ilustrado restaurant

slowwwwww service 🐢, so-so food.

waitress took our orders. delivered mine (salmon sinigang after almost 30mins) and my husband's in an hour when we asked them to cancel the order instead (because the cook forget to prepare the dish of mushroom-cheese-spinach sandwich). when it finally came, it lòoks like a sandwich a 6-year old can make with eyes closed. no spinach and mushroom is dry.

we constantly reminded them to give us tissue and drinking water but we only got those after we settled the bill.

overrated.

this place will bring you back in time. tuck inside the courtyard, this old spanish house turned restaurant is a gem worthy of discovering. when i first saw the establishment, i was transported back to our ancestral home where i grew up. the capiz windows, the ornate trellises, and more.

we dined here on the eve of valentine's day and even though their menu was set for couples, there are also other groups who dined in. family and friends. i guess it is true that there are no set of rules when it comes to great food.

we got a deal from their partner, deal grocer, which cut the cost at half. since it was a treat, i did not hesitate to try this restaurant even though the deal costs around php 3,000 for two people.

the food:
i was so stuffed by the time the dessert was served that i can no longer finish the plate but the food tasted so great i did not want to stop eating.
appetizer: caramelized onion baked on top of puff pastry. it was supposed to be mushrooms but i told them i am allergic to mushrooms so they changed it for me. i did not know caramelized onions can taste so heavenly.
starters: grilled prawn skewers with mango, arugula, alfalfa and feta cheese drizzled with balsamic glaze. heaven in a plate. i love prawns and mango and this combination just worked well for my taste buds.
soup: cream of cauliflower soup with fried quail egg. this soup was supposed to have shitaake mushrooms but again, my allergies. normally, i don't enjoy the soup but this soup is so tasty i want to lick the bowl clean.
sorbet: to cleanse the palate, we were served cantaloupe sorbet. yummy.
main entree: i got the chilean sea bass with lemon-basil risotto, cherry tomatoes, alfalfa and haricovert beans served on top of tomato emulsion. the sea bass was cooked perfectly. the skin was crispy. the lemon-basil risotto and the tomato emulsion were both delicious. the plating was also nicely done. i took a taste of the other choice for main dish, which is braised beef cheeks served with potato mouselline, baby carrots, fried basil and red wine reduction. i wanted to finish a plate of that as well. the beef was so soft. it was scrumptious.
dessert: i got for myself the xocolat, a dessert platter of three types of chocolate: salted dark caramel tart with himalayan pink salt, milk chocolate cheesecake pops, and white chocolate and orange creme brulee. i was too stuffed by the time i was served this but all three were lusciously rich. i also got to taste their pavlova with fresh fruits and it was also delish.

the service:
two thumbs up to the chef and crew for accommodating my request for a new type of appetizer, on the spot. the service crew was also efficient, and our table was never without a water refill.

lastly, people who can spend a few thousands for a fine dining experience with friends and family should also try their valentine's day set menu. it isn't just for couples. the other groups that night seemed to be enjoying the food as much as the couples who were out on a date.

thanks for the wonderful night of great food, ilustrado!

p.s. they still have an ongoing deal for their v-day set menu. you can still have a taste of it until the end of the month, i think.

was here for a very important meeting and ended up having an early lunch before the meeting. ambiance is very spanish style and something different to the modern restaurants of today. it's like your in a traditional spanish home.

as it was a light meal i decided to try their homemade pork tocino. hmmm... well, let's just say for the price it could have been better. sadly some parts of the pork was rubbery like. no real taste in the overall meal. it does come with ice tea to quickly wash down the food.

as this was the basic menu i will have to come again to test the more fine dining meals and i'm sure this will improve my review.

the coffee is also sub standard and no comparison to say a toby's estate. however, i must say the highlight would have been the awesome artisan ice cream - consists of the sampa guita the native jasmine which is the philippine national flower. it truly is like eating the flower, even the scent is very strong on the ice cream. so would highly recommend this for sure.

i was excited to dine again in ilustrado because it has been years since i was last there. boy, was i in for a disappointment. ilustrado has lost its illustrious standing. considering i pre-ordered the cuchinillo, the skin was not crunchy and the poor lechon de leche looked tired. the waiters were inattentive and confused. service was slow and below par. the only redeeming factor was the tasty paella. the dulce de leche cake was ordinary and even the famed sampaguita ice cream was disappointing. what a pity for this fine dining restaurant in the heart of the famed walled city.

on the table: homemade pork tocino

my-food-o-meter:

taste: 1/5
price: 1/5
service: 4/5

had breakfast here and decided to try their homemade pork tocino. my expectation was high because the dish costs 295 pesos, it was like ordering from a hotel. when the food arrived, i could already tell it was not gonna be delicious, aside from the pork not having any color, it was swimming in oil. had to ask for another plate coz i could not bring myself to eat on the same plate where it was served. the serving of the rice was also way too small... like 1/2 a cup. true enough, after my first bite of the tocino, i felt disappointed and sad coz i wasted money on a dish that didn't even taste that good. the place was also too dark for me to enjoy breakfast. the only thing i liked about this cafe is how it looked from the outside.

i have dined here twice. the first time was for a business meeting, the second time was a valentines dinner with my wife. the ambiance and flavors of this place definitely compliments whatever you are trying to cap be it "paesan" or passion. i'd personally go back to experience the foie gras, wine and that live bossa nova singing. not the best in the world or in the country but the place has that nostalgic sincerity to it being in old manila that was once rooted to europe through our colonial heritage. it's not the most expensive place either. so if you just spent a fortune or you just got momma's passed down engagement ring and you want to spare some for that possible walk down the aisle, this place may just hit the spot.

charming oasis in intramuros away from heat and dust of the old a walled city.

must try: sampaguita ice cream, smooth, homemade, and infused with the flavor and scent of the philippine national flower.

ilustrado's take on paella was generosity at work. in anticipation in helping diners decide whether to order seafood or meat, they decided to throw in both meat and seafood into their flavourful paella. i had nothing more to ask. 

full review on gourmet getaways website.

i adore the colonial charm of the place and the fact thatbit is located right inside old manila. i tried the sampaguita ice cream. trybit for the sake of exposing your tastebuds to something novel but do not ask for a second serving. i felt like i downed chanel #5 with this dessert.

very spanish era vibe. one of the best paellas i've tasted. however, they need to improve their service. it took us almost an hour waiting for our food to come.

nice place very elegant and romantic. service staff is ok but they need to brush up on some serving skills. the food is ok filipino and spanish is the main theme of this resto. value for money is on the middle part. better try their buffet than ordering ala carte. good place for dates and weddings.

was looking forward to try their famous sampaguita ice cream sadly, it was out-of-stock. but then they had lemongrass ice cream. it was so creamy and lusciously good. i can't wait to try the other flavors!

was walking along intramuros on a saturday night when we stumbled upon this restaurant. the garden entryway was a pleasant welcome and the interiors were a subdued classy, but the ambiance was a little off with 80s music playing in the background lol.

i ordered their chateaubriand bearnaise, which is tenderloin steak with asparagus and truffle mashed potato. the steak was a perfect medium-rare but the cut itself was a little rubbery (it's an 800 php slice so no surprise) and the asparagus could've used a little more seasoning, but the truffle in the mashed potato wasn't overwhelming like in other local restaurants i've been to.

my friend ordered their norwegian smoked salmon, which became the unexpected star of the night with its intricate millefeuille layering and lovely harmony of seasonings. the alfalfa and ginger really brought out the zest of the tomato and onion; an all-in-all wonderful marriage in your mouth. really says a lot about the chef's skill. good job!

ilustrado has the perfect setting and feel for an authentic filipino-spanish restaurant located inside intramuros. they have one of the best arroz caldo and tokwa't baboy i've tried in the metro so far. the arroz caldo was thick and rich in flavor served with sliced mushrooms. very generous serving at a reasonable price.

rarely will i give a restaurant a low rating but my experience last dec 23 was a comedic nightmare. i called to make a reservation, i was informed that there was an event in the main dining and we would eat in the bar area. i've eaten here before so i agreed to the location. when we arrived, my name wasn't on the reservation list. although the reservation staff came out and confirmed that i had called for 7:30. fine dining???? i understand there was an event but it was catered. it should not have interrupted their dinner menu. our food came out 1.5hours later and everything was cold. my medium prime rib was still cold and bloody near the bone. the staff appeared to be ignoring us the whole time and ignored our questions about the status of our food. what irritated me the most is they kept asking us if we had a groupon certificate? of course my response was if i had groupon would my service have been better. the manager was completely useless during the whole debacle. i will never eat here again nor would i suggest it to anyone.