neil's kitchen

for our dinner, since they wanted rice and something heavy, i decided to bring them here at neil's kitchen. already tried this place w my family before and we liked pretty much everything we ordered so for sure, my friends would also love it here. 😉

place. place is very homey. my favorite part of the place was the entrance + stairs. 😍 i also love all the food related quotations printed all over the place (i.e., i was sad, but then i saw food). for a foodie, you just can't help but relate to almost all of them. 😆

we arrived at around 8pm and the place was full. we had to wait for almost 30 minutes just to get a table. good thing, we weren't that hungry or else... 😳😳😳

once seated, we ordered right away. again, since i'm the "foodie", they let me decide whichdishesto get.

adobo project. our favorite!!! crispy chicken adobo flakes + the usual pork adobo (not the too saucy type). loved the red egg + onions + tomatoes on the side, and the green mangoes too!! this was really good!! a must for adobo lovers!! 👍🏼 suggestion: maybe they can also serve this with a sunny side up, scrambled or soft boiled egg instead of the red egg + tomatoes! 😁 why? because egg is lyf! haha! 🍳🍳

sinigang paella. i remember not liking this that much before because the rice was too sour but surprisingly, they all still liked this. according to them, the rice was very flavorful, you still get to enjoy the sinigang goodness even without the actual hot soup. rice was cooked just right, not wet nor too dry. tried the pork belly and it was good, the pork was tender and tasty!! we all enjoyed eating the crispy kangkong. nakakaadik! can we order just the crispy kang kong?? 😆

chicken bbq. this was good but our least favorite. usual chicken bbq, nothing too special or extraordinary. you can skip this one and just get the first twodishesabove. 😉😉

other must try dishes: corned beef hash; bagoong paella with kare kare.

and oh, we also tried the iced tea and it was surprisingly good and not too sweet. 🍹

the next time i visit this place, i'll make sure to try the paella negra with calamares, tokwa and chicken/seafood, and the fried suman, mangga at chocnut.

service was just okay. slow (understandable since there were a lot of customers) and kind of inconsistent (some servers were nice while some were snob and not approachable). oh wellzz.

i rarely visit the south, so i was glad to have found a resto that will make my trips to the south something to look forward to. theirdishesdon't only look good, they taste good as well. and it doesn't help that they have quotes on their walls to remind you the eating good food is not a sin! i love puto bungbong, and their version with buco jelly on top killed it. i will definitely come back!

if you would like to try filipinodisheswith a twist neil’s kitchen is definitely worth a visit. the place is very cozy and gives that homey vibe. their version of karekare is unique and taste very good. the appetizers are superb and worth a try.

it’s a bit pricey but definitely worth it.

neil's kitchen is of my alabang favorites! ☺️

the place is pretty nice and neat. i love the staircase so much that i cannot resist the urge of having a photo taken on it every visit.

they have attempted to put a twist on famous filipinodishesmaking their menu quite interesting. i like the fact that although they have tried to make it a little different than the usual in terms of preparation and presentation, the taste of theirdisheswas not compromised at all.

serving amount is just right and the price is pretty reasonable.

there's actually nothing negative about my dining experience in neil's, if anything, maybe the only part i wish to improve would be their menu. i would like to see more food options.

it was a disappointment eating at niels especially after the high rating given them by many customers.

let’s start with the ambiance. the place is well appointed and quite cozy, but if you pack customers like sardines then all of that goes away. we were a group of 25 and we were seated so close that our elbows were rubbing each other. i think the place is good for 40 but they packed it to 60 people! and to make things worse, their couches were dusty! had my allergies.

the presentation was a feast for the eyes but that’s about it.
the tokwat baboy had makunat na baboy. mas masarap pa yung tokwat baboy ng goto garahe! the pad thai was maasim! too sour for my taste. i think pad thai should be made plain then the customers adjust accdg to his taste the sourness by adding lemon.

the dinuguan baboy, had an after taste. sign of the meat not being fresh meat... what more can i say... the adobo was too dry and too salty.

i think chef niel had the right idea in creating these artisandishesbut somehow it was not executed properly that night...

the boneless chicken bbq was good. like the one of the original aristocrat bbq. their desserts were also good, the maja and the puto bumbong. thesedishessomehow brought my rating up to 2.

i hope the owners read this review as i am just honestly saying that something may have been executed incorrectly that night. many reviewers have given you at least a four but i didn’t see this.

well as my balikbayan sister said. don’t bring me to these fancy places, just me bring me to aristocrat or shakeys, at least i know what to expect.

my friend took me here to experience it first time, sadly upon asking the female server a table for two, right off the bat she said chicken and porkdishesare no longer available and handed the menu over. we’re a little confused but what the heck we stayed. when we started to place our orders, male server came back 4 times saying what we ordered were not available and just showed a piece of paper from their kitchen showing a list of unavailable ingredients even called it ‘86’. lol. as if we’re chefs for us to understand those. disappointed about the whole experience, we asked him to serve the turon de napoleon instead. of course, it was served late.

this happened december 15, sunday. server said they’re busy doing caterings etc. suggestion, follow cut offs in your restaurant or update your menus real time. better yet, close early/dont accept customers anymore if you cant serve them 100%. worst service. not recommending to anyone. i hope you guys change, sayang reviews nyo.

we went to dine here for our (late) lunch date. there were still plenty of people eating at 1pm but there wasn't any waiting line. the staff were polite and attended to to us immediately. theirdisheshas a very unique twist , a very different take on filipino food.

we ordered ooh lalaing which was topped with shrimp patty and served with rice. this was our favorite because there's so much flavor and right amount of spicy. we also had sinigang paella which was perfect with grilled pork. then out appetizer was the calamares which has a large serving and a great starter.

definitely go back and try more of their dishes.

finally!!! been wanting to try out this restaurant for quite some time now. first of, it's true that every corner of this quaint resto is instagram worthy! have no pictures though coz i was busy eating. lol! as for the food, they serve filipinodisheswith a twist. we ordered calamares, alabang fried porkchops and grilled chicken & crispy dinuguan fondue. we enjoyed all of the dishes, and they come in big servings too (good for 2-3 pax per order). will definitely come back to try other food in their menu. also discovered that they have private rooms that can be rented for private events.

neil’s kitchen is one of the best if not the best casual filipino restaurant there is.

i usually avoid filipino restaurants as i’ve got my biases regardingdishesand how they should be prepared, however neil’s kitchen just pushed all the right buttons.

recommendations:
• tokwa’t seafood : yeah, you’d opt for the baboy for the umami but, trust me, they’ve done a fantastic job with the seafood. it’ll make you question why this isn’t being done at every other filipino restaurant.

• wagyu sinigang : fantastic. it’s deconstructed on a large bowl with the star of the dish, wagyu beef, is bountiful in the center. i love the sinigang soup, it was sour to my liking and of a thick consistency. it is recommended not to pour all the soup on the bowl of rice and sinigang elements as the soup may be too sour for folks who don’t like their sinigang on the very sour side.

• pork and chicken diniguan : chopped pork and chicken is served separately from the diniguan. well cooked meats with a well-balanced flavorful diniguan. it warrants extra rice.

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💲 price : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
for the serving sizes and the quality of the food and service, the price is more than justified

👅 taste : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
it’s elevated filipino food with well-thought-out recipe innovation and presentation. suffice to say my taste buds were elated.

🍽 place : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
it’s about 75 seating capacity so i can imagine it gets packed during busy service hours. either come early or make a reservation. lovely homey ambiance, not stiff and just lets you relax and enjoy a meal with family or friends.

👩🏻‍🍳 staff : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
they are absolute polite and hospitable gems. our needs were attended to swiftly so there was no long waiting for requests an such.

⚜️ zomato gold : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
they had a 1+1 food perk which i loved. the food selection ranged from appetizers, mains, to desserts. they’ll hand you out a separate menu wherein the gold menu items are listed. they did not skimp and leave out the expensive and good food items. you’ll still see their best sellers, such as the wagyu sinigang, so good.

a cosy restaurant with nice use of dark wood and white or beige paint. water is served in bottles...its a yuppie trend and more commonplace now. started my meal with nachos...crispy and tasty. then came the laing with a nice twist of a shrimp cake. before i go any further i have to admit that their plating is good and so are the portion sizes..ofcourse they charge accordingly too. so far they've scored some brownie points and a good start. the next dish was a bagoong paella with kare kare....arguably an interesting idea but it was awful. there may have been a hint of bagoong in the rice but it wasn't a paella. the kare kare...an otherwise distinct dish was a pasty mix of some beef and the rest was undistinguished. disappointing. then finally the adobo...the flakes and pieces version isn't a new concept so their "saltier than it should be " version was just about average. i might visit one more time to give 4 newdishesa chance to convince me if this 1700 pesos meal for two is worth more than two visits. the menu could definitely benefit from a facelift...the fading and dismal pics aren't appetizing at all. finally, it's evident that neil takes pride in hisdishesso that goes in favour of the restaurant. my current rating is hovering between 3 and 3.5

this place is super nice! the moment you step inside and walk up the stairs, you feel a sense of comfort and the urge to eat lots of food! haha! but seriously, the reviews are true. we ordered tortang talong tower with rice stuffed inside, sinigang paella with grilled pork belly, and chicken inasal with hainanese rice. alldisheswere so good!! my favorite was the sinigang paella. us pinoys love moxing our soup with our rice. and the paella rice really tasted like sinigang broth. the contrast of flavors from the rice and charred pork is so good. i rarely go to the south, but when i do, i will surely go back to this place.

food: we ordered the paella negra w calamari and crab fat carbonara: twodishesfor three girls. the waitress told us that each order is good for 2-3 persons, and turns out, we weren’t able to finish all! the food is great, though! it’s savory and tasty. i personally loved the crispy calamari and its sour dip 💕

place: the place is fancy and unique: the stairs leading to the restaurant is ornated with antique chairs and even a bike, all of which are fixated on the walls. the place is well-lit and cozy, even instagram worthy, i must say.

accommodation: the waiters are polite and quite attentive. they didn’t even mind us taking our time ordering


will go back here w the boyf ❤️

a good place for family dinners. they offer filipinodisheswith a twist.
grilled chicken and crispy pork dinuguan fondue - oh, it's a fondue style dinuguan, you can choose whether you want your meat dipped in the pork blood stew (dinuguan) or not. also, you can choose between rice and puto.mix and match, dip it or not to your own delight!tokwa't baboy - our favorite pork and fried tofu with vinegar and other spices. perfectly how we want it.grilled chicken and crispy dinuguan fondue - the serving was cute and delicious at the same time. 

sinigang paella with grilled pork belly - the paella was not that impressive pero pwede na.chicken of the south "alabang fried chicken" with gravy rice - this was a saviour dish for our niece. haha. there was nothing special about this one, too pero pwede na rin.

beach house nachos grande - perfect for sharing for big families!ambiance: 4/5service: 4/5value for money: 4/5
grilled chicken and crispy pork dinuguan rating: 4.5/5
tokwa't baboy rating: 5/5
grilled chicken and crispy dinuguan fondue rating: 5/5
sinigang paella with grilled pork belly rating: 4/5
chicken of the south rating:n 4/5
beach house nachos rating: 4/5#dinuguan #dinuguanfondue #tokwatbaboy #neilskitchen

i'm a regular at neil's. it's pinoy food with a twist -- everything is familiar to filipino palates, but definitely elevated to another level altogether. i can't say enough good things about each dish. my favorites are the boneless chicken inasal w/ hainanese rice, the tokwa't baboy, boneless chicken bbq, the concert king's salmon sinigang, and of course, the famous sinigang paella w/ grilled pork belly. my family and i never eat there without having our fill of our favorite dessert -- fried suman, mangga, & chocnut! yum. after going back for these fave standbys time and time again, i think i'm ready and excited to try the otherdishesnow.

while the food here always makes me happy, the decor and interiors play a big part in the dining experience. the bookstore is a fun touch. i must also make special mention of the restrooms, which are always pleasantly maintained. that makes a huge difference, too.

bottomline? neil's kitchen is in my top 5 restos!

neil's kitchen is one of the coolest place to eat in the alabang area.

interiors are chic and playful without overdoing it. they even have a top floor space for events and parties.

got to try the.....

tokwa't baboy - great sauce with nice balance of soy sauce and vinegar with hints of onion and sweetness. the tofu was crunchy and pork pieces not too fatty. i highly recommend this dish.

beach house nacho grande - multi-colored nachos with salsa and chili con carne. pretty straight forward and delivers all the flvors that you are looking for.

sinigang paella with grilled pork belly - a must-order dish if you are neil's kitchen. the rice has the right amount of sinigang flavor that goes well with the smokey grilled pork.

chorizo rice with callos - the chorizo rice tends to be too oily. i would rather have plain steamed rice with the callos.

alabang fried chicken with gravy rice - big pieces of chicken that is juicy and crispy but a bit too oily.

grilled bbq squid with kimchi fried rice - a good sized squid that's a bit chewy but nicely partnered with the kimchi rice.

turon de napoleon - a cute twist with crispy wonton wrappers, fried bananas, caramel sauce and whipped cream.

thedishesare playful yet still have that familiar and comforting flavors that you could always go back for.