Swig & Nosh - Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Marikina

We ordered two platter meals for takeout—kare kare and lengua. The kare kare was really good—the meat was tender, and we were pleasantly surprised that it still tasted the same as it did when we first ordered from them three years ago. It’s always nice when a restaurant maintains consistency over time.

Unfortunately, the lengua was a letdown. It wasn’t tender at all, and the slices were so thick that we had to use kitchen scissors just to cut them into smaller pieces to share. To show them the issue, we even sent a video through direct message to demonstrate how tough the lengua was.

We were hoping for a professional response, but instead, they didn’t acknowledge the issue or offer any apology. Their reply came off as dismissive and a bit rude, which was really disappointing. Good food matters, but so does customer service, and in this case, both weren’t consistent.

We hope they take this as constructive feedback and work on both the quality control of their dishes and how they respond to...

Come over at @swigandnosh if you want to be pleasantly surprised - they offer quality fine dining that dont burn a hole in your wallet. First their decor is of top quality - everything from the utensils to the table makes you want to dine there. They have different areas - al fresco for your chill dates, a casual dining area, and bar. The highlight though is the quality of the food - our favorites were their Burger Wagyu Royale - which has special bacon jam that will give your shake shacks a run for their money. Their Calamares sa Bawang which is an elevated home calamares with the right garlic punch. Their tenderloin salpicao which is as tender as it gets - with fried oyster mushroom. And their apple pie salad which is suprisingly a good mix of savoury and sweet. All in all, swig and nosh is definitely datenight manila approved. PS: dont forget to order their...

Well maybe their cook that time wasn't feeling good or is going through a rough time during that Valentines because the food was bland that night (burgers, country fried steak, ND the pricey steak).

However, the place was really good. I liked their setup, the raspberry iced tea and fries, their choice of dinnerware, and the restroom was nice.

It's just that the food wasn't for a good date (and the couple I was with agreed on this), unless you're just after fancy Instagramable photos, and it's just the nice place and choice of dinnerware that made this a 3.

Also, the server that placed the small bowl of mashed potatoes didn't know what it was when we asked. Turns out it's their own spin on mashed potatoes (because it's a bit on the soupy side, which is why we had to ask, but it's their own version), and the other waiter...