Fat Michael's

I first overheard of the restaurant from a group of acquaintances that I got together with.

"Your family owns Fat Michael's?" asked one of them.

"Yes," replied the person being grilled. And then expressions of "Oh you have great food", "We ate there last week", "You were featured on F", "You have nice menus, who did them?", "Don't you have a branch in Tagaytay?" went on. And clueless me thought, darn I'm not updated on the latest quaint dining places!

And charmingly odd it is. The place has character, despite some of the negative comments I've read so far. It has a funky homey interior that reminds me of Malate and art. You can read the books and magazines on display while waiting for your order. The restaurant is located at Bangkal in Makati, near the second hand clothing stores, and is the starting point for Carlos Celdran's ukay-ukay walking tour.

Before everything else, food is great. The kesong puti cheese sticks are good, so are the pastas, pizzas and the java chicken I tasted. The iced tea is brewed. The service is ok, as long as you don't expect much, and as long as you make a reservation. Let me remind you, please make a reservation. The second time I went there, it was a Saturday afternoon, and though only one other table was occupied in the restaurant, they asked us "Did you make a reservation?", in the haughty tones that are calculated to instill fear in you.

According to my new friend whose family owns the resto, Fat Michael's started out as a canteen that primarily catered to employees of the nearby Intel office. Since her mother didn't want to cook normal canteen food, it became a sort-of Italian restaurant. It's a family business that was named after her brother Michael, who is no longer fat and who also doesn't cook for Fat Michael's anymore. They do admit that their customer service might not be top-notch -- I guess that's the effect when you have to cook the same food day in and day out. But then again, that's the catch when you open a resto. :) Last summer they had a trial opening of a branch in Tagaytay, which they opened only during the summer season. They'll wait for next summer to decide if they'll still reopen that branch.

In any case, don't let that stop you from trying out their food. The cheese sticks are really yummy, and their pizzas are topped with kesong puti as well. Consistently good food. For more resto reviews about Fat Michael's (and more pictures), check out clickthecity and Anton's blog.

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Fat Michael's is located at 115-A Rodriguez Ave., cor. Gen. Lacuña Street, Bangkal, Makati. If you're driving, it's near South Super Highway, just turn right near Makati Apartelle/3M. It's also a short walk away from the Magallanes MRT station. And remember, don't forget to make a reservation at 632.843.1953.