Casting around to check out yet another restaurant in Iloilo City, we tried Hotel Del Rio's only more casual resto, and were disappointed by the results of the kitchen.
The positive first...
The pompano/pomfret fish was fresh and tasted good, and the cold sauce was piquant, overall nice but sauce really should be served hot.
The whole lemon chicken was good, but the accompanying veggies were cold and not fresh looking. And the gravy that came with it, however much cool also, tasted unusually good. The drumsticks were good, but the breast on the chicken solid in texture instead of moist and tender. Seems that being in the freezer may be the culprit...
We'd like to rate it better, but that the veggies were in short supply and cold, and they charge extra for a bit of rice, seems strange. For the two dishes we paid over 1100 pesos, but just not up there.
Very much a chinoy venue, the service was most accommodating, and the usual too-loud muzak filler that did little for ambience, but in the end, we had to conclude we'd not ever return. Just too bad, but nothing unusual for the Philippines, especially in the province. read more