Ovensesami — Restaurant in Cagayan de Oro

A GREAT LITTLE PIZZA PLACE

Hi there! CDO's top foodie here.

THE SPACE: Ovensesami is located across from the Nazareth Barangay Hall, on a quiet street with a bit of available parking. The dining room is rather small but tasteful, with 6 or 7 tables seating 20 people tops. The room is bright and airy, air conditioned, and the music isn't too loud. The plates and silverware are average. The seats and tables aren't high quality, but they are stylish. THE SPACE: Three stars ("fine").

THE FOOD: We tried three different kinds of pizza. We had the pizza marinara, pizza Margherita (P399), and beef bacon pizza (P545). The question that everybody probably asks is: Is this pizza better than local king-of-the-hill pizzaria, Demetrio's? I have to say that they are so different that a preference is entirely subjective. Demeterios wins on the cheese blend and their New-York-Style, while Ovensesami wins with the char/smoky firewood taste and traditional Italian crust. I think that Ovensesami's pizza sauce could use a bit of work as it is a bit too bright with tomato flavor, and could use some rounding out with spices. But again, that's a personal preference, and I've seen actual Italians serve the same pizza sauce as Ovensesami. I'm personally skittish about the more exotic pizza toppings (like "shrimp Bicol express pizza"), and I'll leave it to others to comment on them as, honestly, it wouldn't be my thing and (again, subjectively) I doubt I'd prefer it over plain cheese pizza, so why bother? Ovensesami has very good pizza. I'm certain. Period. (Coffee and soda seem to be your only drink options.) THE FOOD: Four stars ("very good").

THE SERVICE: There were two waitresses handling the room, and although they didn't spend their entire time watching the dining room (hardly necessary), they were only a few meters away and responded immediately when called. They brought us a complimentary pizza marinara, which was greatly appreciated, and I really respect a restaurant that makes an effort to do a bit of marketing and in-house promotion with customers. However, as this is kind of a limited service style place, there isn't much more to say. The service was just enough. THE SERVICE: It would be three stars, but I give an extra star for comping. So four stars ("very good"). Don't expect the same, obviously, but it's the staff autonomy and promotional initiative that I am actually rewarding here, not the free food.

THE PRICE: I feel the pizza Margherita was an excellent deal at P399. I feel the beef bacon pizza was not worth P146 more, but again, that's really just a matter of opinion; I'm a cheese pizza kind of guy. A 1.5 liter bottle of coke was P85, which was also excellent. All in all, I think that the prices are fantastic. THE PRICE: Five stars ("excellent").

SUMMARY: Ovensesami is a lovely little hole-in-the-wall type of place where you can pop in for some excellent and inexpensive pizza. I really can't add much beyond that... but do I really need to?

TOTAL: 16 out of 20 possible stars, which works out to a solid 4 Google stars ("very good") by my measure, which is truly impressive for a non-fine-dining, limited-menu...

🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕 5 pizza rating! 😍😍😍

We ordered 2 boxes of pizza to go for dinner during our first visit - 5 Cheese Pizza and Pork Honeycured Bacon Pizza. I also had a cup of their pour-over coffee. They were SO GOOD that we dropped by for lunch the next day and tried their Pizza Margherita, ice cream, and grilled cheese ensaymada!

5 Cheese Pizza: Crunchy soft thin crust, freshly baked, creamy cheese topping, not salty at all

Pork Honeycured Bacon Pizza: Crunchy soft thin crust, generous serving of thick slices of honeycured bacon, with basil and softened tomatoes on top

Pour-over coffee: Medium roast, with a free packet of cream and white sugar

Pizza Margherita: Generously spread tomato sauce with bits of stewed tomatoes and a sprinkling of basil, with an option to add more fresh basil leaves

Grilled cheese ensaymada: Crunchy soft on the outside, creamy soft on the inside - you have to see and taste it for yourself! 😍

By the looks of things, we will have tried every dish in their menu...

We found the place by accident while buying a cake for a friend. The staff were friendly and accommodating. They gave us a free ensaymada with a pink candle when we told them it's our friend's birthday. They also sang for her. When my boyfriend forgot his bag as we left, one of their staff immediately ran outside to bring us the bag we forgot. The food was great. The beef spaghetti, 5 cheese pizza, and jamon with piña pizza were the favorites. The chicken with gravy and baby back ribs didn't taste roasted as we expected, so those weren't as enjoyable. We liked their coffee! We also loved their mugs so much we wanted to take...