Romantic Night at Cellar de Oboza

Salutti is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city, although I haven’t been there in a while. Just recently, my much anticipated return finally took place, although my favorite resto now bears a new name and is in a new location. The Oboza ancestral house is the new home for Salutti and in keeping with the revamp, the restaurant bears “Cellar de Oboza” as its new name, too.

The ground floor area of the ancestral home is where you will find Cellar de Oboza. The second floor is where Claude’s Le Café de Ville is located.

That particular night of our visit, no one else is in the restaurant. This is a good thing because it almost felt like we had the restaurant exclusively and a personal concierge of restaurant staff, lol. A waiter politely met us at the door and into a table for two. The ambiance sure does emit a romantic feel with its dim lighting and color scheme. 

For the entrée, we had the Caramelized Pork Belly in Red Wine Estofado (PhP 265) and Shrimps in Crab Fat Sauce (PhP 275). On my next visit, I will no doubt give their Fish Sticks in Guava Tamarind Sauce a try – sounds yummy! Anyway, as for our dishes, these were huge servings for its price. The pork belly alone is good for 2-3 people, which is very affordable when you are dining with a group.

The shrimps in crab fat sauce is my favorite of the two dishes, however. I love that you can tell the shrimps are fresh because the meat it still very juicy yet has a bite to it. E also noted how it felt and tasted like the shrimps were just peeled off. The crab fat was surprisingly neither overpowering nor too oily with the olive oil. It was just the perfect complement to the natural sweet-salty taste of the shrimp’s meat.

For dessert, we had the Maja Blanca Cheesecake. This was a unique take on your usual cheesecake recipe because it really does feel like you are eating maja blanca but with the rich goodness of a cheesecake. If you like maja blanca and cheesecake, this is the perfect dessert to have at Cellar de Oboza! At PhP 145, though, I felt this was a tad too small of a serving. Good thing that E & I were both quite full at that time that we did not bother with the serving size. 

Despite having a new name and being in a new location, I love how Cellar de Oboza has maintained the same quality and authenticity that Salutti has delivered in the past. This restaurant is a perfect example of how fine dining does not have to be ultra-expensive.

Next stop: Claude’s. Til then!