Kuya J - SM Ecoland — Restaurant in Davao City

I had an amazing time with my friends when we visited Kuya J at SM Lanang. We enjoyed the food, and the service was great. Unfortunately, there were some items unavailable that we wanted to order that night, but it's okay.

The next day, we happened to be at SM Ecoland because we wanted to try the dish that we weren't able to order at SM Lanang. Note that this was our first time trying Kuya J at this location. When we arrived, it was lunchtime. We sat down, and were entertained immediately for our orders. The server mentioned a 15-30 minute waiting time, and that was fine.

About 15 minutes later, a family of 9 arrived and was seated next to us. I started getting annoyed when, after more than 30 minutes, there was still no food on the table! We were seated beside the counter, so when I wanted to follow up on the order, I noticed that two people at the counter kept looking at our table to check if we had already ordered. I answered yes, and it had been more than 30 minutes. One of them went back to the counter, checked some papers—probably order slips—but took something from there and went to the kitchen.

That was when I started to think that maybe that was our order slip and they hadn’t passed the orders to the kitchen! I was getting annoyed and very upset because, of course, it was lunchtime and I was getting hungry.

Just a few minutes later, right when she came back from the kitchen, the orders from the other table, which had 9 family members, were served first. Their food arrived quickly—roughly around 15 minutes!

Who wouldn't get upset when you wait for your food to be served for an hour, but it still isn’t cooked yet? THERE WERE JUST 2 TABLES WAITING AROUND THAT TIME—OURS AND THE NEXT TABLE WITH 9 FAMILY MEMBERS!

THE MOST ANNOYING PART IS THAT THEY DIDN'T EVEN APPROACH US IMMEDIATELY TO INFORM US THAT THEY HAD FORGOTTEN TO PASS THE ORDER SLIP TO THE KITCHEN.

I WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD IF THEY HAD DONE THAT, BUT NO APOLOGIES WERE OFFERED! The server who brought the food to the other table was also confused about why their order was served first.

Prior to that, I actually confronted the people at the counter to ask if the order she just passed to the kitchen was ours. I asked twice, but they just looked at each other and said nothing. So, I walked out!

WE TRANSFERRED TO HUKAD, WHICH IS RIGHT BESIDE KUYA J. DO YOU KNOW HOW THEIR SERVICE ALWAYS HAS BEEN? EXCEPTIONAL! FROM TIME TO TIME, THEY CHECKED THE ORDER SLIP TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING...

We are group of 6 adults and 2 kids.. ambiance was really good near to the event area.. few were dining around 3pm on nov. 20. But we are very disappointed with the service. Service took sooo much time and the servers were not so accommodating not even sorry that their service is slow.. we almost finish our food but the fried chicken wasn't ready yet.. we we follow up what they say " wala diay mo na inform maam nga dugay jud ni sya lutuon?" And honestly no one told us we have waited already 30 mins so how long would it take to cook a whole chicken..to add more the chicken was served half cooked with blood on the leg and thigh part.. they said they will replace it but they just refry it... its quite rude for them to say that.. honestly food were just so so nothing much special its just a name and portion were quite small not for filipino salo salo.. okay lang sana but the crew and the service pull further down the standards.. hopefully they can do something about it.. coz being warm and accommodating makes a difference...having a good atmosphere but rude crew and slow service wont make you a good...

March 2025 | I really do not understand what gives crew members of a restaurant the right to feel smug or dismissive of their own customers. Needing to ask for tissues, service water or even the most basic condiments is quite an insult to customers. These items should be a SOP upon their entry to your restaurant.

We agreed to dine in this branch because their Veranza Mall branch in General Santos was closed a long time ago and it was not crowded at past noon. There were plenty of available seating so we decided to dine at the table closest to the cashier.

From their menu, we ordered the following: Kuya J Kare-kare – P335 Sinigang na Baboy (Salo) – P405 2 cups of rice – P55 each Coke in Can – P90

From taking our orders to the actual service, to the billing and actual payment, it seems that not one crew is happy to be working here. I have been to the cheapest carenderia and expensive restaurants and none of them made me feel unwelcomed than what we experienced here.

Our experience may be unique to us but it definitely left a bad taste on our mouth that not even their Kare-kare or...