Dine Kanadiyan — Restaurant in Brow of the Hill

Owner of the place is very dishonest. We were told when we booked for a table for 3 that it was $50 a person (originally $45 but because there were ribs because it was Father’s Day that the price went up. Ribs wasn’t even great) finally get there and surprise! It’s $60 a person because they are sneaky and took advantage of it being busy and most Filipinos being passive they decided to force you to pay for “gratuity” that is a set price.

We booked a table for 3 here 2 weeks before but they forced us to squeeze into a table for two instead with only two seats. I asked the host to give us a manager and he lied, saying there’s no manager or anyone higher in charge. I asked him again to give us a proper table and he really insisted that that’s all we can get and he tried to make us feel better by saying the original table is even smaller!

I then asked a server for a manager and she got me the owner instead. So there was a manger or owner present after all. He probably trained the host at the front to say he wasn’t there. When confronted about this, he said “oh he didn’t know” but let’s face it, big night like this. Owner wearing a purple t shirt and baseball cap walking around the restaurant. Of course he knew he was there! They probably even had a briefing prior as it was a busy night with a full house.

Long story short, owner finally got me a chair (20 min after our scheduled reservation) so that all 3 of us could have our own seats on a table for 2. Then he reversed the bogus, sneaky gratuity charge back into our card.

He was polite to deal with and very apologetic but it was obvious to all of us that he got caught. $60 for a buffet is quite steep compared to other places but it’s very easy to take advantage of hungry Filipinos that just want to have lechon and loud music.

Definitely our first and last and we don’t recommend. There’s a saying from where we come from. Mukang kwarta. This establishment is the definition of that. A bit like the jeepney driver who would cram a few extra bodies on the roof and bonnet of the jeepney to get a few extra bucks.

Oh, pancits were both good. Rest of the food was average comfort Filipino, selection was small. Dessert was a let down,...

Very disappointing 1.5 visits. I won't recommend this resto to anyone, unless they improved their service. I say 1.5 visits because for my first visit, I went for lunch by myself and there was only the other group of 12. I was seated right away, and order was taken soon after. Food arrived 40 minutes later, and it was cold. Not even warm, but cold. I had the garlic rice and fish dish, so imagine eating that cold. I just had a few bites and packed the rest to eat at home.

I decided to give them another chance for my next visit. It was only a .5 visit because I didn't get to sit down and eat at all. This was so awful that I left in disbelief. So I walk in with my husband and waited in line to be seated. The customer ahead of us was paying for her bill. Hostess saw us and acknowledged our arrival. After the bill was paid, the hostess kept on talking to them for almost 10 minutes (I heard all of the trivial conversation and it was all about knowing this person and that person and hostess telling them to return), to the point that the guest's companion interrupted their conversation and told the hostess that my husband and I have been waiting for almost 10 minutes to be seated. Unbelievable.

Hostess then looked at us (didn't apologize for the unnecessary wait) and I simply said "table for 2 please".

She poked her head through the bamboo curtain beside her, then came back out a minute later, and said that they're really busy tonight, had 2 big parties, had a party of 80 coming and all is reserved, but they do have a table of 5 free at the moment, but we would have to share it if other customers came in.

Needless to say, we were both shocked and felt like they were literally choosing who to serve, and decided not to serve us, a party of 2.

We obviously turned around and left. This experience ruined our evening. They could have told us this earlier as soon as we walked in. Instead they let us wait in line, seeing that we're a party of 2. It looked like they would rather offer the table for customers who are not there, versus the ones who are there already.

Bad service, bad food, and bad atmosphere. Not going...

Disappointing Experience – NOT WORTH THE PRICE

I don’t typically write restaurant reviews, but after my recent experience at this establishment, I feel compelled to share my thoughts. My family and I decided to try this restaurant after seeing it featured on TikTok, and unfortunately, we left extremely disappointed, especially considering the price of $45 per person, plus tip.

We visited on a Saturday evening, when they were offering a buffet service with live music. While the buffet format didn’t allow for much interaction with the servers, they did their job efficiently by clearing our plates as needed. The restaurant was fairly busy, which initially seemed like a good sign, but it appeared that many of the guests were either familiar with the band or the staff, which may have influenced the overall experience.

The buffet itself was quite underwhelming. It featured a salad bar and seven main dishes. The salad bar looked like pre-packaged salad kits from a grocery store, and the potato salad seemed identical to the Stonemill Homestyle Red Potato Salad from Costco.

The main dishes included mixed buttered vegetables, lumpia, battered fish, lechon chicken, kare-kare, pansit, and lechon. To my surprise, the "lechon chicken" tasted and looked strikingly similar to Costco’s rotisserie chicken—lacking any distinct Filipino seasoning or flavor. The lechon itself was mostly fatty, and the small, crispy pieces of skin that were served occasionally seemed like a means of stretching the portion to last the evening.

The dessert selection was equally disappointing. The tiny cupcakes and sliced cakes appeared to be store-bought, and the sapin-sapin had very little flavor.

Overall, this buffet did not reflect the authentic Filipino cuisine that was advertised. For $45 per person, the quality and variety of food were not up to par. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking an authentic Filipino dining experience, and I will not be returning...