La Spezia builds on its popular legacy with a new and completely different BGC branch

La Spezia wants you to forget everything you know about it.

Okay, specifically: If you are familiar with La Spezia from its Tomas Morato, Quezon City branch, and you’re trying out its new outpost in BGC, tucked away in the streets behind Uptown and the Palace and bordering the outskirts in Kalayaan Avenue, you should disavow yourself of any prior notion of what La Spezia is. It’s the same people behind La Spezia, still the same idea, but it isn’t the same menu.

“We started eating in Michelin restaurants in 2019—collectively, we’ve had 50 stars between us by now,” says La Spezia co-owner Sean Yuquimpo, referring to his co-owner and chef Aaron Shiu. The two are college friends who struck out with La Spezia to spread the good word of Italian cuisine among Filipino diners.

“We realized that the flavors of our food were not as unique in the Philippines; you can taste similar flavors even thousands of kilometers away. We realized that the flavors we love here are also beloved in other countries. That’s where we had an interest in challenging the dishes, making them more fun and more complex. We thought BGC was the right location,” says Yuquimpo.

There is a specific reason for that last bit. Yuquimpo tells me that while they were beloved in their Morato spot, they found that Quezon City diners didn’t care all that much for culinary creativity. Their more “out there” dishes on the Tomas Morato menu weren’t moving as much, they noted, and the two realized that the diner base of BGC—with a more cosmopolitan population due to the mix of locals and foreigners—would be more welcoming towards their unorthodox ideas.

“We wanted to tap a certain market, and being in-your-face is such a BGC thing to do. And we’re here far from the center of BGC so that we attract the people who really want to taste what we have,” says co-owner Sean Yuquimpo

“The people here in BGC are willing to spend and are adventurous,” Yuquimpo says. “We figured out that it was ideal. We wanted to tap a certain market, and being in-your-face is such a BGC thing to do. And we’re here far from the center of BGC so that we attract the people who really want to taste what we have.”

Hence, a completely different menu from the Tomas Morato branch. The Quezon City location still stands, but you’ll get a different experience when you visit the quiet BGC spot.

Innovative Italian

Admittedly, I had never been to the Tomas Morato branch, so the La Spezia experience in BGC is completely new to me.

I don’t have any preconceived notions of what La Spezia is, and Yuquimpo and Shiu seem to be banking on that particular factor for the restaurant’s main clientele in BGC. Nevertheless, even if you do have experience with La Spezia, the aim of the new menu is to wow.

We started off with the baciocca, a tart made with layered potato slices, with a burnt hazelnut beurre blanc you can dip the potato in. The baciocca is as traditional Italian as it gets, and because it’s quite removed from what’s typically served in places that claim to offer Italian cuisine (at least in my experience) it was a revelation.

Next is the caprese, which is more familiar. La Spezia’s version is made with salad tomato and indulgent burrata foam, which makes it hard to stop eating once you have a piece.

The primi (first course) we had was a decadent goose ravioli, made with roast goose, goose jus, foie gras emulsion, and extra virgin olive oil, all encased in fresh homemade ravioli pasta. Pairing it was another newcomer to the menu, so fresh that it wasn’t even on it yet when we had it—chestnut ravioli, which was apparently also traditional and just as delectable.

Rounding out the meal was a hearty slab of juicy medium-rare dry-aged steak, which Yuquimpo and Shiu are also trying as part of their quest to keep innovating. The dry-aged steak may already be available at the time of this article’s publication, as the two were quite excited to have procured a dry-ager fridge for their meats and cheeses.

Dessert on hand include an apple tart tartine and mousse al cioccolato con bevanda, which were truly welcome after a generous helping of the mains.

La Spezia’s “F it” approach to evolution

This drastic change that Yuquimpo and Shiu have brought to their new La Spezia branch is a matter of them deciding to just say “f— it” and go for it, even if it means somewhat abandoning what worked for them in the past.

Yuquimpo feels that restaurateurs shouldn’t be afraid of taking a chance and doing something different, if it means evolving. But they have to do it smartly.

“If you have the opportunity to do a ‘f— it’ moment, do it. You’ll never know, it might be the right decision of your life. If it’s wrong, at least you’ll know that it’s wrong. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

“First, you have to be composed with yourself. And of course, don’t be stupid and go all in without leaving something for yourself to fall back on,” he says. “Take care of yourself first.”

“But if you have the opportunity to do a ‘f— it’ moment, do it. You’ll never know, it might be the right decision of your life. If it’s wrong, at least you’ll know that it’s wrong. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

La Spezia may be turning nine this year, but it’s still too soon to tell whether Yuquimpo and Shiu’s stab in the dark in BGC is a smart idea or a foolish move. But if good food is on the BGC diner’s agenda, then La Spezia still confidently delivers in that regard. Just make sure to get your walking shoes on when you go look for the place.