barbara's

a spanish influenced city in the heart of manila is called intramuros.
intramuros is a historic city walled area that all visitors to the philippines should not miss, even for a day.
it is the only district of manila where old spanish-era influences are still plentiful.
the houses, parks, activities and even culture are still rich up until now.
aside from sightseeing though, there's also another way to appreciate the philippine culture and that is to try local food.
a perfect place within the walls ofintramurosto try is barbara's which is a spanish-filipino restaurant.
a place that not only serves filipino food but has nightly cultural presentations as well.
as we visit the place, we notice that there's a lot of foreigners interested to dine and watch the show.
the buffet food was ok though there's a limited option.
as a filipino guest who knows the authentic cuisine might not be satisfied with what they serve.
it cost p783 or $16 for dinner buffet and p615 or $12 for a lunch buffet which i think is kinda pricey.
when it comes to location, it can be easily found via waze or you can walk right to it from san agustin church.
the interior was cozy and warm that reminds me of old spanish homes with wooden floors and sliding capiz windows.
the staff are not that accommodating and sometimes forget your requests.
what i am amazed is the night show that represents the culture of filipino.
they gracefully dance and performed while wearing the colorful and traditional costume all over the philippines.

food: 3/5
ambiance: 4/5
location: 4/5
price: 3/5
service: 3/5

the vegetables they’ve put on our orders were no longer fresh—given th fact that they are supposed to be fine dining, it was truly unexpected, not to mention disappointing! wilted veggies with black color on the sides?? que horror??? they used those on our pancit orders. to think i find their pancit too expensive!!! saksakan pa ng lamok palibhasa madilim yung area/place nung resto. when i asked why there were too mosquitoes, they answered that theintramurosadmin are supposed to take care of the fumulgation. but how about putting tea candles to shoo moquitoes away? such a disappointment. i will not come back here.

how can i forget this place? barbara’s served me my best dinner inintramurosso far. such a charming place of old world appeal. offers refined intermingling of spanish and filipino dishes. warm and welcoming staff. just a stone’s throw away from the magnificent churches of spanish manila. definitely recommended to tourists andintramurospilgrims.

going old school:

the joy of going over tointramurosto have a feel of the old walled city is always a thrill. stepping out of the car and being greeted by guardia sibil and lady's in their filipiniana adds delight to what the customers want to experience.

today is father's day and we decided to head over to barbaras for dinner. i first glanced at the buffet offer which cost around php783.00 per head, got the feeling that the value of the buffet does not match the price as the main course offering is too few; so we decided to have an a la carte menu to start off our dinner.

my siblings ordered barbaras special salad, while i ordered the chicken and pork adobo. the salad cost around php215.00 and as described on the menu its mesclun greens with caramelized walnuts and shaved parmesan topped with fresh fruits in season. salad arrived with just the mesclun greens and shaved parmesan (hardly any) there were some fruits coming from a fruit salad can... that's how fresh it was. we requested for the salad to be replaced but unfortunately the description on the menu is inaccurate.

the chicken & pork adobo taste good, but priced at php315.00 the portion size is too few...

we don't mind the old carpet nor the smell of old furnitures, we loved the service of the seasoned staff because it gives you a feeling of the traditional restaurant service that is lost now with all the hipsterish restos who does not know what service is all about.

i hope the management improves the serving sizes & accuracy in menu descriptions. would love to go back here when that happens, but as it is... no reason for going back.

relaxed ambiance , great food , affordable price and world class customer service combined into one. this restaurant is located in the historical place ofintramurosmanila , in front of san agustin church. this is truly a place to be, may it be for business meetings, dinner dates or just plain casual dining. barbara serves a reminder that filipino dishes will always be an endless favorite. this restaurant delivers all the great filipino cuisine that will never be forgotten by our tastebuds . i definitely enjoyed my barbara's experience. i will surely be back ! try it out too!

i am not sure there is still an a la carte menu (likely), but you're already better off just booking from their inexpensive buffet meal (p595 on evenings, if i remember correctly). 

there will be several kinds of salad (pako, ensaladang talong, salted egg and tomato, romaine), soup, and five main dishes, which were caldereta, roast chicken, and a lengua, among others. good deal!

more than that, this is located right across san agustin church in the plaza san luis complex, which is a reconstruction of oldintramuroshomes during the spanish period. spanish decor, beautiful wooden furniture (like the curved and straight-backed mariposa chairs), and rugs cover the floors of this mansion repro. and at 7:45, there is a skilled rondalla band that performs an impressive range of cultural dances. we were entertained for over an hour, and the live music helps this performance stand out above the rest, since you get one, or the other, and rarely both.

we played dress up for this, had filipino fun, and had a grand evening.

the food is a 3.5 to me, but the show was tops, and worth repeating.
bring your parents and older relatives, your balikbayan friends, or for a themed evening, this is fun to go to. 

it's best to park near the church, and tip the watch-your-car boys nicely.

i had the opportunity of dining in barbara's restaurant atintramurosmanila last saturday and it was honestly quite amazing. when i got off the cab, there were guardiya sibils. these men are known to be the police force back in the spanish colonial era here in the philippines. the ambiance upon entering the place made me feel like i traveled back in time when dr. jose rizal still used to walk the roads of manila or then known as the "open city". there were antique furniture like chairs, mirrors, pictures and chandeliers; surprisingly they don't look worn out, they appeared to be well maintained and still of a fine dining restaurant quality. i went to the second floor to join other guests at the "main dining " area where barbara's can accommodate about one hundred to one hundred twenty people all at the same time. after entering the glass door, it felt magical. the entire restaurant is designed for fine dining, tables were draped with layers, the silverware, porcelain wares and the glass wares are arranged like in a five star hotel. i felt like i was an ilustrado who have so much money to pay for an expensive dinner. just about around seven when i started to get food form the buffet since they smelled so good and enticing. the menu that night were some of my favorite filipino dishes like laing, caldereta, adobong baboy, pancit malabon, inihaw na pla-pla, inihaw na manok, paella at lumpiang ubod. there was a green mango salad corner paired with different filipino sauces like bagoong. just remembering about it makes my mouth watery. my favorite among the dishes was the laing. it was so delicious that i have been thinking about it from saturday til this very moment. my mother is bicolana so i know how a good laing tastes like but this one just rises above them all. there was no trace of bitterness, all of pleasure and yumminess. my second most favorite dish had to be two; the adobong baboy and beef caldereta. they were a revelation that these common viands can actually be cooked in a whole lot way better than what we filipinos have been eating for a long while now. the meat was so tender and the sauce was just sinfully good. i had to make second trips to the buffet table because one was really not enough. the paella is a dish passed onto us by the spanish people, yet with time we have made it taste like its one of our own. it was flavorful, the seafood complemented the rice filled with broth that has penetrated every single grain of rice, every spoonful was so delightful. after stiffing myself with all these, i know  had to cap it off with dessert. i have tasted a lot of buko pandan salads from different restaurants but the one in barbara's made me feel that i have been wronged of how it should taste and now salvaged from my naivety. there were fruits topped with a spongy like cake similar to that of a brazo de mercedes with a crunchy caramel glaze on top. also, crunchy turonillas were served along with a rich bowl of ginataang bilo-bilo. that night was my moment of re-discovering why filipinos love to eat--that's because we also love to cook and we do very good. i know i would come back and reminisce my first visit in barbara's, it was nothing but pure pleasure. the amazing dishes were the highlight of the evening but the cultural dances and the rondalla playing classical filipino and contemporary music were the cherries on top. it made the entire experience true to its name, "kultura filipina"- it was nothing short of magical.