Jeje El Nido — Restaurant in El Nido

Well, I decided to repost this review because the owner responded on it with information which is not completely accurate and has nothing to do with my impression about the food. It can be misleading. Do you really think I would waste almost 40 usd just to write a semi-negative/semi-positive feedback? No! I didn’t expect it to be so. Even after eating here, we went to get a pizza directly, which I didn’t mention in original review. I always write constructive and genuine feedbacks. It would be very narrow minded from my side to leave dishonest review just because they didn’t respond to my message. So, what is written in this honest feedback is based on my experience in the restaurant. I also don’t know what exactly is untruthful here because things I wrote can be easily worked on (like adding more truffle to the cheese, informing customers that bread (I think it was bread but I am not 100% sure?) is sweetish, putting soap in the bathroom, for the mushroom hazelnut thing - I attached menu photo so you can clearly see that egg is not mentioned, but I equally said that a version we got was 5 out 5, just doesn’t completely fit the description, square arancini - I didn’t like, I don’t know what can be changed, someone likes, someone doesn’t… about dessert, as I said, for me it was good, but did waitress brought it during time of eating the main dish - yes, she did… how this can be a lie?).

So, once again, my review is genuine and is not affected by anything out of our experience inside the restaurant. I am sorry that you don’t like it. I even feel a bit offended for being indirectly accused of lying (sharing dishonest review is called lying!), but anyway, I’ll keep a grade same and let’s hope the restaurant really considers constructive critic.

The original review:

I had a very high expectations from this restaurant, since it had 5 out of 5 stars in the time I was visiting (adding disclaimer - it is normal to have personal expectations when visiting some place and reading reviews beforehand). Our experience was a bit disappointing.

Location: Right in the center. Easy to find. Bright colours.

Food:

Brie cheese stuffed with truffle: When you bite the first part of brie, you can feel the taste of the truffle… but as you eat more, the taste disappears. The idea of combination is great, but please put the proper amount of truffle, not just a small piece. 2/5

Mushrooms, feta cheese and hazelnut: It tasted good but it didn’t taste as expected. So for tasting good 5 out of 5. For what is written vs what we got, 2 out of 5 - we didn’t taste any hazelnut and there was no mention of eggs in the menu, while half of it is an egg.

Square arancini with tuna tartare: I just didn’t like it. I don’t know on what oil (or whatever) it was cooked on but to me it had taste of a bacon. 2/5

Waygyu (wagyu?) beef burger: It felt like a fast food burger - especially the bread (it was sweet). 2/5

Mango float flower: For me it was good. 5/5

Service: Attentive - maybe a bit over attentive 😄. We just finished with the plate and they are already coming to take it - it would be nice to have some space/rest, before moving the plate. They brought main fish before we finished with appetisers and dessert before we finished with the main dish. I was actually asked if I want to get a dessert together with the rest of the food, and I clearly said that I don’t want it, but after we finish with everything.

Restroom: They only had alcohol to clean the hands, no soap. The lady who is working mentioned that “tomorrow she will ensure there is a soap”, maybe someone can check on this and mention in the review if they have it now. She asked me if I want her to bring it to me that moment from somewhere but I said it is ok, doesn’t have to.

Price: Our bill was about 2100 php (36 usd). Expensive for the size and fact that it is in Philippines (compared to...

We visited the restaurant as a group of three, arriving at 12:40 p.m. and placing our orders within ten minutes. Our order consisted of three avocado toasts (with two poached eggs, one scrambled egg, and two additional bacon toppings) and two drinks.

While the drinks were served in about ten minutes( prepared separately by the bar staff)the food itself took a whopping thirty minutes to arrive. For three avocado toasts, this delay was both surprising and frustrating. This long wait was particularly disappointing given that we were the first customers of the day and the restaurant was empty upon our arrival. There were only three staff members present: one handling the bar and two in the kitchen. I am attaching a photo showing how full the restaurant became by the time we left, highlighting that our wait occurred under minimal workload conditions.

As for the food itself: The presentation of the plates was neat and appealing. However, the bacon was undercooked, appearing pale pink and resembling ham rather than crispy bacon. The poached eggs were inconsistent: one was correctly cooked, while the other was noticeably overcooked We expected sliced avocado on the toasts, but instead received an avocado purée, which was bland and lacked seasoning. On a positive note, the bread was flavorful, and the salad dressing was well-balanced. The drinks were not very great either ( vanilla lattes) , tasted like an alcoholess expresso martini, my partner didn't even finish it. For my portion alone (avocado toast with poached egg and bacon), I paid 507.60 PHP 5% taxes included — a price that feels absolutely unjustified considering the overall experience As if that wasn’t enough, the restroom was flooded and completely unusable. Overall, the experience was rather disappointing both in terms of service speed and food quality, especially considering the simplicity of our order and the absence of other customers at the time. Against all odds, you’re getting 3 stars — not because it was great, but because in the middle of all the chaos we tasted here, you somehow manage to taste "less...

A French-style restaurant, which was highly recommended to me by a French person. I was with high expectations, but it ended up being a huge disappointment. The style is pretentious, with dishes that have good presentation but completely lack flavor. Bland and dull. I chose the burger, and it was a total letdown— even McDonald's makes a burger with more taste and care. Dishes were served at different times for the rest of the guests. In the end, it’s an expensive place that supposedly offers a gourmet experience, but it completely fails in both flavor and quality of the food. Unfortunately, I do not recommend it.

P.S. I just read response of the manager. Response gives vibe of immaturity or doesn't allow any criticism. With that attitude the restaurant is going to drown. If I compared your burger with McDonald's, is to notice that even cheapest fast food burgers are tastier. If you are not allowing any criticism but responding with sarcasm, how can you...