Sarsá Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Makati

The place has a fine dining vibe, with dim lighting and a cozy atmosphere where you can comfortably have a conversation with your dining companion without needing to ask the waiter to lower the music—a common issue in many European restaurants. The food concept is excellent, as it’s not the traditional fare typically served in Filipino restaurants. One of the standout aspects of this restaurant, based on what I’ve observed over the months and its long-standing reputation, is the regular updates to the menu. This approach greatly contributes to the growth of Filipino cuisine overall, offering foreigners who want to try our food—or those who have already experienced it elsewhere—a modern take on Filipino dishes. It reflects the version of our cuisine that we hope future generations will grow accustomed to and appreciate.

Cocktail: HALIMUYAK

For this cocktail, the preparation time and the time it takes to consume it play a significant role. Since it’s a whisky-based cocktail, if too much ice is added and it sits for a while, the flavors of the cocktail itself tend to lose emphasis. If it takes you more than 20 minutes to drink it—bearing in mind that a cocktail is meant to be enjoyed slowly—it loses its essence. Well, more than just its essence, the cocktail itself essentially fades, and after 20 minutes, it doesn’t have any noticeable flavor apart from tasting like whisky diluted with water. To address this, they should consider reviewing their ice supplier or using a type of ice that lasts longer in this kind of setting.

Longanissa Piaya (8) I really like the concept behind this dish because it requires a lot of technique to achieve it. Since it’s a piaya bread, the meat needs to be just right—not dry. However, if the meat is too juicy, it will make the bread too soggy. This clearly shows the level of skill involved in preparing this dish.

Palabok Negra (7) I really like the concept they have for the Palabok since it’s not the traditional one we see every day. Being a Palabok Negra, it seems to reference a Spanish dish called Fideuá negra, So the concept behind this dish seems quite appropriate and well thought out. The only thing is that it’s missing a bit of flavor or a punch to bring out the characteristic taste of the Palabok we’re used to. When you taste it, the main thing you notice is the texture—the crunchiness of the small fried crab and the pasta, which is cooked to a nice balance, not too soft or too firm. However, it’s lacking a bit in flavor in that regard.

Overall great experience and good food that can be...

This review is purely about their customer service. We didn’t even get to try their food because we left after a long time of waiting and not being attended to.

7:44 PM - I called to check what time they’ll be closing and if they’re busy. I also asked if I can make a reservation, and I was told I don’t need to since there is only one group waiting and they do walk-ins.

8:18 PM - Arrived at Sarsa and had my name listed by the wait staff and we’re 2nd in line. There is already another group in their waiting area inside right after the door, and we’re the only ones waiting outside to be seated.

Around 10mins of waiting, a group of 6-7 people left. It took them a while to clear the tables. After around 20mins of waiting a group of 2 people came and went straight to the wait staff and was told that they’re just setting up the table for them. Benefit of the doubt, they might have a reservation. So they led them in first. The wait staff even looked at me before calling them because we’re just right beside each other. The staff didn’t give me any update up to when we will be seated. The 1st group already is seated so it is just us 2 waiting. Another group went out but still we are not being led in to be seated. I was watching them to see if they will clear the tables but no, they didn’t. There is no urgency in clearing the tables to make room for customers waiting. I was keeping a close eye on the wait staff that took my name. And she was just looking at me with no update whatsoever. No apologies for waiting long. Another group went out. But again we’re not being entertained. Not even offered to wait inside and we’re just standing outside. My fiancé and I decided to just leave after 40mins of waiting. We don’t feel like we’re a valued customer. No urgency from the wait staff to make sure waiting customers can be seated right away.

We just went to Din Tai Fung in Greenbelt to have our late dinner. As soon as we got there, we are treated like valuable customers. The wait staff even apologized to us for waiting because they’re still setting up the table. They are actually closing at 9pm but they extended their hours till 9:30pm and we’re the last customers. The attending manager even went to us just to make sure everything is okay, which is a standard for Moment Group restaurants.

I don’t know if this is an isolated case, but upon reading reviews, there is also a fair share of complaints against their...

I think the bad reviews here are factual. Here are some highlights of our experience in Sarsa:

RESERVATIONS 3/5 - They’re very accessible via Viber and they easily confirmed our reservation. However, we were placed next to the door. There were 2 separate couples that did walk-ins, but they got the table with the booth. We did asked to be placed somewhere else, but we still ended up being near the door. During our meal, two flies keep flying around our food.

FOOD 3/5. We ordered Chicken Isaw, Molo Soup, Palabok, Sizzling Kansi, Tortang talong, and 3-way Sisig. In general, the food was ‘lasang malinis’.

(1) Chicken isaw (2/5) was dry, leathery, not juicy, no flavor except it was charred. (2) Molo Soup (3/5) was served beautifully but Maam’s hastened presentation put the dish off; I like the idea of fried wanton with the soup, however, it went soggy afterwards. (3) Palabok (2/5) was creamy but I dont know why. Maybe that was the twist? It lacked saltiness from the sahog which shouldve balanced the dish. The noodles used were thick since it was ‘pansit luglug’. (4) Tortang talong (2/5) was your traditional tortang talong but they tried to upscale it by placing fried alamang on the side and a minute amount of crab meat at the center of the torta. (5) For the 3-way Sisig (2/5), the 1st third of the meat was boiled, 2nd third was fried and last third, I think, was buttered. I did not like the fact that I was that trying to be very careful with my bites/chewing just because some meats were heavily fried which gives the pork a hard/rock-like consistency. (6) Sizzling kansi (5/5) was the only remarkable dish I had. I love that it was reduced so the reduced cream was rich in beef, broth and asim. Kahit ito na lang iorder ninyo at kanin.

I think I marked it low due to my expectations that the meals are outstanding based on articles available online. But in general, they did serve the food in the most honest way without any tricks or surprises.

VALUE FOR MONEY (2.5/5) - Yes for the experience. But I wont recommend others from going here. I will ask them instead to go to Gerry’s for Sisig and Palabok, Manam for Isaw/BBQ/Skewers, or Locavore for food with Filipino twists. We spent 3.2k for...