My sister treated us to this tall presentation of onion rings so the first good point is obviously…read morepresentation! Second is the texture where the batter's very thick and crunchy. Third is the flavor that almost made me think it had some sort of powdery flavor, and it had a delicious spice of sorts around it. I think I ate most of them at our table. :)

AMBIENCE Restaurant was well-lit and very lively especially…read morewhen their staffers started dancing to what seemed to be a "Manila Girl" melody. FOOD & BEVERAGE The free bread they served before the big dishes tasted like doughnuts, and the second serving was burning hot! Peanuts were also free. All American Cheeseburger was simple, juicy and tasty while Beef Ranchero was the best of all dishes tried and something I would strongly considering for next visit. Crispy Chicken Strips and Chicken Strip Basket were the same but the latter was for kids. Grilled Bone-in Pork Chop had fine mashed potatoes with hints of tiny chunks while the meat was not too tough to cut. Meaty flavor was good but didn't make me feel too guilty to try. And for drinks, Raspberry Margarita was not that strong but pretty tasty and fun to drink slowly with our meal. I only had sips so it might be stronger than I thought. SERVICE Staffers were quick and smiling while wearing shirts with prints on the back saying "I Love My Job." We ordered a Beef Ranchero for dine-in and takeaway, but surprisingly, the one for takeaway arrived way ahead of the dine-in version plus the Chicken Strip Basket, also for dine-in. Our waitress shocked us when she offered to reheat the takeaway to be served for the meantime. A better suggestion would've been more appropriate and we chose to wait for the newer one after quite a number of follow-ups instead. The supervisor or manager that went to our table was apologetic. I just thought it would've been better and more heartfelt if he delivered his apology to the person who directly got disappointed; telling our parents was very polite but a tad bit safe and evasive, in my opinion. I'm still throwing a 3 as a rating because I still want to return and I know they have good food despite the pricing.

Before the big American franchises came to Manila, there was Racks. My first memory of this…read morerestaurant dates back to grade school. I remembered getting a medal for something and we celebrated at Racks. That was where I tasted my first baby back ribs which became one of my favorite foods up to now. This place disappeared in the south for several years, and thankfully it came back when the Food Street area in SM Southmall opened. Their baby back ribs obviously take center stage in that restaurant, but the classic pork ribs is a sleeping giant. It's so good, especially with Racks' special barbecue sauce. I like the spicy variation. Their country-style fried chicken is good too, and it comes with some muffins to be glazed with the best honey I've ever tasted. Finish that off with their Mississippi Mud Pie. Families love dining in this place not only because of the homey feel, but because they also offer really affordable group meals.

Ribs are BOMB! Wishing I lived in the Philippines. You can never get good ribs, in a mall, here in…read morethe U.S.

AMBIENCE Branch is wheelchair-friendly, has their own…read moreparking (though you can park at other spaces spread out within the stopover), and always feels like daytime no matter what time it is. It's also fairly spacious inside. FOOD Beef Tapa is what most would expect; it's good! Pancake Combination, also interchangeable with Waffle, had excellent flavor, batter, cream and sweet syrup. Plus, the sausages were my favorite part of the platter! House Special Set B had tasty tacos but the shell broke easily, so I turned it into a salad instead. Its special salisbury steak was huge but just okay with thick gravy. SERVICE For recent visits combined, staffers were friendly, offered coffee before ordering, were proactive with water refills and quick on serving food items and bill. They also asked if we had any additional orders, checked on how our food was, and greeted us when we left the branch. It's actually a long list of positive service and they've basically ticked all the boxes. It was almost too perfect it made me feel somewhat iffy for a while.

I started going to Pancake House when it was a hole in the wall in Virra Mall owned by a friend of…read moremine. He then sold it to Martin Lorenzo who put branches all over the place until it became the Pancake House Group. It became my go to place where I would automatically order a taco, a side order of potato salad, an extra thick chocolate shake and a coke regular to wash it all down. However, for sometime now, every time I would go to Pancake House, they would either have no ice cream to make the chocolate shake extra thick, or they would have no shakes at all. That happened again last night when I went to the Burgos Circle branch. I've decided that that would be the last time I would be disappointed. I have removed Pancake House from my list of go-to places.

I've been eating burgers since God knows when, from the food chain to street burger; but believe me…read morewhen I say that BBB is the best burger that I've sunk my teeth into.Every product listed on their menu is mouth watering even before you see the real thing. I got the Bacon Bleu Cheese Meal, a fat and juicy 1/ 3 lbs. well-seasoned pure beef burger patty, smoked and grilled to utmost perfection, topped with fresh lettuce, white onions and sliced red tomatoes; finished with an abundant amount of bleu cheese and sandwiched by big burger buns similar to a freshly baked pandesal. The meal also includes their famous big cut fries and a soft drink of your choice. Also, you can't go wrong with their Jalapeño burger; their famous beef patty kicked with the spiciness of jalapeño, salsa, lettuce and cheese. If you love pasta, don't miss out on their awesome pesto spaghetti.

If you crave for quiet time, which you can't get in mainstream cafés, Carpe Diem is the perfect…read moreplace for you. They have a sufficient amount of plugs for your gadgets and free wi-fi - just what you need for your me time or study time. Aside from this, the café also serves great coffee and food. If you're coming with a big group just be sure to patient enough 'cos it may take awhile before they serve your orders. When I first dined here, I wasn't expecting much 'cos I've never heard that much about their food. Surprisingly, I loved their Chicken Teriyaki Rice. It has the right amount of sweetness and there's a generous amount of chicken. It reminds me of the Takaw Rice in Charbroiled. The café is a bit small so I won't recommend it for big groups.

My first ever dining experience with TGIFridays was in Dubai years ago. It was GREAT! Food was…read moresumptuous, customer-service was superb and price is reasonable! Shoutout to TGIFriday's Jumeirah Beach. Today, to celebrate my birthday, and at the same time, Father's Day, we decided to dine at TGIFriday's Festival Mall Alabang - with the same expectation. We waited almost 30 minutes to get to a table. Understandable. It's Sunday and of course, it's Father's Day! Syempre maraming customers! Ang init lang sa labas - pagpapawisan ka talaga ng malala hahaha bago matawag name mo para makapasok kayo at makaupo. First impression was okay- nice ambiance. Nice crowd! We were immediately served the appetizers- nachos, and salads kasi ubos na daw yung cheese something. Before we got there medyo gutom na din kami kasi when we woke up earlier today, we rushed to go to church at Victory Alabang Festival Mall so we just had coffee and cake na handa ko kagabi nung birthday ko . We attended worship service and then went directly to TGIFridays. We enjoyed the nachos and dips, as well as the drinks- my sister ordered unlimited mojito and me and my husband ordered Mango Tango and the 2 kids ordered watermelon shake. Then came the main - pork loins, rice and some side dish na veggies. Okay lang kanin medyo mamantika lang pero acceptable. Veggie was fine - edible d ko lang talaga ma gets why 5 kami sa table pero 3 knives lang nilagay? Okay lang inintindi namin- I told myself, probably the meat doesn't need a knife, probably it's soft and tender and all that. Luh- eto na, we were all eating na when nagkatinginan na lang kami. Bakit ganito? ANG TIGAS!! ‍ We still gave it a chance - wala talaga - d na namin naubos kada plate. We ended our meal, asked for our bill and then for their awareness, sinabihan ko yung server na matigas nga pork nila. And then asked to have the leftovers be packed para kako sa aso namin. We left the place very disappointed and frustrated. I was not feeling okay that time- just had fever and sinisipon pa- it was my birthday yesterday and then Father's Day. So I wanted to eat something special naman sana. Kaso it was ruined. Hay. Never again TGIFriday's Festival Mall Alabang. This is all your fault TGIFridays Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, for setting a high expectation. Sana all TGIFridays brances in the Philippines are like you, will learn from you and will set the standard for quality and meal that is truly value for mo

T.G.I Friday's is still the quick bar type food that I was use to back in Kentucky. The service was…read morea little slow since they do contactless menus and our phones from America would read the QR code . The young lady let us use her phone which was a very pleasant gesture. We did have to wait a few minutes to get her attention and let them know we was ready to order . Order was pretty quick to the table . The young lady was very quick about coming back to make sure we liked the food . I would come back again .

If there was anything positive to talk about this restaurant, I would only be talking about the…read morenice interiors and good service. The food was not even underwhelming; it was just horrible. I visited this place because it was recommended by a popular and credible local food blog. To my disappointment, the promising review on their dishes never shone through in any of what we had ordered. Since they advertise that they're known for their meats, I opted for the baby back ribs with BBQ sauce. Tho that ribs were tender and falling off the bone, the sauce was just too sweet and extremely salty. It came with a side of OK-tasting french fries (perhaps to weather down the nightmare that is the BBQ sauce?). I also ordered some mashed potatoes. The mashed tasted too artificial and again, extremely salty. Are going for gallstones, here? I was thinking maybe it was just me, but then I sampled my friend's Truffle Pasta. At this point, I had no expectations that it would be anything different. True enough, although the pasta wasn't too salty, it was too garlicky and there was almost no hint of truffles. In a nutshell, it was like a carbonara you'd get in a Class B local resto chain. My friend and I were looking around the other diners if they were experiencing the same, but they all seemed to be enjoying the food. We didn't know if the whole situation was absurd, hilarious, or just downright appalling. I'm never going back to Mati's. Ever.

I live in the North so for me to go to a restaurant in the South, it has to be really, really worth…read morebraving the traffic for. Mati's Meat & Bread I quickly looking to be one of the bang for your buck steak places in the Metro, making it worth the trip. Mati's is owned by the same people behind local steakhouse chain Melo's, so you are at least assured of the quality of beef they use. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they cook the steak right in front of you so you can control the doneness. If it's not to your liking, you have no one to blame but yourself. Notable highlights in the menu are the truffled bone marrow because the presentation is simply stunning. The taste isn't half bad either. Another dish worth mentioning is the Balut Aligue, which is as sinfully decadent as the name would suggest. Mati's gets two thumbs up in my book!

Classic CPK in ATC but service needs improvement. Had late lunch here on a weekday where there were…read moreonly 3 tables including ours. It was difficult to get the attention of the servers as they were busy chit chatting amongst themselves. Food was okay -- it felt and tasted rushed and I didn't enjoy it as much as before.

Always amazing everytime!! Been going here for more than 10…read moreyears. We even spent our 11th anniversary lunch here! :) Talk about cravings! ***Must try Chicken bbq salad, spinach artichoke dip! Tv for those sports lovers! Awesome crew! They have a bar, wifi and perfect place for groups!

An absolutely gorgeous dining experience with spectacular views from the 31st floor overlooking the…read morecity. This is set within a hotel. The rooftop setting is stunning, featuring elegant water features and the option to dine either outdoors under the skyline or indoors while still enjoying the rooftop atmosphere. The views alone make this place worth visiting, especially in the evening when the city lights come alive. The food was excellent. We sampled a variety of Filipino dishes, all beautifully prepared and elevated with thoughtful, upscale twists while still respecting the local flavors. A special mention goes to our server, Bon, who was outstanding throughout the evening. Attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming, he helped make an already memorable experience even better. Soft live music was on, and it added to the experience. Between the incredible atmosphere, beautiful setting, delicious food, and exceptional service, this is a place I would happily recommend to anyone looking for a special night out in Manila.

The Nest Dining in the Sky remains one of the most romantic dining destinations in the South…read more Perched atop Vivere Hotel, it offers sweeping views of the city, especially once the sun starts to set. While technically indoors, the restaurant opens its large sliding doors in the evening, creating a cool, breezy, open-air feel that makes the space both comfortable and memorable. It's easy to understand why so many couples choose this venue for date nights and proposals. The atmosphere alone is worth the visit. Since we came for an early dinner, we mostly ordered appetizers and dishes for sharing. We started with the Seafood Clam Chowder served in a bread bowl. It was decent and comforting, nothing particularly memorable, but certainly not bad. The Sisig Lumpia was unfortunately the weakest dish of the evening. Good sisig should have some crispness and texture, but this version lacked that signature crunch and came across as overly oily. It was the one dish I probably wouldn't order again. On the brighter side, the Pinchos drizzled with balsamic reduction were flavorful and enjoyable. The Beef Nachos were the star of the savory dishes, generously portioned, satisfying, and perfect for sharing. For dessert, we had the Frozen Brazo de Mercedes, which was a great way to end the meal and easily one of the highlights of our order. Service was excellent throughout. The staff were attentive, warm, and professional, making sure everything flowed smoothly without being intrusive. While the food this visit was a bit mixed, the stunning views, romantic ambiance, and impeccable service continue to make The Nest a place worth returning to. I've dined here before and remember some of their entrées being much stronger than the appetizers we ordered this time, so I'd happily come back and explore more of the menu. The food may not be flawless, but the experience certainly is. For the view, ambiance, and service alone, The Nest earns a solid 4 out of 5 star