LOOKING for a nice place to dine in Kapitolyo, Pasig, but worried about not finding a safe parking space for your car?
Consider Gostoso Piri Piri Flame Grilled Chicken, which can be found along East Capitol Drive. The restaurant boasts of a spacious secured and gated parking lot just two properties away from the cozy restaurant. So you can relax your mind and really enjoy your meal.
More than just having ample parking for its customers, Gostoso Piri Piri boasts of a good selection of authentic Portuguese dishes anchored on flame grilled Piri Piri Chicken, which is herb and spice infused chicken served hot off the grill, Portuguese style. Marinated for several hours before being grilled over open flame, Gostoso’s Piri Piri Chicken is served with authentic Portuguese Piri Piri sauces. While most Piri Piri Chicken meals elsewhere is served with only one type of Piri Piri sauce, Gostoso offers four variants—Mild, Garlic Lemon, Barbecue and Hot. These are the restaurant’s signature Piri Piri sauces, prepared based on a generations-old chili recipe from the Alentejo region South of Portugal. Diners can even mix and match these sauces to come up with a formulation that best suits their palate. Tatiana Olandres, who co-owns Gostoso with some partners, recommends trying the Mild sauce first, then adding some heat by mixing in Garlic Lemon or Barbecue or maybe a little Hot sauce, mix it up and try it with the chicken.
Diners enjoy Piri Piri Chicken in Combinacāo or rice meals combo with olive rice, choice of side and iced tea at Php280; in Piri Chicken Wrap sandwich at Php235; and in Principais or mains with a choice of Quarter Chicken (Php180), Half Chicken (Php330) or Whole Chicken (Php630). For big families or groups of friends, a Prato Grande of Whole Piri Piri Chicken Platter (Php995) should be more practical, as each order is good for 3 to 4 persons and comes with Olive Rice, choice of sides and iced tea
Aside from Piri Piri Chicken, however, Gostoso also offers two other authentic Portuguese flame-grilled barbecues on the menu — Porco Gostoso, or prime rib pork slow-roasted over open flame, at Php290; and Espeto de Gambas, which are plump shrimps begging to be bathed in luscious Piri Piri sauce, at Php245.
An even better option is to try all three flame-grilled specialties of Gostoso in the Have It All Platter (Php995), which puts together Piri Piri Chicken, Porco Gostoso and Espeto de Gambas, and serves these with Olive Rice, a choice of sides, and iced tea.
Incidentally, Olive Rice is the restaurant’s definite must-try because it goes perfectly with any and all of the Portuguese barbecues. It is fluffy, fragrant rice sautéed in olive oil with black olives and parsley. And when it comes to sides, the choices are Creamed Corn, Creamed Spinach, House Salad, Grilled Vegetables, Potato Gratin and Potato Chips.
While the Portuguese flame-grilled barbecues are the core items on the menu, Gostoso also serves a good selection of Entradas (starters), Tostas (sandwiches) and Doces (desserts).
Just recently, Gostoso tapped Chef Him Uy de Baron, owner and executive chef of Nomama and I Am Kim, to create new dishes for the restaurant. After a few taste tests, they finally launched the five new items on the menu — Mushroom and Squash Empanada, Inverted Nachos, Tostones, Twice-cooked Beef Ribs, and Grilled Tuna in Chorizo and Clam Broth.
Mushroom and Squash Empanada (Php190) — These are Spanish inspired empanadas stuffed with fresh mushrooms that have been slow-cooked with squash, spices and Gouda cheese, fried to a golden crisp and served with Piri dusted sour cream.
Inverted Nachos (Php185) — Toasted tortilla chips with Latin style cheese sauce with house made chorizo and guacamole.
Tostones (Php90) — They are Latin style canapés with fried flattened plantain bananas as ‘crust,’ with three choices of toppings: Pulled Beef with Barbecue Sauce, Mushroom and Pumpkin, and Chorizo.
Twice-Cooked Beef Ribs (Php275) — It is comfort food galore in fork-tender braised beef ribs grilled with Latin spice and served with charred salsa verde.
Grilled Tuna in Chorizo and Clam Broth (Php230) — Manila clams sautéed with house chorizo, garlic and white wine, and topped with a generous piece of fresh marinated tuna that has been grilled to medium doneness.
Aside from these new menu items, Gostoso has also worked with a mixologist recently to create five cocktail drinks that go well with the restaurant’s hearty Portuguese barbecues. These are Amore, Ex-Girlfriend, Gostosojito, Bonita and Caramelo.
Amore — vodka, Piri liqueur, ginger, lime, cilantro, calamansi liqueur and black jelly vodka.
Ex-Girlfriend — gin, vodka, orange and pineapple juice, ginger syrup, lemongrass and bittermelon.
Gostosojito — rum, Piri liqueur, lime, muscovado, guava syrup and calamansi liqueur.
Bonita — rum, vodka, cucumber, beet root liqueur, rosemary syrup, lime and cumin.
Caramelo — rum, corn juice, muscovado, chamomile liqueur and torched caramel.
A cozy hangout place for friends and colleagues and a convenient meeting place for families, Gostoso also delivers for free in the Pasig area for a minimum order of Php500. Order pickups and catering services can also be arranged.
(Gostoso Piri Piri Flame Grilled Chicken is located at 51B East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City. For inquiries, reservations or orders, call (+632) 477-7330.)
