To get a decent meal for less than a hundred pesos in the upscale avenue of Katipunan is a tall order. Right across Ateneo de Manila University, the stretch is filled with establishments that serve good food for a somewhat hefty price.
But located at one of its corners along Alvero street lies a fairly new Italian restaurant that provides hearty and tasty food servings for a good price. Only a few month’s old, family-run Derf’s Pizza, Pasta and Coffee Bar, offers great eats that are light for your wallet.
With this tip at hand, fullcourtfresh.com gave Derf’s a try.
Owners Carmelita “Tita Babes” Andanar and Ferdindand “Tito Ferds” Andanar are hands-on to their business: The former attends to the counter while the latter mans the kitchen. So while Tito Ferds worked on pastas, pizzas, and sauseges, we sat down with Tita Babes to know more about the restaurant, taking in the cozy Italian feel of the place with the simple furnishings that brings homelike ambiance.
fullcourtfresh.com: So why did you decide to name your place Derf’s?
Tita Babes: Originally, we had a lot of different names for the restaurant. At some point we were even going to call it Godfather Pizza, but all of those names had already been registered at the BIR. One day, when the family was out to dinner, one of my sons asked me if we could name the place Derf’s. I thought it was my husband’s name spelled backwards. When we started out though, I realized that Derf’s spelled backwards was Freds, and that my husband’s name was Ferds! The name already stuck though. And besides, it’s catchier than Dref’!
fullcourtfresh.com: Why Italian? What made you venture out into the big bad (and sometimes stuck-up) world of Italian Cuisine?
Tita Babes: My family and I love Italian cuisine. We always dine at Italianni’s and other similar restaurants. I don’t think of them as competitor’s though. I believe that these restaurants serve as our inspiration.
fullcourtfresh.com: Derfs also offers gourmet sausages. Aren’t sausages German?
Tita Babes: We also love to eat sausages. We get them from a Hollander supplier. Originally it was just something on the side, just something to spice up the menu. We were surprised when it was the first thing that sold well! I think that (Filipino) students love to eat rice and you just can’t eat rice with pasta and pizza. So our sausages became famous also.
fullcourtfresh.com: The smell from the kitchen is already making us hungry, so last question: do you think that Derfs can be touted as a gourmet restaurant for students? Since nothing on your menu is too pricey.
Tita Babes: About the gourmet part, we make everything fresh and all of our ingredients are authentic. We don’t use cheese that can be bought from your local supermarket. We order them abroad. Even our sausages are ordered abroad. We spare no expense on making our food taste top-notch. And yes, nothing is too pricey on the menu because nothing is overpriced!
Tito Ferds then brought out four pastas (Php85 each), a couple of sausages (Php85 for two) and pizzas (ranging from Php170 to Php230) fresh from the kitchen for us to try.
We had the Carbonara first, which was recommended by the house. It was definitely better than any Carbonara we had in recent memory. The sauce was the right kind of creamy–milky and “salty sweet” at the same time without suggesting any confusion of taste
Arrabiata. The spicy aftertaste due to the crushed peppers resides in the mouth for a great pasta experience, while not overpowering the notable tomato taste.
Pomodoro was simple, and an automatic favorite for tomato-lover Diego. The tomato flavor was rich and very distinct without the feeling of having too much of it.
Olio & Aglio was the most subtle of the four. The smoky and spicy kick of the hungarian sausages strewn all over the dish complemented the pasta lightly cooked in oil and garlic.
Franks and Pepperoni. The franks’ crunchiness is a great introduction to the soft meat. This crisp factor set the bar too high for the pepperoni which was fairly standard: salty and spicy.
Quattro Formaggi. Derf’s got their mix of Mozzarella, Cheddar, Parmesan and Gorgonzola right, which was a delight for some of us who had less desirable experiences with other restaurants’ versions. Also, the 12” thin crust pizza’s crunchiness was perfect for the cheese: not cracker-like as other pizza’s thin crust are.
The last pizza they served us was Derf’s Special, which stood out from all the meals served. It can be likened a well-known pizza parlor’s specialty flavor, made better with its homecooked goodness and really crispy crust. Topped with Italian sausages, ham, pepperoni, onions, olives, bell pepper, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, it’s definitely a mouth party. Bell pepper haters also won’t find the need to pluck the diced toppings because they are cooked very well. We recommend rolling your slice of Derf’s Special into a log before eating it.
All in all, Derf’s Pizza, Pasta and Coffee was definitely a good find. Their other pastas and pizzas are also worth trying (Roehl had pesto for lunch at Derf’s a week after this review, and enjoyed how the flavor mixed well with the beans and potatoes that come with it. He rarely likes beans, by the way).Located at the 2nd floor of ConCon building along Alvero Street (right behind Shakey’s Katipunan), Derf’s Italian experience is one that any Katipunan-dweller should not miss.
reviewed by: Jules Joaquin, Roehl Niño Bautista, and Diego de la Paz. Photos by Jenner Ong
