Panco Cafe - Legazpi Makati — Restaurant in Makati

Had a satisfying late lunch at Panco. We arrived at 3pm and did not have to wait to be seated. We were told by our server, Sey, that they just had a hectic and full packed lunch crowd.

Panco was started by Shanel Tan who enlisted the help of her brother, Daynard who is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) to take care of financials and business strategies.

Shanel intends to bring the Melbourne coffee culture to the Philippines. Even though she knew at an early age that she wanted to be in the restaurant business, it was only during her trip to Australia working as a barista and Assistant at Market Lane Coffee that she decided she wanted a restaurant serving high quality beans sourced from Market Lane paired with delicious Filipino cuisine. Thus, Panco was born. Panco is a wordplay on Pandesal and coffee, Filipino breakfast mainstays.

Food - 5*, we were greeted with a bang as Panco introduced itself with their superb appetizer, Bang Bang Cauliflower (₱290). It was like partaking of hot and spicy chicken tenders but in a healthier form. When paired with their coleslaw, it's pure mouth nirvana. We also had their bestsellers, Breakfast Brisket (₱480), Cheesy Kaldereta (₱480) and Australian Roast Beef (₱690). I commend them for their good sourcing of beef. Not only was it flavorful it was delectably tender, as well. The Brisket brought out the distinct beef flavor with a certain smokiness. The Kaldereta introduced a slight saltiness and creaminess to almost corned beef like texture that was heightened by the infusion of Kaldereta sauce. The Australian Roast Beef was an utter delight with its crispy battered mushrooms and mashed potatoes.

For dessert, we had their crowd favorites , Puto Bum-Balls (₱240) a novel take on puto bumbong with fine putong ube with toasted coconut and grated cheese. We also had their famous Panco Kakanin (₱210) which featured a creme brulee type torched sugar topping you have to crack that's resting on ube and sticky rice combo. What a fantastic ending. For drinks, we sampled their Tiramisu Latte (hot, ₱210), Dirty Mocha with Oat Milk (hot, ₱210) and Kalma (₱155). They were all expertly mixed and prepared. There was balance that brought satisfaction and the yum factor with each sip. I didn't imagine that kalamansi would pair well with Matcha. But it worked well. This also underscores the wise decision Shanel made in partnering with and bringing in Melbourne coffee as represented by Market Lane to the...

I recently visited Panco Cafe in Legazpi, Makati, and unfortunately, the experience was quite disappointing.

Service: The service left a lot to be desired. I specifically requested a citrus drink with absolutely no sugar, which the waitress assured me would be followed. However, the drink arrived with a thick layer of sugar settled at the bottom. When I pointed this out, the staff's response was dismissive—she told me to drink it anyway. This lack of accountability and disregard for customer instructions was frustrating and unprofessional.

Food: The chicken inasal was served cold —nothing special, just average. On the other hand, the honey chicken was a letdown: not only was it served cold, the meat was dry, lacked flavor, and failed to capture any of the taste one would expect from a dish with "honey" in the name.

Drinks: The only redeeming part of the visit was the white coffee, which was smooth, well-prepared, and enjoyable.

Other Notes: It was also surprising that the cafe did not offer any sugar alternatives like Splenda or Equal. When I asked for one, the staff recommended brown sugar instead. A better understanding of dietary needs and sugar substitutes would certainly go a long way in improving customer experience.

Overall Verdict: While the coffee was good, poor service, miscommunication, and subpar food made the experience underwhelming. There’s a lot of potential here, but serious improvements are needed—particularly in staff training and...

🚨the bread on the melbourne style is criminal🚨

Ordered longganisa (mnl style) and tamarind chicken (melb style)

Food Thoughts: -longganisa was yum. Perfect combo with the garlic rice. That crunchy garlic topping was soooo good. I wanna have that malasado egg as a blanket it was very comfy. Serving was also just right.

-Tamarind chicken breast cut into strips then battered. All yum. The actual chicken meat was cooked right, not too dry or undercooked. Batter was crispy and not too salty. The mustard sauce provided acidity and zing. The "camote chips" on the side was heavenly! Not too crispy that your teeth hurt biting into them, but not too soft that you feel like it needs another 3mins in the fryer. Whatever sauce/dressing they drizzled on it was CRACK. it was sweet but not icky or nkakaumay.

The main problem on this melb style dish was the bread. It was a bit stale and too thick. It was nakakaumay. It wasnt toasted at all so it provided no additional texture. Well it did... it was too soft and felt like it came out of a paper bag after sitting in the shelf gor like 10 days. It didnt taste fresh.

For 380-500php a dish, it's criminal not to have a good food experience.

Overall 3/5 Staff was accomodating, no attitude or discrimination 🤭 (we all know this happens with upscale places in the metro) Didnt try the drinks. Went on a sunday afternoon. Place was less crowded + atmosphere was very chill (vs coffee academics across the street...