Crosta Pizzeria: Weathering the Pandemic With a Unique Approach to Quality Pizzas

Located along the quaint and quiet street of L.P. Leviste, Crosta Pizzeria carved itself a space quite small that you could almost miss it - if not for groups lining up and delivery riders constantly going in and out, signaling to the unsuspected passer-by, "There's something about this place."

Founder Ingga Cabangon and her husband Thomas Woudwyk first opened the shop in one of Poblacion's food parks, serving great-tasting pizzas at affordable prices. But when the pizza joint's popularity grew, the couple moved to their current location in the heart of Salcedo for more space to accommodate the influx of orders. This move, along with their decision to go with an unusual business model, soon served as their key in surviving, and even thriving, during the two-year pandemic.

Venue

Surrounded by well-known and well-loved restaurants and bars, Crosta Pizzeria is one of the youngbloods in the area but its bright neon signs and fun, funky colors say they're not fazed at all. Like its fellow food and beverage businesses, it's wedged right in between office buildings and apartments, making it a hotspot for busybodies, and wandering locals alike.

Its small space accommodates four, maybe five, dine-in customers at best. We stepped inside Crosta Pizzeria, and we saw boxes upon boxes of pizzas on the counter near the cashier, ready to be picked up by delivery drivers. We took two seats across from all the hustle and bustle and automatically we filled up almost half of the restaurant's seating capacity.

What sets Crosta Pizzeria apart is that they prioritize take-outs, sacrificing space for efficiency. This proved to be a gamechanger come lockdown as dine-in space became non-revenue generating for restaurants and take-out and online ordering quickly became the new norm.

Food and Drink

Of course, the highlight of our visit is the menu itself, and Crosta offers a wide selection to choose from. The pizzeria has round pizzas with 12 flavors, vegan pizzas with eight, and square pizzas with six. But one thing they are known for is their Roni Cup Pizza (P400), popularized by Prince Street Pizza in New York, where the inspiration takes from.

If you love curled pepperoni on your pizzas, you'll go crazy over this one. Its thick crispy crust gives you a crunchy ASMR experience with every bite.

The Spinach Artichoke Detroit Thin (P400) is another bestseller and it comes with homemade spinach and artichoke dip, mozzarella, and a unique cheese crust wall. If you want to veer away from conventions and are up for something unique, we recommend this one.

Vegans will be grateful for the eight different flavors they offer, a more generous set than other pizza places that usually only have one or two options.

The Vegan Basic Bitch (P300) is one for the books as it combines cashew-based mozzarella, Italian plum tomato sauce, garlic confit, and basil into a medley of flavors. As soon as you bite into the garlic, the flavor just explodes in your mouth.

Vegan Shroomed Out (P400) is another must have in the menu, especially for vegans. It consists of fresh (not canned!) mushrooms: shiitake portobello and button, cashew-based mozzarella, and garlic confit.

If you’re a fan of thick dough, you can’t go wrong with their basic Square Detroit Pizza (P520). The richness of the sauce, three cheese mixes, and parmesan shaving are delicately evened out by the fluffiness of its thick sourdough crust.

You don’t really expect a pizzeria to have dessert on their menu, but their Crack Brownie (P200) is something to look forward to. With the sweetness and crunchiness of the meringue on top and the chewiness of the brownie itself, it’s a perfect complement to the salty hints of your last pizza bite.

They also have plans to expand their selection to include sandwiches soon so keep your eyes peeled for that!

Take Out Quality

After tasting slices of pizza, we grabbed the boxes for takeaway. And as Ingga mentioned to us, they made the recipe so that when it’s reheated at home, the quality is still guaranteed, and we can attest to that. After heating the pizza in the oven, you can still taste the freshness of the ingredients and the crunchiness of the crust, which is exactly what you want for your takeaway pizza to be.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere inside feels very fast-paced where it fits with the hustle and bustle of Makati. Even though it’s not really meant for dine-in because of the small space, you won’t feel that you’re being forced to dine and go.

The staff are very accommodating, and we’ve also seen customers who struck us as loyal patrons of Crosta’s dine-in and takeway.

Verdict

Crosta Pizzeria is one of the rare food and beverage businesses that live up to their hype. From their wide selection and fair prices to their quality taste, Crosta checks all our boxes!

It’s the perfect go-to if you’re craving some takeaway pizza. And if you’re looking to dine-in, it’s better to go early or during dead hours to secure a seat as the place can only accommodate just a handful of people. Either option is great to be honest, as their takeaway pizzas are just as good as their dine-in ones.

Crosta is located at Liberty Center, 104 HV Dela Costa, corner Leviste St., Salcedo Village. You can order through their website or via mobile at +63 977 284 5636. They have plans to extend their location to Alabang, San Juan, and IKEA in MOA, so for people in the South and North, you’ll soon get a taste of their much-talked about pizza.

You don’t even have to wait in line for so long because their service is efficient, and you’ll have your pizza in no time.