Silya — Restaurant in Manila

This restaurant is awkwardly wedged in the middle of a chaotic, high-traffic street, and from the second you arrive, you're greeted with noise, exhaust fumes, and confusion. There's no proper entrance ,just a flimsy curtain and a sidewalk littered with trash and cigarette butts. Honestly, I should’ve taken that as a sign and turned around.

The place is filthy. Tables were sticky, the floor looked like it hadn’t been mopped in days, and flies were buzzing around like they paid rent. The air felt stale, like the ventilation hadn’t worked since the place opened. And forget about the restroom — it was practically a biohazard: no toilet paper, foul smell, broken sink, and grime everywhere. Absolutely disgusting.

Service was uninterested at best. Staff acted like taking our order was a burden, and we had to remind them twice just to get napkins. The food? Greasy, bland, and overpriced. My plate was chipped, and I genuinely didn’t feel safe eating what was served.

I get that street-side restaurants can be charming, but this one feels like it’s been left to rot. There’s a huge difference between casual and careless — and this place is the latter in every sense.

Avoid it. There are other...

The vibe is like the side streets of Bangkok colliding with Cebu and Ho Chi Minh City. Not a place for the faint of heart but if you want to involve yourself with a noisy, boisterous Friday night crowd who are either eating, drinking beer or smoking and you don’t mind eating al fresco feeling the horrible early evening humidity and inhaling the dust and exhaust this side of Nakpil, then by all means jump in to this place to feel like you are in another world!

It all started with a craving for lechon kawali (or any fatty and greasy pork for that matter!). My friend had doubts if I would like the place (ambience wise) but if it is fatty and greasy pork that I want then that is what I will get at Silya.

And true enough! The cooking style is so lutong bahay! The lechon kawali was crispy yet tender to chew. Partnered with sautéed ampalaya, this truly was a fix for my taste buds.

Serving portions, if we are going to calculate with price, is just okay. Service staff were very attentive which makes you want to return...

You want an affordable yet offers delicious food, videoke and cold beer? You might want to check this. As what it name sys, Silya is "chair" in filipino. Set up of this bar is there are plastic chairs al fresco style and you have the videoke in one side and the theater type kitchen on the other where you can see the chef busy preparing food. I recommend the crunchy squidheads, crispy pata (not that crispy but the meat is so soft in literally falls off the bone), pancit canton and sizzling corn. Parking not exclusive so you have to look for an open space, near Robinsons place and other bars in...