I admire Great Escape's aplomb. A slightly upscale Italian trattoria and wine place in a…read moreneighborhood food park teeming with broke college kids? That seems like a tall order, but what Great Escape has accomplished so far in Maginhawa StrEAT is admirable. The container van-style Italian restaurant serves such traditional trattoria mainstays as bruschetta, pasta, oven-baked pizzas and antipasti. I think it is a clever idea to introduce the food-park going crowd to more sophisticated dining choices. It's good that it's there as an option. Students can flock to the cheaper and less intimidating alternatives from the other concessionaires in the park, but what Great Escape offers is something that the more mature crowds (who can afford. Ha!) can enjoy. Here, you don't have to worry about plastic forks or sauces dribbling down your front. They have real utensils and wine glasses that you can use if you want to dine in and enjoy a glass of wine. Their sangria is ace - sweet, not too heady and refreshingly fruity. I ordered the aglio e olio pasta, which turned out a bit too salty for my taste. I'd reserve my opinion and write about this place again in the future, since they are stil on soft opening and they are still probably trying to sort some things out with their recipes. What makes this place super unique is the mist-spewing sprinklers that they hooked up to their trellis. It releases a cool mist every now and then to keep their customers cool during the balmy nights, reminding one of dewy vineyards. Raymund, Herbie and co. should be really proud of themselves. They are doing a great job so far.

The servers were great. The wine tasted so woody and oaky that together with the creme' brulee made…read morethat perfect bittersweet taste that I really like. But thank goodness we only ordered a glass each not a whole bottle. The place could've been in a much better location if you ask me. When we were there, there was this tree with its roots hanging from the ceiling. I thought it was cool but weird at the same time. I guess they were going for that cozy Italian cabin feeling that didn't quite work well with the place, because it was originally set up as a loft. The stairs were a little too steep for a wine bar. I give it 3stars because the theme didn't work well with how the place was set up but the wine was great.

This is in BGC. Our order is taking too long. The cuchinilla at 1/6 the size made to our table…read more after an hour of waiting. Wait staff has not apologized for the delay. Very unacceptable in my playbook. Locals and foreigners should be given equal treatments. Live music is great. Please train your staff to adhere to the standards if great customer service. Please add local beers or have your own microbrewery to get a better branding. Thank you for the experience. ¡Buena Salud!

Filipinos are drawn to rice. I'd like to believe that we have a genetic disposition towards the…read moregrain so that I have something ng to blame for my weight gain. I feel this is why most Pinoys are wary of entrees that don't come with rice in upscale restaurants. Looking at it the other way around, this I feel is the reason that we are drawn to all things paella. You can owe it to the aforementioned love of rice, or to the centuries we've spent colonized by the Spaniards, but as long as its paella, we as a people will immediately feast on it like there's no tomorrow. Cerveseria in Greenbelt 3 knows our amor for the dish so every once in a while, they offer up unlimited paella for a steal price. If you're not to keen on stuffing yourself silly, you can get a more modest serving. Make sure to eat the slightly overcooked rice near the bottom as it has all that paella flavor!

Someone told me La Piazza was the best Italian restaurant in Manila…read more I envisioned exceptional food and service, like some guy grinding fresh pepper at my table, and sprinkling Parmigiano-Reggiano on my pasta. Or offering to sneak a bit of Sambuca in my coffee. But instead, I got ho-hum food, it was not bad, but very underwhelming, and weak table service if I compare it to a good New York Italian restaurant. The only positive point was that I got 20% off on my meal because I was staying at the Okada. The restaurant is only open three days a week, so it took me years for my stay here to overlap with the restaurant being open. How do they make money ? So in the end, I can't recommend La Piazza if someone asks me for an Italian restaurant. I will tell them to try Italianni's, the food is ok at 1/3 the price.

First time dining here. The service was excellent and amazing. Everyone was very attentive and the…read moreservice was superb. Food was excellent and it was nice to watch the water show during dinner. Michael the manager was very friendly and walked around with the guests making sure that we were enjoying ourselves. Definitely a great place to eat if you're looking for some good Italian cuisine.

After a disappointing paella stint at Las Flores, I finally got my Paella craving satisfied…read more The paella was great - taste and price-wise it was spot on. We ordered Paella Valenciana, croquetas de pollo and croquetas de jamon, calamares romano all of which tasted good. Only 4/5 because some details need work. We requested the paella to be a litte toasted but it was little burnt under which is okay since you just have to scrape slowly. The tapas need a little more attention to detail since the croquettas de pollo has a small bone in it and the calamares had a small remnant of its quill

I grew up with Casa Armas. After Señor Armas passed away a few years ago, I didn't want to go back…read more But nothing has changed. It serves the best tapas, paella, cochinillo, Iberian chicken in this side of town. It had the same cheesy 3man band that just adds to the ambience. I love the place! And the sangria help with the ambience.

This is an ourdoor restaurant/bar at the Sofitel Hotel that overlooks the ocean. It's a perfect…read moreplace to relax and have a great view of the sunset. I would totally recommend this place for, as a said, a great view of the sunset. The food was pretty good - great poke. The food, however, is much smaller portions than the other restaurants in the hotel, and we found that we were still hungry after finishing our meal. But the food itself was great! Drinks were hit or miss - my husband loved his cocktail, but mine was so bad I didn't even drink it. If looking for drinks, I'd prefer Sofitel's other restaurant - Le Bar - over this one. With that said, I gave Sunset bar a 4 star because the view really is spectacular to watch the sunet.

Wow, what is going on with the overinflated rating? Are the standards so abysmal that any spot that…read moregives you a smile and a view gets an automatic 5? I was staying in the hotel and came down to use the pool. Before that, I thought it would be nice to come here for cocktails and a snack. The cocktails were nice looking but had almost no alcohol whatsoever. We sent one back, which they tried to charge us for later. They ended up taking it off after we complained, but I'm shocked that they thought it was acceptable. They are charging foreigner prices here but without the foreigner quality. We also ordered a seafood appetizer, which is overpriced even high-end standards for the amount of food we received. The quality of the food was not high-end either. The service was lacking as well. Initially, we walked up to the bar and noticed it was covered in a fine layer of dust. Really? So many employees and no one could be bothered to wipe it down? We ordered, and decided to sit at a table. The table was also covered in a layer of dust. We called someone to come clean it, and it took almost 15 minutes before anyone returned to wipe it. The lady who wiped it handled the cloth like no one had ever asked her to wipe the table before. She also did not provide us with complete sets of utensils. Eventually, someone else figured it out. It took forever to get our watered down drinks, and even more, time to get the food, which was a huge disappointment. After this, we vowed not to eat anywhere on the property. If a restaurant at a supposed 5-star resort cannot provide adequate service, or even decent food and drink, how are you supposed to trust anything else?

Paella was worth the long wait...very good, plenty of ingredients. The bolognese was also…read moreokay....pollo frito was not good, it actually had very little actual chicken meat. Leg/thigh fried, came with gravy, I ate skin and gravy...the little chicken meat there was had black things attached to it, kind of disgusting. Pollo al Asillo (chicken spicy garlic sauce) was tasteless, not good. Linguini al pesto had a lot of a tomato sauce on top, took away from the pesto flavor...bottom line , come for the paella...that's it!!! Very good service.

Who does not like Spanish tapas? It is one of my favorite foods and when in Manila, Philippines, I…read morewas luckily invited for a dinner party at Alba Restaurante in Makati. On entering the restaurant, one cannot but notice the well-appointed red tablecloth tables with cloth napkins. The dishes at our disposal were many. They were Gambas (shrimp) in garlic and oil, potato croquettes, Spanish sausage, baked oysters, mushrooms, crostini with dip, chicken, spinach pizza and of course, seafood paella. To add to the cozy ambiance of this restaurant were three singers with Spanish guitars, serenading the audience in the restaurant. Our group got several renditions of Spanish ballads including, "Guantanamera". We sang along for this one. All the dishes were prepared well and highlighted their own distinct taste and flavors. My favorites were the croquettes, the baked oysters and the seafood paella. The croquettes were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The oysters though small, came 12 to a plate and were moist and well charred to bring out the baked parmesan fragrance. The seafood paella was the crown jewel of the evening. It contained several seafood varieties and was made fresh. It came out slightly charred at the bottom, as does any good paella. When scraped, mixed with the other contents, and eaten, one is rewarded with several bursts of aroma and taste. Table service was excellent. Muchas Gracias, Senores y Senoras.

Barcino is known to be the wine place in Manila. There's usually a Barcino in most of the premier…read moremalls. The wine by the glass prices are actually not bad that's why I think a lot of the adults come here and unwind. I'm not a wine person so whenever I go to Barcino I would always ask the server to help me out. I usually go for the white wines because I like my wine sweet. If you don't want to drink, you may also try the food here. Although, I'm not a huge fan of their food. I find it to be passable. It's not something I'd randomly crave for. But if you are a big group, you can order a paella since the serving of this is pretty big. Oh and if you don't want wine, they have imported beers to choose from. I like the SM Aura branch because they have outside seating which is perfect for sunset watching.

Barcino has been around for more than 10 years in manila and has over 7 branches. The SM Aura…read morebranch must be the nicest one! The have a comfy set up on the rooftop with couches overlooking the fort and a nice relaxing water feature in front where during the day children are playing. Barcino is known for being an authentic spanish wine and tapas bar and they must do something right with so many branches. Although the food is not excellent, it is always consistent. The croquettas are my favorite, the paella also taste good but it just comes in too big of a pan with too thin of a layer of rice, so your expectations are never met. They have a very good selection of spanish wines, although they aren't really cheap. Having a tinto de verano, a fruity wine similar to sangria, at this outlet is a perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Had such a fun night at Tipsy Pig in BGC! The drinks were great, the food was good, and the DJ…read moreplayed really fun music that kept the energy up all night. The staff were attentive and friendly, and the prices were fair for the overall experience. This is definitely a great spot for big parties, celebrations, or even just hanging out with friends after a long day of work. Fun atmosphere, good vibes, and a place you'd want to come back to for a night out in BGC.

Traveling to see family and stayed at a nearby hotel and finally found some time to go out on a…read moreThursday evening. There were a lot of local eateries/bars open at night but we were fortunate to find some patrons leaving and the table was quickly cleaned up so why not try this place? Glad we did. We had one appetizer and the rest of night we had quite a bit of the piglet salted caramel signature brews and it was worth it! The ambiance outside, music and service was great! When walking in to use the restroom, the bouncer/security guard gladly showed me where to go with my broken-Tagalog communication and I was suprised that the 2nd floor was very roomy with plenty of tables (and people!). When I return back to Taguig, I definitely will swing by for the caramel beers! Cheers!