ilustrado restaurant

i have high expectations for thisplacebecause of a recommendation from a friend. the serving is scrumptious. i like their bagnet kare-kare but the rellenong bangus not so much. ambiance is very nostalgic of the early century spanish era.

nice ambiance, polite staff, good food, cleanplaceand follows safety protocols..

worth your time.

good quality food, ambiance is nice. greatplacefor a date.

bagnet adobo is a must try! their spanish dishes like callos, bacalao, and lengua are also good but you can try better versions somewhere else.

the ilustrado is a fine dining filipino restaurant that gives off the spanish classic ambiance. what can i say besides the good food, peaceful environment and worth the price? the service. (i’m not your lady at the counter of a fast foodplacewho shouts because of her order got wrong, i’m usually the one who defends the service crew.) but it’ll take more than a couple of times just to get what you need/ask of. tends to ignore you at some point, i feel like they just nod at you but doesn’t really listen. disappointing at some point but overall, ‘twas good.

edit: their pasta are not available till 3pm. i don’t know why but it’s sad specially for a pasta lover myself.

ever wonder how does sampaguita (or jasmine) taste like? or want to have a feel of dining in an old house during the spanish era? thisplacewill make feel like going back centuries ago. the ambiance is great, as well as the food. the staffs are very attentive and helpful. just don't get fooled by their "good for n people", as it's way bigger than that!

the food is great. i have nothing negative to say about the taste and the serving size. price wise, it’s a bit pricey for a typical dinner but it’s super worth it! we were served a complimentary appetizer which is pandesal with butter and liver as spreads while waiting for our orders. only down side was theplacewas too quiet even with the background music playing and the serving time can be improved. overall, it was a nice and sophisticated experience. will definitely visit again.

theplaceis nestled inside the walls of intramuros. away from the busy streets as if you are immediately transported to a whole new place.

i loved the singing trio, they are welcoming for song requests.

food wise, you'll never go wrong with kambing kaldereta and their bagnet tokwa't baboy. for desserts, don't miss out their chocolate decadent cheesecake and ofcourse blueberry cheesecake.

wouldn't recommend thisplaceto anyone.placewas really dark and dusty. food was really expensive but the quality was mehh. servers were really slow and inattentive. for example, they didnt even bother refilling our water. for two meals at p1200 this was really a disappointing resto.

👍it's a pop! 😊
✅i rarely give five star rate to a restaurant, but when i rate it five i really do enjoy everything and definitely will go back soon.
✅theplaceis ancient spanish inspired that gives the guest comfortable, cozy just like home and a class feeling.
✅the staffs are attentive, friendly and has a pleasing personality. well trained.
✅the food was great. it was so yummy and even the drinks. enjoying delicious food while they serenade their guest.
✅a bit pricey but definitely it is worth the food, the service and everything.

kare-kare bagnet 🍲
dalandan shake 🍹

i love the place, the people. absolutely love the place! tasty dishes! the musicians made theplacemore lovely! they serenade diners. my birthday became extraordinary. i will dine here again. oh... the paella, kare-kare, and blueberry cheesecake were awesome! muntik maiyak si ate sa tuwa kasi finally yun lasa ng cheesecake sa dubai, dito pala sa ilustrado matitikman.

celebrated my anniversary with my girlfriend here and we had the best time ever. it's worth the high price because theplaceis cozy, the food is great, and the service is the best. this is the best restaurant in intramuros in my opinion.

very bad service. we waited for 30 minutes and when we followed up, our order was misplaced. so we waited for nothing. the food is nothing to write home about and not justified for the price. theplaceis beautiful and romantic but with many mosquitoes

i have good memories of this restaurant. each time i’m here, i am with family and it makes for a lovely experience. how could it not? their cured meats are my favorite paired with the masterful selection of reds they have. the paellas are another. theplacemight be old but certainly not dreary. 🤙

we had a family dinner here, theplacewas quite nice in the photos but i guess it was the function hall. the dining area was a good ambience overall however i was not that impressed with the interiors. i know it the theme of the restaurant is supposed to be like the spanish era of some sorts but it was too outdated for me. if you want someone to serenade you they also have a band.

now let's talk about the food.
they will give you bread, butter and liver spread before serving you dinner so you won't get hungry.

i liked the soup of the day which was patola and potato chowder. however the other appetizers and main dish was just so-so for me.

adobong bagnet was nothing special, kare-kare is okay.
i liked the tokwa't baboy because it had the spiciness that i liked from the jalapeno. and their specialty which was the paella illustrado was okay, it had tomato sauce and i'm not sure if it was supposed to be that way but it didn't taste like a paella to me.

this restaurant is on the pricey side so i would expect food to be that good but i guess it wasn't for me.

intramuros, “the walled city”  is a historicplacewithin the modern city of manila, philippines. aside from old houses, churches and beautiful street, lies filipino/spanish restaurants that will enlighten and experience the old manila. 

"ilustrado" is one of the oldest restaurant in intramuros. it's a fine dining filipino-spanish fusion where they are offering an 8-course degustation menu for the whole month of october in celebration of their 29th year and it was created by chef de patron bernice pimentel.

below are the 8-course degustation menu
that costs 1250.00 but they also served ala cart. 

kangkong pesto brioche with boursin cheese. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

kesong puti croquettes at lato (php 175) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

oyster laing rockefeller (php 195) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

sayote egg drop soup (php 125)  🌟🌟🌟🌟

burong mangga sorbet 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

bbq pulled pork tostadas (php 215) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

sea bass sinantol (php 350)  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

egg pie brûlée (php 175) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

overall:
very nice and clean resto even though its old. the food was fantastic kudos to chef bernice. will surely go back and bring my family here..