Casa Manila Danforth is in it's soft opening stage so is ironing out the kinks. It's easy though to see the promise here: the food is good, the owners Mila and Saldy bring a flamboyant and friendly Filipino vibe, and the place, while smaller than the York Mills location, is maximized and tastefully decorated.
Right now, Casa Manila is experimenting with a 10am-10pm schedule, and so offers breakfast-lunch-dinner fare. We stopped by a couple of times during their opening week and got:
- Sisig: The sisig was sizzling and super crispy (yum!) but some parts were a bit hard. I think this is just Day 1 kinks given Casa Manila York Mills has a really awesome sisig, so not worried about Danforth having the same soon. Also, good for two people so it's a great value.
- Chicken BBQ Skewers: Good basting - has the traditional Filipino sweetness without overdoing it. Comes with a generous mound of garlic rice.
- Beef Kare-Kare: The beef was lean (which is great, since it's sometimes fatty in other Filipino spots). Also, while I prefer my kare-kare sauce super thick and peanut-y, this was pretty good.
- Bangus Silog: Straightforward fry on the bangus, with a generous heaping of garlic rice and two sunny side eggs. Would have preferred the traditional achara, but they mixed other veggies in it for an Asian slaw (not bad, just personal taste).
- Halo-Halo: A bit pricey for the size. That said, this is a beautiful classic halo-halp with all the classic mix-ins. Bonus points for making their own icecream, which was really creamy.
- Ube Milkshake: I prefer my milkshakes super thick. This wasn't it. That said, it was creamy and the fact that it was on the thinner side made the ube taste pop more.
The owners also gave us some freebies to taste:
- Pandesal: One of the best in the city. Airy and chewy, perfect on it's own or as the "bub" to a slider.
- Adobo: Meat was tender, and there was this great kick at the end. Mila said they use apple cider, and that really makes a difference. The Adobe tasted classic while also having a nice twist.
- Ube Cake: Owners gave it to us for free. It was very chiffon-y.
Looking forward to seeing Casa Manila find its footing in the Danforth. Will stop by again to try their other dishes, and kamayan once they offer it. read more