Life is sweet at Bar Dolci

To appreciate a restaurant, food enthusiasts say, one has to get to know the owner, what his passion is, and what he’s trying to achieve.

At Bar Dolci, patrons would be surprised to know that the restaurant chain is owned by a 22-year-old who is very passionate about serving healthy, organic, and delicious food.

What’s even more surprising to discover is that Nicholai David Go started his business when he was only 15, and opened the doors of his restaurant in 2010 at 17.

Asked why he started his business at such a young age, Nicholai quipped, “I was born an old soul.”

On a more serious note, Nicholai explained that his family used to be in the restaurant business, “but they didn’t have enough time to devote to it due to their main business. That’s where I came in. My mother is one of the best chefs in the Philippines and I felt that it was such a waste not to be able to share her talent.”

His mother is pastry chef Jackie Sy Go. She and her husband Wilson are also food industry consultants and suppliers of industrial kitchen equipment.

Bar Dolci is a gelato pasticceria café. Spot.ph has named it #1 in the country for gelato and #2 for macarons.

But why gelato? Nicholai said, “I just love ice cream. However, when I was a kid, I started getting sick of the ice cream available due to the use of bad milk and the chemicals.”

“To remedy this, my mom and I would start making our own gelato,” he explained. “My mom and I then went to Italy to train. We then went back home and used what we learned, but made it better to suit the Filipino taste palate.”

Bar Dolci has about 50 gelato flavors, including black forest, browned butter pecan, bubble gum, buko pandan, choc-nut, chocolate rum truffle, dirty green tea, Ferrero, Guinness beer, Hazelnut with Nutella, Mexican hot chocolate, Manhattan cheesecake, salted caramel, Tequila Rose Java, and white chocolate wasabi.

Some of the macaron flavors are Biscottino, Choco Passion, Olive Oil, Peanut Butter Jelly, Snickers, and Whiskey.

A cup of gelato at Bar Dolci ranges from P130 to P220. Their famous gelato burger – gelato enveloped in a heated pita bun – also costs P130.

A single piece of macaron costs P50 while a box of 10 is P525.

Nicholai acknowledged that Bar Dolci's prices are a quite high, but added that they use hotel-grade equipment and fresh, organic ingredients.

Savory offerings

Bar Dolci also serves savory options—pasta, pizza, sandwiches, panini, and calzone for which it uses fresh, homemade dough.

There are two kinds of pizza: vegetarian (P430) and beef (P480). The sandwiches, on ciabatta bread, are steak (P310) and mozzarella and tomato (P280). The panini (chicken, mushroom, or beef) are made with homemade pita or slightly leavened wheat bread and cost P385 each, while the calzones (tuna, mushroom or beef) are P350 each.

Pastas include the Bolognese lasagna, the gnocchi with blue cheese, and the Alfredo with chicken pasta (P385), which according to Bar Dolci’s Facebook page is now one of the restaurant’s best sellers even though it’s only been on the menu a month.

Passionate about clean, healthy food

Nicholai, who is currently studying architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design (he designed Bar Dolci’s logo, packaging and interiors), is passionate about using natural, organic ingredients.

“I wanted to create products so undeniably great that people have to take notice and, in return, make my advocacy using all-natural ingredients stronger,” he said.

Nicholai said he firmly believes in fair trade and the farm-to-table concept. “We buy our milk straight from Batangas from a milk farm called BADACO [Batangas Dairy Cooperative],” he said.

“Our strawberries are handpicked straight from Baguio. Soon, our chocolate will be coming from Davao. We are constantly searching for farmers to work with,” he added.

Nicholai said customers have a right to clean and healthy food. “I believe both in consumer and farmer rights. Restaurant and business owners must act as conduits between the two by creating food that is clean, safe, and edible,” he said.

He said the public should ask restaurants where they get their ingredients and how they cook their food. He urged people to “take advantage of your consumer rights and start questioning.”

“We need to build a more aware community when it comes to food. If not, we cannot grow, and we risk long-term health effects,” he added.

Team effort

One of the biggest challenges Nicholai faces in growing his restaurant business is being away from it, as he goes to college in the US.

“I have to manage my business from abroad and it proved at first difficult because it was still growing quickly,” he said.

However, he added, “I overcame this challenge by building a very strong team that can manage itself. A company’s strongest asset is the people. If you don’t understand that as a businessman, then you will not sustain yourself in the long run.” — BM, GMA News

Bar Dolci is at F133 Forbeswood Height, Forbestown Road near Burgos Circle in Bonifacio Global City.