Antonio's Manila — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

Antonio's provided a great experience in service and atmosphere. It is located inside PGA cars where most of the seats are on the second floor. There is weirdly a waiting room before you go in, but it wasn't too long of a wait.

For the food we ordered the escargot, crab uni ikura capellini, and a 700g dry aged bone-in ribeye.

The escargot tasted just okay for me and my companion. For us it lacked seasoning despite being covered in pesto and garlic. It didn't really stand out as a dish in our opinion. It is nice to try once, but we would try something else the next time we visit. The pasta had a light cream sauce which helped accentuate the ikura, uni and crab. It was not just tasty, but it was fun to eat and a good pair with the savory steak. The only issue we had was some of the inner crab shell that was mixed in with some meat, which was a hassle to take out as we sometimes ended up having to spit the shell pieces out. The steak was expensive, but I think it was worth it. Note that the smallest cut they had was 700 grams so we ordered it for 2 of us. It was very tasty and you can taste more of the beef flavor compared to the usual steak. The tenderness was great making it easy to eat. It was perfectly cooked with a crispy crust, which made it very satisfying to bite into. The sides that came with it were also tasty with the duck-fat fries and potato gratin feeling like a good dish on their own. For the condiments we would recommend using the steak sauce and salt they give.

Note: There is no service water given here. One bottle of around 500-750mL is P200 for two people to drink. This is the same price as getting juice for one person, so ponder on that choice if you are alright with getting juice. Note 2: The complimentary bread they give at the start is delicious as well.

The service was great and they were all very accomodating. It was the fine dining vibe and there was no hassle in the experience with the service. They even gave a free dessert for my companion's birthday. The table we got though was meant for four people when we were just two, so I was quite far from my companion, but that's the only issue I had.

Overall it was a great experience if you are willing to pay a premium price for great service and good food. Just some room for improvement on the food as...

My most recent dining experience was with my husband and two of his business partners. We returned due to the positive and enjoyable previous two dining occasions we had at Antonio’s. Unfortunately this time was a disappointment on a few levels. Shortly after we sat down at hour table, we ordered cocktails. Once the cocktail order was being prepared, we then had a look at the wine list, asked the Sommelier for advice. He was very helpful and we subsequently ordered a bottle of wine. While waiting for our cocktails the bottle of wine was presented. We had to tell the staff that we have yet to receive our cocktails and please hold off on opening the bottle of wine. Unfortunately the drink order took another 15 minutes to be served. This was an egregious amount of time to have simple cocktails served. Most disappointing was the food, specifically the steak that my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed on our first visit to Antonio’s. We went as far as showing the staff a picture I had taken of the steak we originally had, before actually placing our order. When the steak was served there was a distinct difference in the taste. When I questioned the staff as to why, I was told that the previous steak was aged for 45 days, whereas the steak we were served that evening was only aged for 35 days. We were only informed of the change of the aging of the steaks after we began eating.

While my husband was discussing business negotiations with his clients, we were being asked to order our dessert before his clients had finished their meals. It created an awkward situation and my husband felt he could not finish his business discussion due to being interrupted more than once about dessert.

As a five star rated restaurant, I...

I honestly have to admit that PGA Antonio’s did not reach the expectations I had. It wasn’t a bad disaster, no worries, but there were a few mishaps that I think could have been avoided.

For the food, most of the dishes were great. My only no from the food was the Lobster and Prawn bisque. This was too salty to eat, we even tried to add hot water to the dish but it didn’t work. Our table had 3 orders of this and all were salty.

My favorites from what we ordered were the Pate de Foie Gras, Rougie Duck Leg Confit, and the Creme Caramel.

As for the service, I think this can still be improved upon.

Our table was wondering what happened to our order of the escargots and oysters because the staff was already serving our mains. It was explained to us that they cancelled these appetizers because they accidentally started the mains. I think they should have asked us first because we were expecting these still to be served. In the end, we still pushed for our order of the escargots.

Another mishap we encountered was when they started serving our desserts but 1 of the mains was still not served. Apparently the kitchen accidentally had a delay with 1 of the orders that ended up with us eating dessert while another just started her main.

Perhaps the service timing of the foods can be improved upon? Personal opinion too, but they served the appetizers and soups all in one go so it felt...