At a recent meetup, I found myself back in Poblacion, Makati—an area of town I don't go to as often as I do Legaspi or Salcedo Village. After having coffee at Saglit by Flower Ranch Cafe, a friend suggested we get dinner at a nearby food joint - Pizzetta. 

Pizzetta opened last year, June 2025, to be exact, at 5687 Dona Carmen Street. When it first started operations, it had only a small space. My friend told me it could seat only a few customers, and so we couldn't stay long. When we got there, though, it turned out that Pizzetta now had a larger space right across the way—one that could hold bigger groups of people. 

What is Neapolitan Pizza? 

In case you're wondering what Neapolitan pizza is, it is the most famous type of Italian pizza, renowned for its straightforward ingredients and soft texture. Did you know that it's recognized by UNESCO as the epitome of Italian pizza-making and part of the world's intangible cultural heritage? 

Neapolitan pizza is not crispy or heavily topped, and it's not a pizza you eat on the go. Instead, it is characterized by its soft, elastic dough; puffy, airy crust; thin, tender center; and minimal toppings. In Italy, Neapolitan pizza is usually eaten with a knife and fork because the center is soft and delicate. 

What's so special about Pizzetta? 

They offer Php99 pizzas! And I don't mean just a slice. I mean, an 8-inch-sized solo pizza with soft, chewy, and lightly charred Neapolitan-style crust. They have classic pizzas like Five Cheese Garlic and Creamy Spinach for Php99 and premium options like Samurai, handcrafted dough, and premium toppings with rich umami goodness priced a bit higher at Php129. 

Not in the mood for pizza? Pizzetta has also expanded its offerings to include pasta and salads. 

We ordered chicken masala and creamy spinach solo 

This alfredo pasta is only Php99 

For the price, it's already a steal! The pizzas were good and actually already good for 2 people to share. Though I wouldn't share! 😈 Our total bill was less than Php500, which already includes the service charge. 

Pizzetta is open 24/7 and even available for takeout and delivery via Grab. This pizza place was also named Grab Food's "This Year's 5-Star Eats Merchant."

Aside from being an affordable place to satisfy your pizza cravings, you can also linger around Pizzetta for a beer or two while you play billiards. 

Hang out with friends, drink beer and play pool at Pizzetta 

At Pizzetta, you can order local beers, imported beers, or other alcoholic drinks like whiskey and brandy. 

For me, Pizzetta is a great find that I hope will stay in Poblacion for a long time! It's worth going to when you want to satisfy your pizza cravings without breaking the bank. Its laid-back ambiance will invite you to stay and unwind especially after a long day's work alone or with friends.  

Maundy Thursday Activity: Sampiro Kalbaryo Tour

I often do Visita Iglesia on Maundy Thursday with my friends. This year, we did a different activity. We went to Poblacion and did a walking tour with Wander Manila. The tour was called Sampiro Kalbaryo.

What is Sampiro Kalbaryo?

Sampiro Kalbaryo is a special walking tour that's only held on Maundy Thursday.. The tour involves strolling around the old Spanish town of Poblacion, Makati's streets, to observe the "kalbaryos," or street grottos, that appear there during Lent. It's a tradition that spans more than 100 years already 

Some bigger grottos are built as early as two weeks before Holy Week, and most are finished and beautified by Holy Wednesday.  Some of them are built blocking the streets. In any orher district, such a setup would not be allowed but the people who lived their whole lives in Poblacion, it's already a norm. It's the motorists who'll have to adjust on Holy Week.  

Why is the Sampiro Kalbaryo only done on a Maundy Thursday? It's because by Good Friday, the images will be taken to Sampiro Church where they will take part in a procession around Poblacion. It's a long procession that starts at five in the afternoon. 

History of Sampiro Kalbaryo

The first kalbaryo started not on the streets but inside a family's house where they did pabasa (Reading of the Passion). The participants grew and grew in numbers until they could no longer accommodate everyone inside so they finally built a grotto outside the house in 1920. 

It became so popular that by the following year, another group, Makati Sporting built the second kalbaryo in 1921. From that point on, the number of families and groups setting up their own grottos or street churches grew every year. Right now, there are 50 grottos set up around Poblacion, and all of those who've joined have never stopped doing it. 

The kubols are not cheap to make. So where do they get their funding from? Some funding comes from the church. Some from the local government, and most of them come from people's donations. 

Most kubols or grottos are taken down after Good Friday and are stored somewhere by the families or groups that built them. But there are some permanent kubols around Poblacion as well.

Some of the grottos have creative names such as Samahang Bla-gag, which is the sound you hear when you fall off your chair. Another one is named Poultry because it's beside a chicken coop. And there are grottos that are named Samahang Ilalim ng Tulay because it's literally under a bridge, and Samahan Likod Simbahan, Inc.  

Leave it to Filipinos to put some humor even in a devout practice such as religion. 

The Town of Poblacion

Our tour also discussed a bit of Poblacion's history. Did you know that this part of Makati was part of a bigger kingdom called the Kingdom of Namaayan, which was active in the 11th century? Then Miguel Lopez de Legaspi sailed to the town after Manila and deemed the area not good enough to build a town on. It was the Jesuits who checked out the land, found out there was a lot of clay in the soil, which would be conducive for building a pottery business. That's how Poblacion was known for a while for pottery. Up until the Americans came, and it was a little bit busy,  Poblacion was still a very sleepy riverside town. Read more about the history of Makati here.

               

Sampiro Church, one of the oldest churches in Manila 

             One of the oldest religious images in Poblacion 

 

It's a lot of work to maintain a tradition like the Sampiro Kalbaryo. It's no easy feat to build it, to have people fed during the pabasa, and to dismantle it. 

This is definitely a panata or a devotion. You're doing it not for the clout but because you genuinely believe in it.  

My Sampiro Kalbaryo walking tour buddies 

I'm glad I was able to join this walking tour. It was very informative! I didn't know that behind the party scene or the coffee scene that Poblacion's known for these days, there is a religious tradition that's treasured as well. I was definitely enlightened. 

Photo Walk: Makati in Pictures

I spent a day exploring some parts of Makati with a friend. This city, at least, some parts of it, is really nice to visit by foot. I love that about this city too - the fact that you can get around places just walking. It's nice to walk around. You discover interesting places you'd likely visit and you get to appreciate the architecture around too. 

Let me show you around Makati in photos. 

Greenbelt, Makati

I love this mall because it has a wide and open area. I'm glad that when this mall was renovated to the architecture it is now, Ayala not only retained the open space, it also planted more trees and plants around. 

Ayala Avenue

We walked around the central business district on a weekday. Before COVID-19 and before our endless quarantines, this part of the city was filled with people. Mostly people who work in any one of the tall buildings around Ayala Avenue. 

When I was about to join the work force, I wanted to work in any one of those high rise buildings. To have an office on a top floor, with a window with a view of the busy Ayala Avenue. When the weather is nice, the sun's rays would stream in my office, through the window, lighting up the room. 

Times have changed. People aren't milling around the Makati Central Business District these days specially at lunch or closing of business. These days most work from home in a bid to curb the rising cases of Covid-19 in the city. And I no longer dream of working in one of those tall buildings with a plush office. 

Another thing I love about Makati City? The parks! This is the Ayala Triangle Park where the Makati Stock Exchange office is as well. If and when you need a breather and want to be surrounded by nature, go to a park! You can even do outdoor exercise around this park. It's the biggest park around Makati city. Though it's not the quietest park since it is on Ayala Avenue, a busy road. Plus there's a construction going around here these days. If you want a serene park, I suggest Washington Sycip Park! 

Makati Avenue

In Makati Avenue, you'll find more tall buildings. It's also a busy road even in this time of pandemic if you've got a car. For a taste of Philippine history, check out the status monuments in the area. There's also the old airport in Ayala Triangle, now a restaurant. 

Poblacion, Makati

Poblacion used to be just a quiet residential area of Makati City. But over the years, it's grown to be known for hole in the wall restaurants and bars. Some of those small and awesome businesses have closed now, sadly affected by the prolonged quarantines. Though there are still some quaint restaurants worth visiting like the recently opened Cafe Fleur. 

Salcedo Village, Makati

Last stop of our photo walk was Salcedo Village, Makati. It's the upper class residential area in the city's that's not in a gated village. They live in condominiums with security manning the entrances. I want to live in one of those white and guarded condos. I'd spend my week nights at the nearby Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf store or dine al fresco at one of the restaurants that have opened shop in the past few years. On Saturdays, I'd spend my mornings visiting the Salcedo weekend market where I'd buy plants and flowers as nice decors for the house or support a small food business. 

Well, that's it for my Makati photo walk! Oh how I miss going around the city specially on a weekend morning. It's not the same these days. The streets have less people.  Though I've never been a fan of crowds, it's sad to know that we're staying home because we are in a pandemic. 

Anyway, we capped off the photo walk with a nice lunch at Fifty Nine Flower Cafe. Walking around sure can work up an appetite. 

Weekend Brunch at Cafe Fleur, Makati

I had the chance to check out a recently opened restaurant in Poblacion, Makati. I went to Cafe Fleur by chef Sau Del Rosario. According to articles I read online about this restaurant, it is a smaller, more metropolitan version of his restaurant located in Angeles, Pampanga. 

The al fresco dining area was the first thing I saw when I got at Cafe Fleur which only had one other set of foreign customers dining in at the time I arrived. It got busier by lunch time. I immediately felt like I was in a posh boutique resort hotel seeing the wooden floors and panels and the rattan furniture. 

The light hit the restaurant just right, making the whole restaurant area bright and inviting to look at specially with its walls painted white. The ambience of Cafe Fleur was warm and inviting.   

Dried flowers and coffee table books decor added to the cozy feels of the restaurant. 

The Dishes

Main dish I ordered was the lamb shank tangine plus jasmine rice as it was nearly lunch and I was starved! This is one of their best sellers according to the wait staff who serviced our table. So good! It had a hint of spiciness to it but I was able to get past that. The lamb meat was soft and easy enough to chew. First time I ever ate lamb in my life guys! 

For dessert, I had vuko fye. Yes, you read that right. Vuko fye, no mispelling there. According to what I read, it's Chef Sau highlighting the comedic mispronunciation of some Kampanpagans. It's bigger than the usual buko pies you'd buy from Laguna and stuffed with a whole lot of coconuts! It was so delicious! 

I washed it all down with a cold glass of calamansi iced tea which I also would recommend and water. 

I'd love to go back to Cafe Fleur. I know my friends would enjoy dining at this restaurant as much as I did. 

You can visit Cafe Fleur at Enriquez St., Poblacion, Makati City. They are open from Tuesday - Sunday, 10am to 10pm. Follow their Instagram and Facebook for updates.