SLABS Diner and Steakhouse — Restaurant in Olongapo

if you're reading reviews about this place bec the other well known (and really, really great) steak house you just passed-by back there has a long queue, trust me.....go back there and wait! there's a perfectly good and logical reason why people queue there for up to an hour even at 2pm!

now where were we? oh, Slabs! this restaurant prides itself of "dry aged" steak which has a more robust taste and is more tender than regular steak. that is a fact and that is absolutely true! the only problem is you won't find that here in this restaurant. well at least not with the steak I was served.

I ordered the rib eye basic meal. for P500 you get a 200g rib eye, a cup of rice, mixed veggies and a drink. oh and gravy made with gravy base powder from Knorr (just can't remember exactly what variant). c'mon! you're set up like a fine dining restaurant serving steaks with premixed gravy? your chef/consultant should know better than that!

now let's go back to that steak....at best I would say the taste is mediocre. tenderness...definitely not there. food temperature...fair. it was just stepping on that thin line from being called cold wherein you might call your server again to reheat the food. value for money....nowhere near close. and I'm not comparing you to a Happy Meal either. I wouldn't mind spending a thousand bucks for a steak if it's really good.

I'm giving this review 2 stars for the incredibly awesome decor you have the warm and friendly staff and bec the airconditioning was great.

I will never understand why the four people before me gave you 5 stars with no...

I was so excited for a new steakhouse in the area. The photos and ads looked good. I saw both positive and negative reviews so we decided to give it a try. We were 3 for a late lunch around 1:30 on a Thursday and we ordered the dry aged ribeye, the grilled chicken and the Seafood marinara pasta. Cost for this was 1315peso so it should be very good! First the positives: I like the design of the place and the décor. The Cream of Vegetable soup was good! Served at the correct temperature. The negatives: The chicken appeared to be precooked and re-warmed on the grill.. overcooked and dry. The steak was very thin 200grams for over 750 peso, I ordered medium rare and it came out rare even cold in the middle. The mashed potato was ok, but the gravy was not hot, barely warm. The veggies were under-cooked. The pasta was warm and sauce ok, but lacking the seafood for over 300pesos. Café France on the NLEX has a better one for 1/2 the price. So sad to say, we will not return. The price vs quality is way off. Texas Joes and Meat Plus are both better options...

Slabs was not as good this time as I remember it being about a year ago. We did not order an appetizer this time. My wife had the Cream of Mushroom soup and I had the Clam Chowder. The Cream of Mushroom was very good and the Clam Chowder was average. I don't like a heavy clam taste and Slabs always had a heavy clam taste.

For our main dish we ordered the Baby Back Ribs and split the order. The ribs were ok but not anything special. The sauce was a little too "smoked" for us, but others may like that taste. We found the ribs on the dry side and not "juicy and succulent". The mixed vegetable were very good.

We both had the Ripe Mango Shake and it was good.

The best part of this dining experience was the cook. He personally brought out the food and was very friendly and courteous.

Overall, it was an "ok" dining experience. The pricing was reasonable. The add a 5% gratuity to the check which want near enough. The staff deserves more. Perhaps they just know that any decent diner...