Finbar — Restaurant in Dauin

Been there just once so take that into consideration for this review. I didn't like it that much, just wasn't my vibe, but it was a long time ago, and they have made a lot of changes since! The owners seem really nice and I think if they are there I would definitely drop by if I know they are there.

Above is my original review about a week ago.... Then I get this.

[Response from the owner a week ago I'm not sure you're aware of the severe negative impact a 1* review has on a business. You openly admit it's been a long time since came and that many changes have been made. Why don't you come one evening for dinner and get an up to date perspective on the current business instead of slamming our hard working team with horrible, outdated reviews that aren't helpful to anyone. You don't comment on the food, drinks, service or anything other than the vibe - which isn't really a good reason for a 1* review. Please let us know when you will be coming for dinner.....not that it makes a difference to the service or quality whether the owner is there, but maybe she will come and say hi if you come for an updated view of the business.]

Dear Finbar Owner, if this reply is from the owner. First let me say, I thought I tapped the 3 stars! So my sincere apologies for not noticing it was 1 star not 3 like I thought I tapped. But I will make sure it is 3 stars like intended after this edit.

But I would would like to say, I didn't think I was "...slamming" and I didn't say anything about the food or the service, because it has been a long time since my visit, which I made clear at the start, and I didn't want to say anything negative about THAT visit, because it would not be fair to your business since it was not a recent visit. I post a lot of reviews on my Restaurant Page, and never slam or say anything horrible about a restaurant.

Once a week we pick up our eggs nearby your place and everytime we do, Google sends a notification to my account asking for a review. We were planning on visiting, we now live in Dauin and we drive by you daily, and I recently heard and read some great things about your place. Another one of the reasons we were going to visit, like I said in the review the Owners seem really nice, and I would definitely like to drop by when they were there, ( we briefly met you in town, you seem very nice.) Over the years I have recommended people to your place to eat, and to rent scooters, because you seem nice.

Then I read your reply just now. You say I am slamming your workers leaving horrible reviews about your place then ask me to come for a visit? After reading this reply, I'm sorry I would not fell comfortable coming there.

Again, I thought I tap the middle star, my apologies. I have corrected my mistake. I feel sad, my tapping the wrong star caused this. Best wishes to you and...

Used to be a regular customer of the old Finbar place. It was used to be great but this new place, is just quite different.

New place looks classy and big but I like the old place's simplicity, realness and the vibe.

Fake reservation policy - I called Finbar for reservation just to be rejected as the lady said it's already full. So I went there on another day around 10:45am without calling and to my surprise, only few tables were filled.

Absurd cleanliness policy - I walk around, checking the location. So I went upstairs and slippers/shoes not allowed so I removed it but at the same time the waitresses were wearing shoes. So I ask, why is she wearing a shoe and we cannot? Her answer is absurd, the shoes were for them only. But I don't think she got the point. When her shoes were used also on the first floor and around the place which normaly will accumulate dirt.

Hot location - Place is quite hot at noon time since it's open building, no air-conditioning. Just ceiling fans that are quite far from you. So I would suggest going there after sunset.

Food - The new food (Cottage Pie) I tried was not good at all to the point I can't finish it.

Employee vibe - Unlike before were they are quite accommodating, the backpacker feeling type of vibe, this new place is different. I didn't see familiar employee faces anymore, there were many of them but mostly just talking with each other since there were only few customers.

3 tables filled in the first floor 2 tables filled in the 2nd floor

The bad experienced:

And here's the bad experience I haven't encountered before, when checking the 2nd floor, this lady approached me and told me I can't dine here because it's intended for "groups" but I asked why when in fact there were a lot of empty tables. So she told me, "in that case, don't complaint if other guests will dine with you together" in a rude manner. Well isn't that the old Finbar vibe? Where you can talk with other guests...

And so it's now pass 12nn and I didn't notice any reserved customers dining in. Filled tables were still 2 plus mine so it's now 3.

Around 12:30nn, new customers (a couple) were checking the 2nd floor only to be informed that all tables are now reserved at 1pm! So this couple urged the waitress to let them eat fast so they can finish before 1pm. But then 1pm has passed by and only 1 family went upstairs.

So definitely, this fake reservation is killing the vibe. Maybe they treat Filipino customers differently now? Or too lazy to do...

I hate writing negative reviews because I know how much they hurt the business owners. Although I felt like leaving a 1-star review after our experience, I’m giving Finbar 3 stars for the nice atmosphere and for trying to do things differently. We came to dine in on a weekday night, waited in a line for 10 mins and ordered two meals and a beer totaling 700 PHP. The food arrived 45 minutes later. The plating (food presentation) was nice but portions were visibly small for what we paid. My beef burger tasted great but I guess the beef patty wasn’t more than 125 grams. 20 or so fries were tasteless. The second order was a pulled pork burger but instead of pulled pork, we got unappealing chunks of meat and fat cubes. We told the waiter it doesn’t look like a pulled pork burger and that we’d like to have it replaced. The first answer from the kitchen was that we have to pay for the new order (yes, you order and pay and than wait for the food to arrive). After a short back-and-forth, the second answer was that the burger will eventually be replaced. It arrived 10-15 mins later, it was the beef burger, and tasted the same good as our first order.

It seems like this place is extremely popular both with travelers and expats living in the area. There are not many places around here where you can get such things as craft beer, burgers and other Western-inspired dishes. Sadly, our impression was that this restaurant follows the familiar pattern of a place that keeps increasing prices with growing demand but is not able to keep the quality as high as before the volume of visitors skyrocketed. Anyways, I wish the owners the best of luck and many new customers that will hopefully be more satisfied (and lucky) with their...