Being from Southern California, I am always on the hunt for good Mexican food in Manila. My friends always raved about Silantro so I finally decided to give it a try! I went to this location on a Saturday evening and it was packed. Our party of two waited maybe about 45 minutes to be seated. The whole process of putting your name down is disorganized, considering that there is no designated spot for the hostess to take your name down. She constantly walked in and out of the restaurant itself and whenever she came out, everyone pushed their way to get to her first regardless of the order that the people arrived. One plus that made the process efficient was that prior to being seated, they took our order so that they could start preparing our food while we waited. However, this order was also taken by the same hostess. During your wait, she'll yell out your name and you (again) have to push through the crowd of people surrounding her to give her your order.
My friend and I ordered the Silantro Burrito, Beef Nachos, and Caliente Wings, which turned out to be a LOT of food, even to share! Since we ordered our food prior to being seated, it came out really quick. Also a plus is that their food is very reasonably priced. It was all really good and I enjoyed it, although not very close to authentic Mexican food, but then again, maybe the "Fil-Mex" in the name indicates the Filipino twist. After a while, all the food started to taste the same. What I've noticed with a lot of Filipino restaurants, Silantro included, is that the food is made to taste sweet (for the Filipino palate, I'm guessing), which was the case in the meat in the burrito and on the nachos, as well as the sauce on the wings. I think I can do without the wings next time.
I will probably be back, but I'm still looking for authentic Mexican food that makes me feel like I'm at home! read more