the pantry - dusit thani manila

my fiancé and i decided to have dinner here with my mom last friday to celebrate mother’s day and we’re happy to have ended up here.

the food’s great! they have a station for filipino dishes (including lechon), a salad station, a station for ramen, a station for pizza and pasta, a station for desserts which includes churros, seafood station, and their very own thai station. their selection may not be as big as other hotel restaurants that serve cuisines around the world, but they made sure your taste buds will be satisfied with each dish. what stood out was their seafood station - 3 big wok-style containers full of crabs, shrimps, and shells which you can drizzle with 3 different sauces. did i already mention that one big steamed salmon in a platter beside them?

on the other hand, we noticed that they don’t immediately get your empty plates and we had to call their attention to refill our glasses with water. it’s not a big deal for us but i think they can get a 5 in the future if they improve their service as well.

recommended: ☑️

our family took advantage of credit card promo and celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday here. the staff are accommodating and welcoming and the surroundings are quite posh. still, i found the food offerings quite limited, i didn't even see a selection of sashimi. i found the beef brisket overly seasoned and the creme brulee's sugar topping tasted burnt. also, the strawberries, whether chocolate-coated or garnishing the dessert offerings - still had their leaves so it was a hassle having to remove them.

highlights of the meal, however, included the mushroom risotto and the lamb shawarma.

ridiculous dimsum section got asado siopao only there is no siomai or chicken feet or hakaw or anything. lechon skin not crispy makunat & meat is salty. grilled section squid calamares & lamb too dry overcooked sunog cant find any roast beef or any beef except salty bulalo soup. many indian food but not spicy and lacks aroma & spices. salad section no romaine lettuce or ceasar salad. sashimi section no salmon sashimi. you must pay extra for cappucino coffee even shangrila or new world hotel offers free cappucino. service was slow took 30 minutes to get our bills and severs seemed sleepy & low moral not a single smile looks more like forced laborer. filipino themed buffet but worst quality then cabalen filipino buffet at twice the price even with bdo amex 50% discount. utterly waste of time & disappointing no wonder place half empty. never will i go back to torture myself feels gloomy & depressing place not real serious to perform and compete not a cuisine worth remembering. worst part of a restaurant is half hearted and lack of passion & lack of love of food glorious food.

not my very first time dine in with dusit thani. you guys all did a wonderful job. the picks are plenty as compared to other establishments within a luxury hotel restaurant, the food was very sumptuous! i regaled my friend to my birthday dinner here and all of them enjoyed very much, most especially their tummy. fabulous selection of seafood, bbq, salads. i was so happy with the taste of fresh crabs, shrimps, shells and especially lechon. their dessert section as well. i decided to sign up with their loyal membership program to enjoy privileges offers. would definitely come back to treat myself and beloved one by using my membership card!

a lot of selections but few are worth the calories. food wasn't bad but really nothing spectacular. the lechon roasting on display was a nice touch to the area but the aircon cannot keep up with the summer heat and the crowd and i can't help but think that the extra heat from the charcoal of the roasting is not helping the situation. service is high level and very well trained and thus saving the day for this zomato review.

i decided to their buffet lunch last week (wednesday). i came 15 mins before 12 noon and they were not yet open so the receptionist asked me to wait for a while. all the staff were really nice and accommodating, very customer friendly.

the choices for seafood were shrimp, crab, mussel and baked oyster.
for their sushi, they only have like 3-4 kinds of sushi. i didn't like the sushi, it tasted bland.
the bread selection was great.
their lechon is fine but the lechon skin was really "makunat".
their dessert, it was fine. but i liked their oreo ice cream, i had 2 rounds of it.
their buffet was not sulit for the price (less than 2k).

the eatventurers visited this european goodness in dusit thani manila and we were very satisfied.

the beef striploin was superb! it’s cooked to perfection, juicy and not too hard to cut. the pepper sauce enhances the taste but one can do away with it.

the dessert are also good. not too sweet but still delicious.

the eatventurers

the staff is very accommodating. the ambiance is very cozy as well. their wagyu beef steak is a must try! avoid weekends though, especially sundays, because the crowd can be overwhelming.

my experience here is very extraordinary. the food, services and ambiance is really one of the best. but what stand out is the fact we had a meeting with billy dela rosa (general bato's nephew) and mr. roa, our president duterte's nephew and the staff never recognize who thet are.

we tried their dinner buffet featuring all meat special but there were still the seafood staple of crab and shrimps. lechon was good, it was roasted on site so it's hot and the skin is so crispy. salad bar was on point with different freshly made dressings and a variety of lettuce leaves. dessert bar was very good, they even have traditional halo halo where you can choose your own mix for toppings. service was good and attentive. our server even brought a bowl of water to wash our fingers with,before we ate our seafood. i would definitely go back. price was good for the ambience and unobtrusive service. the restaurant was filled to seating capacity but they were not crowded unlike the other buffet restaurants in the metro.

service was very bad. orders taken were incorrect, and servers were unapologetic and rude about it. some of the orders didn’t even arrive. steak was overcooked (medium instead of medium rare). schedule here is outdated. when i made a reservation, it was not mentioned that they only serve buffet on certain days. i was only told on the day of my reservation that they only serve ala carte on mondays. worst dining experience ever.

dining outside these days is something i really appreciate.

but dining in a garden, with eye soothing greens around you,a pond with koi, while enjoying good wine with good friends under the stars? oh my! my heart is full.

heres my top 5 things i love about dusit thani manila, dine al fresco the pantry (weekends only)

1.) the ambiance. can be perfect for intimate dinner with your partner or just a lovely evening time with the family.

2.) the wine pantry! it's a first in the country! they sell wines at retail prices. they have different wines from 9 countries and 29 regions. whatta selection! >imagine, you get to choose your wine, enjoy it in a five star hotel without digging in that deep in your pockets! *and buy a bottle or two to enjoy at home* lalo na if you’re a wine lover, you need to check this out!

3.) the buffet stations were outdoor too! ganda!

4.) the food! it’s their geaux friday louisiana bbq dinner buffet. mostly grilled! love the grilled talikitok, jambalaya, and the meats with their specialty sauces.. so good!

5.) amazing customer service. *even executive chef , f&b director and the general manager, stanley lo was there to chitchat with us and shared lotsa.

a friday night i’ll never forget. cheers!

zomato menu outdated and not comprehensive enough though.

i’m a bit confused with how they compute for the sc and taxes. i’ve ordered the same thing (cappuccino) several times, but the amount i’ve been paying for always differ.

in context, i always request for iced cap, and on their menu hot is only available.

last week when i went here, i got 2 iced caps for less than php 400 (sc + tax inclusive), and today, i ordered 1 glass of cap and my bill is php 250+ inclusive of sc and taxes. according to the waitress (just today when i called out the inconsistency), converting a hot cap to iced has a price hike amounting php 83 each. which im confused because i keep getting different bill amounts for the same order, everytime regardless if i only order 1 or 2 glasses.

if price increases by php 83 everytime i order an upgrade to iced cap, shouldn’t my previous visit be more than php 400?

or do they charge you depending on their mood per se?

food is excellent it is quite expensive but it's definitely worth it. the staffs are very accommodating.