Restaurant in Makati, Philippines
Crosta
275ptsSmall room, serious dough, fair wine prices.
About Crosta
A small, focused pizzeria in Salcedo Village, Makati, where three founders — including a Japan-trained pizza maker — produce multiple dough styles with high-quality toppings and a fairly priced wine-by-the-glass list. Easy to book and well below fine-dining spend. The round salami pizza is the order to start with; the gelato is worth staying for.
Verdict
Three founders, a small room, serious dough, and wine by the glass at fair prices: Crosta is the kind of Makati spot that outperforms its casual format. If you want honest pizza made with high-quality ingredients in Salcedo Village without paying fine-dining prices, this is the right booking. First-timers should go straight for the round pizza with salami — it is the clearest expression of what Crosta does well. Booking is easy, which is rare for a venue this focused.
About Crosta
Crosta sits at the corner of HV Dela Costa and L.P. Leviste Street in Salcedo Village, one of Makati's most expensive and densely dining neighborhoods. The venue is small by design: few seats, a focused menu built around multiple dough styles, and a wine list curated to offer quality at accessible prices. That combination — low fuss, high ingredient standards, genuine craft , is exactly what the casual excellence format requires, and Crosta delivers it.
The team behind it is worth understanding before you arrive. Ingga S. Cabangon Chua brings a deep interest in dough; Thomas Woudwyk handles the wine side with a clear bias toward affordability without sacrificing quality; and Yuichi Ito, the chef and pizza maker, trained for years in Japan before joining. That Japanese precision in technique applied to pizza dough is not a marketing angle , it shows up in the consistency of the crusts across different styles. The toppings move from direct and traditional to more complex combinations depending on what you order, which means the menu works for guests who want something simple and for those who want more to think about.
The gelato is worth noting as a closer. If you are finishing a meal here, skip sourcing dessert elsewhere , it rounds the experience properly.
For context on where Crosta sits in the wider Manila dining picture: it is a neighborhood-scale venue in a city that also has destination restaurants like Toyo Eatery in Manila and ambitious regional operators like Antonio's Restaurant in Tagaytay. Crosta is not competing in that register. It is a well-executed, ingredient-led pizzeria doing something specific and doing it well , which is its own category of value in Makati.
Practical Details
Location: 104 HV Dela Costa, corner L.P. Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City. Booking difficulty: Easy , the format is casual and walk-ins appear workable, though the small seat count means earlier-in-the-week or off-peak timing reduces friction. Dress: No formal requirement given the casual format; Salcedo Village norms skew smart-casual. Budget: Price range is not published, but the positioning , quality ingredients, neighborhood pizzeria scale, wines by the glass at accessible prices , places this below Makati's fine-dining tier. Expect a reasonable spend per head for pizza and a glass of wine. Dietary restrictions: No published accommodation policy; contact the venue directly before booking if you have specific requirements. Groups: The small seat count makes large groups a logistical challenge , this is a better fit for two to four guests than for a party of eight or more.
How It Compares
More to Explore in Makati and Beyond
If Crosta is the kind of focused, quality-led dining you are looking for in Makati, our full Makati restaurants guide covers the range from casual to destination. For wine-focused venues, check our Makati wineries guide. If you are staying in the area, our Makati hotels guide and bars guide are useful companion reads. Elsewhere in the Philippines, Linamnam in Parañaque and Lantaw in Cebu represent very different but equally compelling regional options. If you are benchmarking against international pizza or casual excellence references, Lazy Bear in San Francisco shows what an refined casual format can look like at the other end of the ambition spectrum, while Le Bernardin in New York City is the useful reminder that technique applied with discipline , regardless of format , is what separates good venues from forgettable ones. For broader Philippines dining, Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill in Pasay and Asador Alfonso in Cavite are worth bookmarking for different occasions.
Compare Crosta
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosta | We are in one of the most upscale neighborhoods in Manila, a true Asian metropolis, for this truly unique little pizzeria. With few seats, pizza and high-quality products, and a selection of wines available by the glass. Crosta is a meeting of three very different sensibilities that creates a one-of-a-kind place. First of all, the entrepreneurs Ingga S. Cabangon Chua and Thomas Woudwyk, the former passionate about dough, the latter a great connoisseur and wine enthusiast who always offers quality novelties at affordable prices. Lastly, but only in terms of arrival time, Yuichi Ito, a chef and pizza maker, has joined Crosta after years of working in Japan. The doughs are of different styles and all of excellent quality. The toppings range from simple and traditional to more complex ones. A must-try is the round pizza with salami, truly balanced and well-made. For dessert lovers, you can finish with a good gelato. | — | |
| Hapag | Michelin 1 Star | — | |
| Kása Palma | Michelin 1 Star | — | |
| a mano | — | ||
| Helm | Michelin 1 Star | — | |
| Inatô | Michelin 1 Star | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Crosta handle dietary restrictions?
Crosta's menu is built around pizza with varied toppings ranging from simple and traditional to more complex combinations, which gives some flexibility. That said, no specific dietary accommodation information is documented for this venue. Your safest move is to call ahead or flag requirements at the door — the small-format, casual setup at Salcedo Village makes direct communication easy.
What should a first-timer know about Crosta?
Go for the round pizza with salami — it's the dish the venue itself flags as a reference point for the kitchen's balance and technique. The format is casual with few seats, wine available by the glass at fair prices, and a pizza program shaped by chef Yuichi Ito, who brings years of Japanese pizza-making experience. Don't come expecting a sprawling menu; the focus is tight and intentional.
Can Crosta accommodate groups?
Crosta has few seats by design, so large groups are a poor fit. Parties of two or three will be comfortable; anything over four risks overwhelming the room or requiring a wait. If your group is six or more, a venue with a private dining option like Hapag would be a more practical choice.
Is Crosta good for a special occasion?
It works for a low-key, food-focused occasion where the meal itself is the point — quality dough, considered toppings, and wine by the glass in one of Makati's most polished neighbourhoods. For a milestone dinner where service scale and atmosphere are part of the brief, Hapag or Helm will deliver more on that front.
What are alternatives to Crosta in Makati?
For a step up in ambition and occasion, Hapag is the benchmark for refined Filipino tasting menus in the city. a mano covers Italian-leaning dining with a similarly focused approach. Kása Palma and Helm both offer quality-led menus at different price points. Inatô is worth considering if you want Japanese-influenced flavours in the same Makati corridor.
How far ahead should I book Crosta?
Walk-ins appear viable given the casual format, but the limited seating at Crosta means the room can fill without much notice, especially on weekday evenings in Salcedo Village. A same-day or next-day reservation attempt is reasonable; booking more than a week out is unlikely to be necessary for a table of two.
Is Crosta good for solo dining?
Yes — the counter-style, few-seat setup at a focused pizzeria is one of the better solo dining formats. You can work through a single pizza, order wine by the glass, and not feel like the room is sized against you. It's a more comfortable solo experience than larger, table-service-heavy restaurants in the same Salcedo Village neighbourhood.
Recognized By
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