Denny’s — Restaurant in Manila

Visited: 20191031, 1122, 1213; Dinner; 2-4 pax

Dishes Ordered: =Chicken Cranberry Apple Salad =Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad =Mozarella Cheese Sticks =Zesty Nachos =Three Cheese Penne =Chicken Philly Melt =Denny's Fried Chicken =Hash Brown =Chicken & Sausage Quesadilla (without the pork sausage) =Crispy Chicken Sandwich =Strawberry Cheesecake Waffle =Pancake Puppies Sundae =Fudgie Brownie Ala Mode Waffle =Bourbon Chicken Skillet =Braised Beef Skillet =Norwegian Salmon

The salads were great! The vegetables were fresh, the amount of dressing was just enough. The chicken was a delightful addition. We ordered the good for one person serving of each salad & the serving was enough for a person with average appetite.

The Mozarella Cheese Sticks though breaded, were substantially made of cheese (unlike the cheese sticks in other restaurants, where it is hard to find the cheese inside the breading). The flavor of the dip complemented the cheese sticks.

The Zesty Nachos reminded us of the ones we had in the US; there is a good balance of the flavors of the different ingredients. There were enough of the nacho meat & dressing for the tortilla chips. The serving size is good for sharing.

The Three-Cheese Penne was flavorful & just have enough saltiness. The garlic bread was a good complement.

The Chicken Philly Melt was just great! Every ingredient bringing its unique flavors to the sandwich. For those avoiding onions, this one is not for you, as it is loaded with onions.

The Denny's Fried Chicken was not that greasy/oily; & even without the sauce, it was tasty enough on its own.

The Braised Beef Skillet was deliciously tender. The Norwegian Salmon tasted great; but, the size of the Salmon was much smaller than we expected. The Bourbon Chicken Skillet tasted OK; but, it seems a bit overcooked (the chicken meat was quite dry).

We noticed that the drinking water/ice they serve are purified. This is great given that tap water is generally not safe for drinking & bottled water makes use of plastics that would have to be recycled properly.

Service =The host seated us promptly; & soon after a waitress was ready to take our orders. The waitress answered all our questions about each dish & the Chef was kind enough to share the ingredients. The waitress was quick enough to deduce which ingredients we were avoiding & that made our dish selection easier. =Our orders arrived sooner than expected.

Ambience =Lighting was good, as it allowed us to appreciate the plating of each dish & the vibrant colors of each ingredient much better. =Background music was loud enough to be noticed, but not too loud that it is hard to have a decent conversation. There were several TVs showing different sports programs; but they were muted. =The seats inside the booth were comfortable; the dividers provided enough privacy to have a decent conversation without unnecessarily disturbing the other patrons.

Wish List =While we appreciate that Denny's Philippines serve local dishes, we wish that they serve more of the same dishes that are being served in the US branches/locations. People don't go to Denny's expecting Filipino dishes; in the same manner we don't go to Italianni's expecting Japanese dishes. =We wish that they indicate on the menu the kind of meat used for each dish (e.g., turkey or pork bacon; beef or pork sausage; beef or pork meatballs). This is helpful for those with dietary restrictions. =We also wish that they would allow us to make our own omelette & waffle/pancake combinations; that is, choose which ingredients to include. =While the air conditioning system keeps the temperature inside the restaurant cool, we wish that an air filtration system is used to minimize the smell of food inside the dining area. In this way, when we leave the place, our clothes & hair would not give away that we just came from a restaurant. =Parking is tricky when the mall is closed. =We just wish that the BFF Card has a longer validity period; that is, longer than 1 year.

Pricing =Pricing is a bit on the higher-end; but,...

First off I’ve been to Dozens of Denny’s across the USA. And as a child I grew up living next to a Dennys, So I’m very familiar with there food and type of service.

This location though blew my mind, the service and cleanliness was top notch. But what I can’t hold in is how freakin good the food is, never have I ate a Dennys this good. I’ll explain it like this, if you have ever eaten at restaurant and had good or bad food. You know which chef loves what they do and which one doesn’t. Because there is a big difference. Although this menu is quite simple, the chefs here make it taste so delicious.

Never was a pancake type of person, I always asked to swap the pancakes for toast when I order any of the “slams” but the Pancakes here….. Oh boy, Soo soft and yet holds a nice firmness that it doesn’t just sag and fall off your fork. I mean if there was ever a perfect pancake this dennys location has it. NO DOUBT!

Any IHOP I’ve been to has nothing on these pancakes. But it’s not only the pancakes folks. Every single thing we ordered was amazing. Nothing was soo strong in flavors, not to salty, sweet, or bland. It’s was very well balanced and cooked to a perfection. As a former restaurant cook I can appreciate how you can take just a few ingredients and make it take amazing. And yet it’s almost the hardest thing to perfect as a cook but these guys back there cooking are artisans.

I can’t say enough how good the food is, You gotta try it and tell us all what you think. They were recently voted top 10 Robinson’s restos to dine at and that’s a statement about this specific place.

Denny’s Robinsons Ermita whatever you are doing there please keep it going. And please keep those chefs because they definitely love what they do and it’s speaks volumes in the food. If you don’t have them and that food, you don’t have...

Another one of bistro group's restaurants, but this one is in the PHP200-500 range in terms of entrées which should signal that their price point is cheaper than the rest of their restaurant portfolio.

Denny's builds off a 50s American diner vibe with small Philippine twists which becomes more evident once you take a look at their menu that combines the homey soulfood of both the Philippines (bangus, tapsilog, etc. Etc.) as well as the typical fare you'd get in an American diner food (Omelette variations, Pancakes, American breakfast combos, fried chicken, etc. Etc.).

The food is pretty good, but don't expect the same level of good you'd get from bistro group's significantly pricier restaurants. The fried chicken is crispy and moist in the best of times, but consistency may vary based on my visits. The Omelette are huge and are best reserved for sharing cause if you eat it by yourself, you'll find that the portions will overwhelm an Asian stomach. Finally, the pancakes are very fluffy and flavorful, but it suffers from the fact that the portions can be overwhelming for a single person, and some combinations like the one with cinnamon can also prove too much for a sweet tooth.

All-in-all, great choice if you want homey comfort food from the Philippines and America. The price is reasonable and the food is on point...