the heat nowadays hahaha). Another bad thing: the air-con was not turned on. They claimed it was, but we knew it wasn't. The place is so small that a normal air-conditioning would easily keep the room cold. But no, it was bordering to humid inside. We even asked the waitress to turn the fan/cooler towards our direction and let it stay there.

The waiters were not that attentive. There were (we think) 5-6 waiters in that restaurant, and yet we had a hard time asking for some water. We had to ask for it for (we think, again) 5 times before they gave us our glasses. When we asked about the waiting time for our food, this was what the waiter specifically said when we asked how long it would take for our food to arrive, "10 minutes po usually yung chicken wings and pasta, so parating na po yun in a while niluluto na po eh. Then yung pizza mas matagal po, mga 10 minutes." What? We just secretly laughed at what he said (it was funny, don't you think so? hahahaha). And lo and behold, all dishes came after 10 minutes. Bravo.

What we ordered:

Buffalo Wings (Semi-Serious; also available in Serious and Delirious heat levels), 150 php (6 pieces), 250 php (12 pieces)

Glutton Guy: We got the Semi-serious heat level because we didn't want a super spicy chicken wings. Don't get me wrong, I love spicy food. But, it's just not perfect for the hot weather when we visited Gorky's. The chicken was good and soft. It was just super spicy. I didn't even know how that became semi-serious. At the back of my mind I was like, "If this is semi-serious, how spicy would delirious be?" But, it was good. We didn't pay any attention to the vegetables on the side, though. Not that comparable to other chicken wings places (probably because it's not their specialty). But, for me it's something that wouldn't hurt if you give it a shot. : )

Glutton Girl: I told Glutton Guy to get the mildest level of hotness because I have low tolerance for spicy food. This, however, was still very spicy for me. I was literally sweating, even with the fan in front of my face. It wasn't so crispy either, not like Buffalo's Wings and Things'. With all the chicken wings craze, Gorky's should have at least stepped it up. The wings tasted like they were just fried then dipped in hot sauce. I can make better wings than that. For real.

Margherita Pizza, 250 php (10"), 450 php (14"), 550 php (18")

Glutton Guy: This was a good pizza for me. The best thing about Gorky's Margherita pizza is the cheese. The cheese is hot and soft and it just melts in your mouth. Because the pizza was hot when it was served, the cheese was just oozing and very delicious. Another thing I liked about it is that it's a healthy type of pizza. It's just tomatoes, basil, and cheese, nothing of the fatty stuff. For me it was just simple and delicious pizza. : )

Glutton Girl: The pizza was okay. The crust was thin (which I liked) and the cheese they used was real mozarella. The downside though was they cut the tomato too thick that it disregarded the whole simplistic taste of margherita pizza, and the crust was burnt. Yes, burnt. At least the cheese part was good.

Gorky's Gamberetti, 150 php

Glutton Guy: Great pasta, in my opinion. I loved the thin pasta which was cooked perfectly. The shrimp was also soft and delicious. The dish, overall, was perfectly seasoned. I would have preferred an oil based or cream based Gamberetti. For me it's a lot better. Also, it would be better for me to add some more seafood, probably some shellfish in there. Some minor adjustments and this is already a pasta worthy of high end restaurant standards! : )

Glutton Girl: This was the dish I liked the most, if not, the only one I liked. The sauce was normal, nothing out of the ordinary, and the shrimps were well-cooked. They weren't that big though. The pasta was also al dente, so generally, nothing was butchered in this dish. The serving was good for two also, if you order something else. The price was pretty cheap for the dish. Pretty good one.

Gorky's may not be the number one pizza place that would come into mind, but it's a food place that deserves a try. With so many restaurants to go to, one must be able to offer something exceptional to stand out and to keep the customers coming back for more. As of now, Gorky's may still be lacking on that aspect. But, the place has a lot of dishes which could potentially satisfy your pizza and pasta cravings, even those that we have yet to try. It might just be a small food place, but with a little bit of exposure (and giving customers new and delicious dishes  that are worth trying), Gorky's Pizzeria will have that rightful spot in no time. 

Here's how we rated Gorky's:

Food: 

          

Price:
         
Place:

Service:

(Gorky's Pizzeria is located at 2301 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. If you're coming from EDSA (north bound), just turn right at the street beside the Alphaland Southgate Mall. It's before the Magallanes MRT Station. Just go straight and you'll see Gorky's on your left. It's just after Toyota and alongside PS Bank.)