café ilang ilang - manila hotel

eating at cafe ilang-ilang is our annual tradition. coming here is my favorite part in our staycation & i can't wait to wake up and spend our breakfast here! it's always jam-packed with people, especially when it's a holiday. nonetheless, they still manage to keep their customers satisfied.

their food? 9/10, definitely. there's a huge selection of cuisine, whether korean, chinese, or filipino. there's a lot of different varieties of bread, drinks, and fruits.

some points i've noticed:
* chapchae was difficult to chew. too thick & sweet. not sure if chapchae are supposed to be done like that.
* korean tteokbokki was super good! i was a bit sad they didn't refill the one in the buffet table.
* you can customize your own omelette and wow the chef is very accomodating. in our every stay in manila hotel, he's always been there. lol
* dessert table was superb. (especially the puto, gluten-free muffin, and the chocolate muffin!!) i wanted to keep on coming back but my mom would scold me. haha.

will always, always come back. it deserves the 4.7 rating by zomato! :)

the buffet was seriously lacking in quality and quantity. it was upsetting not to find lechon. its a filipino themed hotel. how could this filipino favorite not be here? the macarons were also not available for the buffet. the roast beef was just bad and their server could not cook it medium and i tried thrice. the tempura was so small i have no idea why they would skimp on the quality of that japanese favorite. the seafood selection was seriously lacking. there was no lobster. money is better spent on other buffets such as spiral, circles, heat and 7corners.

everything here is pretty much good, but there was no standout item that would elevate any one thing to great, it's all b+, there's no a+ superstar item. which is fine, it's priced a bit lower than the ultra premium buffets. it's a good buffet that will not let you down, it just won't stun you either. they have a great availability of oysters and mussels cooked with cheese on top, which normally you would have to special request in most places, here you can just grab as many as you like. their dessert station also has a nice crepe suzette station which works fairly well.

excellent food and service with a heart.
01 they have wide selections of food, i also love their bread and cheese.
02 roast beef and lamb rack were excellent.
03 excellent service staff with a smile.
04 the dining room was clean and tidy.
05 love the cozy ambiance.
thank you very much manila hotel, for making our dinner so special.

cafe ilang of the manila hotel offers a wide variety of food selection . they serve great international food selection such as chinese , italian, filipino , among others . their breakfast buffet is a little cheaper than other five star hotels in manila. ambiance is relaxing and welcoming. and what i really want is the world class customer service offered by their food attendants. this place is really worth a revisit.

ate here with the fam for my birthday. i would rank it 2nd to spirals. the quality of the food is superb but i agree that the food atrangement is very confusing and we did miss out on the japanese area.

my dining experience here was superb. had dinner here on a friday evening which was themed as the seafood night. it was raining lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and other variety of seafood dishes. can't help myself from wanting to come back. 👍👍👍

had lunch here the day after christmas. i was surprised how a very old hotel could house such a great buffet. they have a diverse set of cuisines, varying from arabic to mediterranean to chinese to italian. they're all so good! the layout of the buffet is just confusing. the food stations are all scattered so you might miss one or two stations (i.e the japanese station and the italian stations are located at very far ends of the place).

arrived at manila hotel around 6:00pm on a saturday night. parking is the only problem you will find when coming in at manila hotel. now onto the buffet, i can say that cafe ilang ilang is one of the best buffets in metro manila. the quality and quantity of their food selections are at par with spiral buffet. i find the dining area needs a little bit of adjustments due to the spaces can get easily packed during peak hours. service is somehow ok expected coming from a 5-star hotel.

food is really good. excellent service. price is better than the buffet in another hotel with a bay view. overall, i'm glad that i spent my birthday dinner here. i would gladly come back.

well what do you expect!? it's manila hotel's buffet! we went there on a thursday night (surf and turf). they have a vast food selection/cuisine. they have japanese, filipino, italian, american, even korean. they have seafoods, desserts, different appetizers, cheeses, meat etc. majority of the food you can imagine and consume in one sitting. they may produce tons and tons of food, but the quality and taste -- not compromised. it's buffet fine dinning, but believe, you'll get your money's worth. the only issue i have is that the place is so big, i tend to forget the sections and what food to get, and it's a tiring walk, but sure it's worth it.

i love waking up to the anticipation of enjoying a great breakfast. it's my favorite meal of the day!

this was how i started my sunday, eagerly anticipating the buffet breakfast spread downstairs. i honestly can't remember cafe ilang-ilang from my previous visits. i saw the awards that were displayed on the table by the entrance. it raised my expectations a bit.

we were ushered inside and the place was like a maze. they had different stations set-up all over but they didn't have a main buffet spread. they had food from different cuisines laid out including korean, continental, chinese, and filipino. i concentrated on continental and filipino favorites as usual. my breakfast consisted of tapa, tocino, sausage, pancakes, and taho. of course, bacon--but theirs was so oily and not as crispy as you would want. i was also able to try the ube ensaymada, which was pretty good. lots of fruits and yogurt available for the health conscious too. different kinds of cereal were for kids or kids at heart. another pro was that the staff were so nice and attentive, very focused on providing good service.

however, the layout of the dining area was spread out and very confusing. the drinks were located in front, in a haphazard area, which didn't make sense to me. we couldn't find the egg station actually, so we ended up foregoing our usual omelet. i also overheard people having difficulty finding their tables. our table was located at a dimly lit area with worn yellow seats--it had a slightly morose quality to it. there were tables by the windows that looked more inviting. though there were a lot of options, spiral has even more choices. the latter also has a better and brighter layout with a very elegant look. the buffet becomes a focal point in itself, located near the famous staircase. there was none of that grandeur at cafe ilang-ilang. somehow, i also feel like all the seats of spiral are equally comfortable and bright. all guests feel welcome and there are no "prime" seats at spiral. though you don't associate dessert with breakfast, spiral offers sweets during breakfast, lunch and dinner. plus, spiral has a real kuya taho going around the tables offering this filipino favorite to the guests. lastly, let me say these two words: cheese room. mic drop!👍 all these things make cafe ilang-ilang a distant second to the top buffet in the country. but, there is no way to feel stiffed at the choices that cafe ilang-ilang has to offer.

you must go in cafe ilang ilang hungry like u havent ate for a day. they have the best steak i like lamb chops in honey glazed sauce and sasmosa and korean section there. coffee os really good too. pasta section is really awesome. all praises for food but i find cheese selection is so small just good for bread😯. ice cream omg heaven try the ferrero and dark chocolate the best . even the parking is really chaotic to find one.

i ate only breakfast, but it was very delicious :)
the selection of food was very rich, from korean, chinese to indian and european cousin :)

interiors was very traditional and cozy. service was good. parking was a challenge but not bad. and about the food... you better come ready to eat! i tried to have a bit of everything bit i was soooo full by the middle of the night. steak and the sushi was fresh and flavorfull and those were on my plate everytime i got more. i didn't have anything i didn't like. again, when you go to cafe ilang ilang you better be ready to eat! :)