Dolce Amore Italian Restaurant & Resort

Dolce Amore is an Italian restaurant run by an Italian couple, attached to their small eight-room resort on the Circumferential Road in Paliton, San Juan, a short ride from Paliton Beach. It carries a 4.9 rating from nearly 6,800 Google reviews, and the dinner queue shows it.

Pizza is the reason to come: thin, airy Neapolitan bases with ingredients brought in from Italy. Diavola, quattro formaggi, the house Dolce Amore pizza with eggplant, and the pumpkin cream and truffle are the ones people name. Pasta is made in house, and the pappardelle al ragu, gnocchi, amatriciana and ravioli al tartufo all get repeat mentions, with arancini, burrata or bruschetta to start. Finish with the house gelato or the lemon cake. There are gluten-free bases and pasta, vegan cheese and a vegan ragu, plus a limoncello spritz. Food comes out fast, and you can watch the kitchen through a big window.

It is open daily from 8am to 9pm. Budget roughly ₱1,000 a head with drinks, and plan on one pizza per person. They take cash or GCash, not cards, and only take reservations for larger groups. Arrive before 6pm, as the wait after that can run past half an hour.