MANILA -- Chef Francesco Rizzo has long been whipping up exceptional Italian fare at his low-key restaurant in San Juan. Now he brings his food to a whole new foodie audience in Bonifacio Global City to savor and enjoy.

The original branch of Francesco’s in San Juan is an aspirational date place. A restaurant remodeled from an old house, one goes there to impress a date with the fine ambience and amazing Italian food. On the weekends, the restaurant is packed with affluent families from nearby villages for after-church get-togethers.

The BGC incarnation is much more comfortable and cosmopolitan. It’s more of a café where one can relax, have a meal, enjoy a cup of coffee, then go back to work.

The servings have also been adjusted for the busybody on the go rather than communal family servings. The menu has also been simplified opting to use English descriptions over Italian names. Some smaller entrees, like paninis, are exclusively available in the BGC branch and will be available for delivery soon.

But when all is served and done, both restaurants have a common beating heart and soul -- and that is Rizzo’s food.

Rizzo has been known for his rustic, yet elegant, Italian entrees using the best ingredients. Some may look simple and homey but one bite shows off uncommon ingredients and techniques.

For example, one dish from San Juan that made it to BGC is the Polipo. Rizzo’s octopus is clean, fresh, and simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, herbs, roasted peppers on pureed cauliflower.

Meatballs made with Rizzo’s own blend of meat is one of the chef’s favorite meals. Simply sauced with tomato and sprinkled with cheese, it does bring back memories of your own homecooked version of this dish.

The Chicken Cacciatore is representative of the rustic side of Rizzo’s cooking. Often, cacciatore is paired with a tomato-based sauce. At Francesco’s, the Cacciatore comes with a rich porcini mushroom stew and is paired with pasta alfredo.

One doesn’t see fregula, a type of pasta from Sardinia that look like corn kernels, that often. Rizzo oven-roasts a succulent piece of sea bass with olive tapenade on a bed of fregula. Drippings from the fish add additional flavor to the pasta making this a wholesome healthy meal.

At the moment, the BGC branch has a leaner selection of pizzas than San Juan. They currently have five variants of toppings on their 10-inch thin-crust pizzas, of which the Parma Ham, Arugula, and Cherry Tomato is a favorite.

Don’t leave without trying out Rizzo’s desserts. Francesco’s Cannoli has been known to be one of the best in the city. It does not disappoint with its extra crunchy flaky shell, decadent mascarpone cheese filling with pistachio and chocolate chips at its ends.

The tiramisu shares the rich tangy mascarpone cheese base but instead adds coffee liqueur for its flavor.

Have these with a cup of espresso-based beverages for a quick pick-me-up. Of note is the Marocchino, Francesco’s own house blend coffee laced with Nutella.

Energized by their partnership with the MFT Group, it looks like the Francesco’s BGC branch won’t be the last one as it has plans of setting up a couple more restaurants in the Makati Central Business District and another one in the Alabang area in the future.

The BGC branch of Francesco’s is located at the Ground Floor of the BGC Corporate Center fronting 30th Street and is open from 11 a.m. to 12 midnight every day.