At Amare La Cucina, a family-owned Baguio Italian restaurant, our mission is rooted in love for food, for people, and for creating meaningful moments. We believe dining is more than just a meal. It is about connection, culture, and community.
As a growing Italian restaurant in Baguio and beyond, every dish we serve, from our signature wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas to our handmade pastas, reflects our dedication to authenticity, warmth, and strong family values.
We don’t cut corners. We build flavor from the ground up. From our dough that’s fermented to perfection to the fresh herbs we hand-pick daily, every dish is prepared with intention and care. Our wood-fired oven isn’t just a feature. It’s the soul of our kitchen, delivering the signature char and flavor in every bite.
At our Baguio Italian restaurant, we believe that great food begins with great ingredients. Here’s what sets our food apart:
Whether it’s your first time at Amare or your fiftieth, we treat every guest like family. From the moment you walk in, you’ll be greeted with warm smiles, cozy interiors, and the comforting aroma of pizzas baking in the oven. It’s not just about food. It’s the whole experience at a truly homegrown Baguio Italian restaurant.
Built from passion, creativity & diligence, Amare La Cucina has its roots in Baguio City, where it is currently known to be one of the best local restaurants.
With humble beginnings right from a small space at the ancestral home of its founder, Edmark Bustos, this Baguio Italian restaurant has grown to become the destination for authentic Neapolitan style, brick-oven pizza. While on a holiday with his wife in 2013, Edmark drew inspiration from a fellow restaurateur to learn how to create the hand-stretched, uniquely flavorful dough that became the base of the pizzas served today.
Completing this formula is the use of a wood-fired brick oven, which at precise temperature and cooking time adds more to the unique flavor and texture that the Napoletana pizza is known for.
After much planning, crafting and training, the first full-scale restaurant opened in 2014 at the lobby of the Albergo Hotel in Baguio. The location still continues to strongly draw both local and tourist patrons to this day. The first Amare branch in Manila opened in 2017 in Kapitolyo, Pasig City, one of the metro’s top food hubs at the time. It has since relocated to Canley, continuing to serve our signature dishes in a bigger, better space.
Though the name AMARE is a portmanteau of the Bustos’ siblings names (Alvin, Marianne and Edmark), Amare La Cucina in itself means “to love the kitchen” in Italian. With the appreciation of the Filipino’s fondness for Italian cuisine combined with the commitment to elevating everything LOCAL, from fresh ingredients to exemplary service, the restaurant strives to consistently reflect its name, which means “to love.”
We take pride in offering the best Italian dining experience in Baguio and beyond, consistently delighting our guests with flavorful, heartfelt food and genuinely warm service.
At the heart of Amare is a commitment to authentic wood-fired pizza and traditional Italian recipes, served in a cozy, family-style atmosphere. Our menu features a wide variety of Neapolitan brick oven pizzas, pastas, mains, appetizers, and desserts. We also invite guests to enjoy the interactive experience of making their own pizza.
We started in Baguio with a small kitchen, big dreams, and a love for wood-fired cooking. Over the years, we’ve grown little by little, sharing our food and our story with more people. Today, you can visit Amare in a few different places, and each one still feels like home. Wherever you find us, you’ll always find good food, warm smiles, and that same family feeling.