samba - shangri-la the fort

celebrated my father's birthday here. the food tasted great! my family and guests really enjoyed their dining experience. staff provided attentive and responsive service, exceeding our expectations.

beautiful and nice ambience. me and my friends always go here for the view for lunch and afternoons. food is one of the best for a peruvian and south american cuisine in metro manila.

going in a resto. you typically rate it in three parts. food, service and ambience.

to begin, we were seated outside and there were no dedicated servers so calling one was a chore. to think service should be a premium at these upscale places.

food - really bad. a lot of the dishes served to us were really chewy except for the calamares and complimentary chips which was good. octopus ceviche, jamon salad and beef tenderloin were all rubbery and rubbish.

ambience and interiors was nice but nothing too fancy. overall, not recommended. there's a lot of better restos in shangrila-la, the fort that you can try such as raging bull or the high street cafe.

food is nothing great. quite overpriced for the quality of food served. we ordered ceviche limeno, arroz con mariscos, chicharron de calamar.. i forgot our other orders. the only one that group actually enjoyed was the ceviche.

samba is one of the places that serves the most elegant dishes here in the philippines; elegant yet explosive with vibrant flavors. top-notch service. only thing i could say that needs improvement is that food was served warm and not hot so it easily went cold.

love the food and the ambience here! the skewers were fantastic. it was my first time to try grilled octopus and was not dissapointed. the grilled chicken was also flavorful. the ceviche limone was a bit mild for my taste. maybe because im used to the traditional homemade kilawin made with lots and lots of vinegar and sili. nevertheles the seafood in the ceviche was fresh and yummy. the lomo saltado was tender and cooked perfectly. we also tried the magic liquid drink (which is non alcoholic) and loved the passion fruit flavor in it.

also, the servers were very accommodating and patient in explaining to us the menu. :)

celebrated my best friend’s bridal shower at samba last night and ‪i just want to commend samba for opening my eyes to peruvian food goodness (also to our server, kevin (?) for being the best!!!) ‬only got to take a few photos of the food (not even the half of it lol) but everything was so so good!!!

my best restaurant i tried up to date. the day after i tried here, i wanted to go back again soon for another round.

food - 5. amazing! memorable.
ambiance and service - 5. ranked number 2 in shangri-la's restaurant? this is given.

caribbean seafood medley! dessert is a good experience.

really loved the food and the atmosphere here. the food was good, packed with flavor, and the drinks were amazing. definitely a place to visit once in a while.

good food, cozy place and very friendly staff. chef took effort to visit our table to say hi and ensure that we are having a good time and enjoying food. if you're looking for an authentic peruvian dishes visit this place and you'll never regret it.

i want to give this restaurant 5 stars because clearly head chef carlo has done an amazing job with this menu and it is better today that it was over a year ago. but i’m down grading it one star because the restaurant is now missing its other star of the show... and that’s chloe the previous restaurant manager.

chloe was simply a 5 star manager. someone who really should be working in a gordon ramsay michellin star restaurant in paris, ny or vegas. where she goes customers will follow. only to be replaced with a normal middle standard on-looker type manager (nothing wrong with that) it has definitely dampened the restaurant’s fine touch.

nevertheless, the food is all class. try the mariscos
with extra sauce, the ceviche selection and lamb. just wow. the grilled octopus also is amazing! happy eating.

wish i could give more than five stars because my samba experience was above and beyond!

food — excellent, excellent, excellent! my group of five ordered quite a bit, but we managed to finish everything. my personal favorite was the char grilled octopus: it was incredibly soft but had the perfect bite. really didn’t expect it, because i’m kinda used to having rubbery cephalopods. haha! it didn’t even need the sauces that came with it to taste great. i also liked their ceviche limeno. very light & bright, easy on the stomach, but packed with flavor.

service: man, their service here is fantastic. i’m sorry i forgot to take the name of our server, but he was so nice and pleasant and looked genuinely happy to help us out. he was also nice enough to ask us if we were allergic to anything and had the dishes specially prepared to eliminate any allergens. :)

ambience: we stayed outside and i highly recommend this! i was worried initially that it would be hot but the outside dining area comes with nice ceiling fans and well, it’s on the 8th floor so it’s expected to be breezier. the outside area is great for big (and loud!) groups, and it’s much more relaxed than staying inside. loved it!

thank you samba! never knew i liked peruvian food until trying your food!

great food and super great service. liezel was a great, friendly staff. perfect for any special occasion :) my friend and i celebrated our annual joint birthday celebration here and food is glorious!!

the ambience is what i love the most. this is perfect place for late-night conversations! you can opt to seat in the intimate area of the room, or have a blast with your friends outside. great food and service, too!

shangri-la chain of hotels has been known to offer superior services. these past years though, the spotlight has been on its dining establishments. from the well loved heat, senju and summer palace of edsa shangri-la to inagiku of shangri-la makati, tastemakers have grown to be fascinated with the new additions canton road and raging bull of shangri-la at the fort. and late last year, a new restaurant was added to the list and it is designed, just like the others, to give us a gastronomic experience worth remembering.

hello, samba.

this peruvian restaurant on the 8th floor of shangri-la at the fort, may seem to be a bit misplaced at first given that canton road and raging bull are both on the 3rd floor. however, one would understand why this restaurant is placed there upon stepping in its al fresco dining area.

situated to be right beside the pool, one could lounge by the poolside while drinking one of samba’s signature drinks and enjoy the cool night breeze. but we dropped by not just to get intoxicated by the restaurant’s delightful concoctions. we went there to indulge in some scrumptious dishes.