fino deli

this is the sixth and last stop of the #hungergames food crawl organized by #zomatoxabscbn.

fino deli is an upscale wine bar located along dao street in marikina city. it has exquisite wines and spirits sourced primarily from romania. we were served various meat and cheese pairings, and i enjoyed the italian salami and gouda cheese the most. fino deli also makes an excellent five cheese pizza where the richness and the blue cheese comes to the fore. i am not a huge fan of its mushroom and truffle pasta. still, i am happy that my friends and i no longer have to go to qc or shaw for our meat-cheese-wine fix.

who knew you could find fine wine, gourmet cheeses and premium charcuterie at a quiet residential neighborhood in marikina heights? well, you can, and marikina never ceases to amaze. soon becoming one of the metro's emerging foodie destinations, fino deli adds to the rich culinary diversity of marikina. inside the elegant interiors of fino deli, one is greeted by the courteous and friendly staff, and their attentive service adds to the dining experience.  pair your wine with dutch aged gouda and italian salami with olives (p 345), or enjoy a rustic pizza with their cinco queso (p 499) which does one better over the usual quattro formaggio with their unique and rich five-cheese blend on a crisp crust. the cool casual vibe at fino deli makes it the perfect spot for wine, cheese, and more...

fino deli is a hidden gem, carefully tucked between the quiet streets of a long stretch of residential structures along the undiscovered streets of marikina.

friday night is date night.  albeit the rain and my lack of sense of direction,  we arrived at fino deli in one piece.  i was a surprised when i glanced at fino from afar,  thr faux edifice looks mighty attractive from afar. 

i was glad i wore pants! although there is no sign that they observe dress code.   i felt relieved, i ditched the house clothes for something more presentable. 

note:  please pardon the lack of adjectives in the succeeding sentences as i can't remember the flavors.  i got hammered that night.

| sausage and cheese platter.  cheese and wine is a match made in heaven.  if memory serves me right,  it's goat cheese.  the sausage is good too - peppery,  savory with subtle spice level.

| ribeye steak.   i am not knowledgeable with steak,  keep that on the record.  i made the last minute decision to get this as i heard that red is best paired with meat. the ribeye is tender and oozing with flavors.  we both enjoyed the beautiful slab of meat on our table.

| two bottles of red.  viva romania!  i love your wine!  i think i finished one bottle on my own.  i am looking forward to more drunken nights spent with you.

i am look forward to visiting fino deli again,  not for the wine but for the other stuff they have on their menu.

had try some of their dishes during their soft opening. had a terrible experienced. all dishes with cheese were ughhh. as if the chef had been experimenting on recipes. hope they have improved!

fino deli offers exquisite dining experience in marikina. first ever wine bar where you can enjoy a solemn intimate moments with your friends and loved ones. there's also a variety of affordable wines and cheeses to choose from, and delish italian dishes, too. kudos to the staff who are all very friendly and accomodating!

my personal favorites are cinco queso, tomahawk chops and roze wine! its a must when you visit fino deli. thanks for the great experience! keep it up! :)

it's a great place where you can eat delicious italian dishes and the best is to drink a nice romainian wine. lots of parking and their staffs are friendly and very accomodating. we probably go back again and try their other dishes and wines.

worst service ever! hated this place and will never come back here. if fino deli decided to put up a al fresco dining make sure you guys can accomodate otherwise stick to those only who are in the inside. your food is over cooked, soggy not even worth it of the long wait. thumbs down!

4.5 out of 5!!! this place is reaaaally freakin nice and beautiful. the ambiance is really classy and calm. i've been here 3 times na and the only thing i don't love about them is : inconsistency. i loooove their french onion soup like, it is to die for!!! but sadly, the taste is inconsistent. it's sometimes bland but it's really good you'll have no regrets!!! then there's chicken pesto, truffle pasta, cinco queso and that pizza that has prosciutto on it. everything is sooooo good!!!!

see that parmesian cheese on the pesto?? it's soooo good and you can tell it's legitimate cheese.

so overall, it was wonderful and delicious but the consistency needs to be improved.
this is the only pic i have because it all got deleted

fino deli is a great place for intimate dining, romantic interludes and power meetings to impress. we believe this is one of the best in this part of marikina. the ambiance is classy and the decor contemporary european. it exudes charm without being over the top.

they have a premium selection of wine kept in a regulated cool environment and there's a variety of imported options in their deli display. they also have a garden setting for al fresco dining and smokers. the restrooms are nice and clean and the parking space is more than adequate. fino deli has definitely elevated the concept of a deli a few notches higher.

as an afterthought however, we think the dining area arrangement could be improved and further upgraded if the deli counter and the shoes on display for sale could be relocated to a separate area. those kinda looked out of place in such a nice and elegant surrounding.

finding the restaurant was also a challenge since the map locator in zomato points to a different spot which is a bit far from where it actually is. we immediately advised the staff and hopefully the error will be quickly corrected.

as it was just 5pm and considering we already have a confirmed dinner date later in the evening, we decided to just have a light snack of pasta to be able to gauge their food quality and presentation. we ordered the truffle mushroom pasta which sounded amazing and it was. flavors and food plating were exceptional.

as expected, the prices are on the high side but are reasonable taking into account the quality of ingredients used and the overall impression of the place.

we commend the waitstaff headed by captain waiter julius. they were very attentive and helpful.

after work last wednesday, unexpectedly i was invited for a foodtrip at fino deli restaurant in marikina. i haven't heard about this one but gamely, i came along without any idea of what this place serves or even where this place was.

coming from masinag/soliven, we rode a trike at lilac st going go dao st. 

we came around 4pm and was a bit hesitant to come in since there were no customers inside. at first, i doubted if this was open but then i saw the store hours was from 3pm-12md. so yea, they're open that early. i was also surprised to see how big this restaurant is. compared with the usual food trip spots in lilac st, their place is definitely bigger with a big parking lot. super convenient to customers coming with cars since parking won't really be a problem.

first impression of the restaurant: first high-end fine dining restaurant near lilac marikina. the place is really "sosyal" haha. i was actually on my scrubs that time so i really thought, "dapat nagdamit ako ng maayos. ang ganda ng place sana dinala ko ung camera ko. gusto ko mabigyan ng hustisya ung ganda ng place. haha". i kept thinking that until we got inside. haha

upon entering, the waiters greeted and assisted us with our seats. we sat beside the window.

place is super nice, perfect for family gathering, friends meet up and definitely a nice restaurant for dates with your loved ones. there were a lot of wine designs on the place.

upon seating, they gave us the 3 pages menu. they're on their soft opening but they already have a lot to choose from their menu.

while waiting, we were actually given complimentary food. it's a bread with a butter. i don't know what kind of bread this is but it isn't like your ordinary bread. even this complimentary bread given was already superb. :)

we had a hard time choosing what to order since there were a lot of yummy dishes to choose but here's what we ordered:

carbonara
"creamy white pasta with crab meat and bacon"
php 259
- i love white pasta a lot! though i'm not a seafood lover, this dish made me crave for seafood pasta meals. haha their carbonara is a combination of white creamy sauce with crab as a major flavor. the crab flavor was a bit empowering but it compliments well with the white sauce. never tasted something like so i really enjoyed my dish. servings were just enough for me.

gambas
"spicy shrimp cooked in white wine"
php 165
- this a spicy shrimp meal perfect for the rice. again, i'm not a fan of spicy meals but their spicy shrimp tastes okay with me. shrimp isn't really that spicy to which i liked. it says it is cooked with white wine but i wasn't able to taste the wine. their spicy shrimp was very flavorful, soft and yummy.

cinco quezo
"5 kinds of cheese with creamy white sauce"
php 475
- this is definitely heaven!! haha since i'm a big fan of any kind of cheese, i really really looooved their cinco quezo pizza. it's a 12 inch pizza with oozing 5 cheese on it. might be a lil pricey for a pizza but i tell you, super worth it to and siksik talaga sa cheese and flavor. as in di ka tinipid sa ingredients especially sa cheese. super recommended to (especially for cheese lovers like me and even non cheese lovers) and definitely a must must try! :)

btw, i wanna commend their waiters as they were really attentive and courteous. they even asked how our meal was.

we were also given a survey after our meals and i wasn't really able to comment well (since i was already sleepy and my brain wasn't really functioning well that time. haha). hope they'll see this review since i really really loved their foods and place. a bit pricey from my usual food trips but with the quality of food they serve, worth it naman sya.

will definitely recommend this to my friends and will come back since i still wanna try more dishes and for better photos na rin. (mag aayos na ko at magdadala ng camera and more friends! haha).


***fino deli (09.23.16 updates)

been at fino deli at around january or february this year and had a great experience dining here. i remembered telling myself that i'll definitely come back here since i wasn't prepared when i first came here (naka scrubs ako nun te and phone cam lang dala ko.. asan ang hustisya?! haha). and the food, world class!!

fino deli is a fine dining spanish-italian restaurant located at dao st in marikina. their dishes are really good and their wines are directly imported from romania.

btw, finally got a photo of the menu here:

cold cuts and cheese platter #1 (php445)

"spanish manchego and italian prosciutto with olives"

cold cuts and cheese platter #2 (php320)

"dutch aged gouda and italian salami with olives"

cold cuts and cheese platter #3 (php345)

"dutch goat cheese and spanish salami with olives"

- i'm not sure which one is the photo but they were able to let us try different cold cuts. and all i can say, they're all good!! and the cheese, super perfect!! :)

cinco quezo (php490)

"5 kinds of cheeses with creamy white sauce"

- still can't over their cinco quezo from the first time i've tried it months ago until we came back here. just typing this one and imagining the cinco quezo pizza, ahhhh i'm drooling!!!! would eat this forever!! haha best cheese pizza i've ever tried!!! must try!! :)

truffle mushroom pasta (php235)

"linguine pasta with fresh mushroom drizzled with truffle oil"

- not a fan of non-white pasta but this changed my mind. the pasta was cooked well and i love that it wasn't dry. the taste is so perfect.

wine by the glass

overall, i had a great experience dining here the 2nd time around and still, this is the best fine dining hidden gem restaurant in marikina. worth it and sulit! definitely recommended and will come back :) thanks again zomato and fino deli for this experience :)

they have a very good wine selection!
the salads, pizza, steak, sausage and cheese platters are all very good and worth trying.
the place is very calm and the waiters are very attentive.
parking is huge so the guests can enjoy their stay.

a new fine dine resto located in marikina heights. the resto is good for dating. the ambiance is quiet and clean.

food is served typically like those in 5 star hotels or other fine dine restos in the metro. the meal in the plate is usually good for one's consumption and not for sharing. that is why this resto is intended for couples or for small family.

i like the taste of the pizza, the porkchop, the chicken and the pork belly. they are all delectable. the salad for me is lacking in taste. if you're the type of a person whose appetite is more of an italian taste and not that huge, this resto is recommended for you.

parking is ample. the resto has a smoking area. dining area is small so if you plan to go, dine on a weekday.