Manila Grill Restaurant — Restaurant in Edmonton

Avoid this restaurant. You’ll get ripped off due to crooked business practices.

This review comes after my fourth time buying food from this place. Normally, I get party platters. My first two visits were fine. No issues with the food or the customer service. On my third visit, I stayed for dinner and picked up an order for four party platters that I placed a few days prior. The server was very pleasant so I gave my usual 20% tip for excellent service. What I didn’t notice till much later was that I was already charged a 10% mandatory tip which I was not made aware of, putting the total tip at 30%.

In addition to the 10% mandatory tip for dinner, the server also added the 10% to my party platters, again a fact I didn’t notice till later, mainly because he only gave me the debit receipt, not the itemized receipt. I spoke to the manager and was told I can apply the over-charge to my next order.

This brings me to my fourth time, which came about a month and a half after my third visit. I placed an order for four medium party platters to be picked up by a friend who had business in Edmonton, with the expectation that I would get a discount.

When I met up with him later, I saw that the cashier had added $5 to each party platter, which effectively cancelled out the discount I should have received. I called and was told that they had increased the prices for the party platters but I found that they did not update the online menu to reflect the increase. It seems like each time I’ve ordered from this place, the prices keep rising which wouldn’t be such a problem if they gave proper warning.

For those who read this and still want to check out this restaurant, here’s a quick review of what I’ve ordered. The seafood appetizers are so greasy that you can only taste the oil. The “homemade” fish balls, which I was hoping would be like the ones from the fish ball carts back home, seem to be the frozen kind you can get from any Asian grocery store. With the bistek and adobo, you taste the soy sauce more than the tangy flavour that I prefer. The dinuguan and sinigang are good. The kaldareta is okay but very greasy. The pancit bihon and menudo are bland. The pancit palabok is good but very chintzy on the toppings.

Despite the fact that the food is fairly decent, due to crooked business practices, I definitely will...

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the recent experience my party and I had at Manila Grill Restaurant. During our visit on November 23, 2023 we encountered several issues that have left us feeling frustrated and disappointed.

Firstly, we were dismayed to find an additional drink on our bill that we had not ordered. This discrepancy in our bill was an unwelcome surprise and added an unnecessary expense to our dining experience. We were confident in the accuracy of our initial orders, and the inclusion of this additional drink was inconsistent with our expectations and preferences.

Furthermore, we were troubled by the automatic inclusion of a $5 gratuity tip on our bill. While we understand and appreciate the importance of acknowledging the hard work of the staff, we believe that tipping should be at the discretion of the customer and based on the quality of the service received. The imposition of a mandatory gratuity without our consent was unjust and made the tipping process feel insincere.

To compound our dissatisfaction, we were dismayed to find that the payment machine prompted us to add an additional tip on top of the mandatory gratuity. This approach felt manipulative and coercive, leaving us feeling pressured to provide further gratuity, despite already being charged a compulsory amount.

As a customer, I believe it is imperative to highlight these issues in the hope that they can be addressed to prevent similar experiences for future patrons. These practices not only led to an unfair increase in the total cost of our meal, but also diminished our overall perception of the restaurant and its integrity.

In conclusion, I sincerely hope that you will take this feedback seriously and take steps to rectify these issues. We value honesty, transparency, and fairness, and we trust that Manila Grill Restaurant shares these values. We recommend that you review and revise your billing and tipping processes to ensure that they align with ethical and customer-centric principles.

I would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and a timely response regarding the actions that will be taken to address these concerns. I hope that our next visit to Manila Grill Restaurant will be a more positive and transparent experience.

Thank you for your attention to...

A Disappointing Dining Experience at Manila Grill

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Our recent visit to Manila Grill left us feeling utterly frustrated and disappointed. We had high hopes for a delightful meal, but unfortunately, the experience fell far short of our expectations.

We ordered a variety of dishes, including beef nilaga, pork sisig, crispy pata, and Bicol express, all accompanied by rice. The beef nilaga was the only saving grace, as it had a commendable taste. However, the same cannot be said for the rest of our selections.

The pork sisig had an unpleasant sour taste that left us questioning its freshness. Even more disheartening was the Bicol express, which turned out to be mostly vegetables with a meager amount of pork. It was a far cry from what we expected, and we couldn't believe the disparity between the menu description and what was served.

We were supposed to order the Lechon Kawali however the waitress said that it was only available in smaller portions, prompting us to order a Crispy pata instead. Sadly, some parts of the crispy pata had a foul taste and an off-putting odor, suggesting that it might not have been fresh.

To add to our disappointment, the special item not listed on the menu, buko pandan, turned out to be a darker shade of green with an artificial flavor that left much to be desired.

The tipping process was another frustrating aspect of our experience. Our friend, who settled the bill, was automatically charged a tip without any option to customize the amount. The cashier informed her that it had already been encoded, leaving us feeling coerced into paying a tip that we had no say in, especially considering the size of our party.

In conclusion, our group of four left Manila Grill feeling like we had paid for a meal that failed to meet our expectations. The combination of subpar dishes, questionable freshness, and a lack of control over the tip left us with a bitter taste in our mouths, both literally and figuratively. We hope that our feedback serves as a constructive critique for Manila Grill to improve and provide a more enjoyable dining experience for...