neil's kitchen

after having mass at a nearby chapel, we had brunch and celebrated mother’s day.goodthing we went before 11 am as the place easily became full.

ambiance - we were seated at the top floor. it was a bit warm.

food - maybe pricey but it isgoodfor 2 people. we ordered tokwa’t baboy as appetizer (vinegar dip is the highlight), grilled/bbq pork, bbq chicken, callos, aligue pasta, sinigang, ang caldereta.

it is not your usual dish; it is very flavorful. meat is very tender.

service - great! two thumbs up!

i will be back again to try their other dish and the dessert....

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.goodthing, we weren't that hungry or else... 😳😳😳

once seated, we ordered right away. again, since i'm the "foodie", they let me decide which dishes to 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 wasgoodbut our least favorite. usual chicken bbq, nothing too special or extraordinary. you can skip this one and just get the first two dishes above. 😉😉

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

and oh, we also tried the iced tea and it was surprisinglygoodand 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.

neil’s was our caterer during our wedding day and from our food tasting to our couple dinner during the wedding was top notch. feedback from our guests too we a-ok. they enjoyed and said the food we picked was a great choice. other than out event, the food was something to remember too. the staff during our food tasting and lunch were courteous and attentive, which gives the customer a sense of importance.goodservice andgoodfood. 👌🏼

definitely not your typical filipino restaurant. you will find a different twist to your well-loved local dishes. we tried their calamares and the sinigang paella dish. the calamares was crunchy, however the dip was not to my liking. the sinigang paella was very tasty, topped with crispy fried vegetable leaves. the pork belly that came with this was a tad too fatty, but it did pair well with the paella. ambiance-wise, this is agooddate place, not much if you have kids along.

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. their dishes don't only look good, they tastegoodas well. and it doesn't help that they have quotes on their walls to remind you the eatinggoodfood is not a sin! i love puto bungbong, and their version with buco jelly on top killed it. i will definitely come back!

a verygoodplace to eat because they do serve excellent food here. the only downside is you will not be able to sit and relax after a full delicious meal because the place is too small and there is a queue outside waiting for other guests to finish their food.

service was sub-par and servers looked confused all the time. you can even hear them saying "i-clear mo na yung mesa madaming naghihintay sa baba." yes this place is worse than fastfood. very toxic.

i do not recommend this place at all. too much drama.

our favorite tokwat baboy that comes with a twist, they serve tofu with chopped crispy pata and its flavorful sauce.

wrong choice to calamares and kare kare as it is not worth the price. the grilled pork belly with java rice is awesome, you get what you paid for. best restaurant in alabang,goodinterior, and not too expensive. ✨

we were still eating but the staff gave us the bill. i get that they are open until 7pm only but at least let us finish eating peacefully first. they took away the plates without even asking if we were finished. as if they were in a hurry to close. that was only 6:55pm. to people planning to eat here, go there for lunch. dinner time is nogoodbecause i think they really want to close at 7pm exactly. food was great. everything tasted amazing and the serving was very generous.

pinoy food with a twist. bagoong paella with kare kare is my fav here, it is reallygoodhow they came up with kare kare. it us better to share the meals since the serving size is big.

it’s a must try for pinoy food lovers!

food: i've ordered bagoong paella with kare kare, the serving isgoodwith its price, and it is really delicious. :) it is really amazing how they came up with bagoong paella :) kare kare is also delicious and the meat was tender :) the orders of my family is also great. the adobo project is okay for me. their calamares lacks a little bit of a flavor and the sauce that they've accompanied with doesn't feel like it's a match hehe, i don't know what that sauce is, but they should partner it with vinegar or tartar sauce. but, all in all it was really agoodmeal!

place: the place is not that big, but it is really cute =)) hehe.

service: hmm, if only not for the service, i will rate this with a 5 star, but i am not satisfied with it.

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 isgoodfor 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 artisan dishes but 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. these dishes somehow 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.

very creative in giving pinoy food a twist. for example, their kare kare doesn't come with the usual bagoong because it is already paired with a bagoong rice. another example is their dinuguan which is served fondue style.  food tastes really good, especially the kare kare and  alabang fried chicken. the dinuguan fondue isgoodas well, however the pork is overly crispy that is tasted a bit burnt. serving size is also big. neil's kitchen is a must try for pinoy food lovers.

awesome food, great portion sizes, prompt service and very peaceful setting. verygoodexperience overall.

went here with a friend from the states whom i haven’t saw for a year and a half. i ordered the alabang fried prok chop, honestly it doesn’t taste that good. it tastes a bit raw and not really to die for, the rice wasgoodto be fair and the attendants were nice and accommodating. the chicken (not sure if it’s inasal) that my friend ordered, however, was good. the loaction has poor mobile signal reception
the ambience was okay.

loved their boneless chicken bbq, tapa and spaghetti. generous serving,goodfor 2 people. great ambiance andgoodservice. staffs are attentive