Vikings, The Alley Manila Bay — Restaurant in Parañaque

The Alley came well-recommended by my brother after he ate lunch here with his girlfriend. However, our weekday dinner experience was entirely different.

First, the front of the house was disorganized and a little bit rude. The group before us was some 30+ foreigners, and they had some issues about the total number. While they were discussing their issue, they let us wait until they resolved it. We already had a table at that point, but none of the other staff members stepped up to show us to it.

We arrived for dinner at 7:30 p.m. which we didn't realize was too late for their standard since dinner starts at 5 p.m. While making our rounds, a lot of the food was gone, and they stopped serving them.

The selection is not very good. There are a variety of cuisines available, but the options for each cuisine were limited. I mostly enjoyed the fish fillet, callos, and roasted beef with red wine sauce.

My cousin enjoyed batchoy, but the pastas and tempura were meh as the noodles weren't aldente, the mac & cheese wasn't cheesy enough, and the tempura was not served hot. The pizzas didn't look appetizing, and they were cold and dry.

There were only 2 options of dumplings, and they were not steamed properly. Although the ube bun was enjoyable. At some point, they also served taho, but it ran out quickly. Sushi was also meh.

Dessert selection was limited. The staff members hid other flavors of ice cream. My brother and I were able to get pistachio out of an almost full tub, but they told my cousin they had run out not more than 10 minutes later.

The ambiance was pretty good. There was a live band that helped with the overall feel. We were seated right next to them, but the volume didn't bother us much. The tables were cramped compared to Vikings' floor plan. The restroom was also not very clean.

Lastly, they started cleaning out the food displays at around 8:30 p.m. so imagine those arriving later than us. It was also my nephew's birthday. We arrived just as they were distributing the cakes for the celebrants, and they told us they would give one for my nephew, but they never did.

Overall, The Alley feels like the younger sibling of Vikings that is not doing very well. I like the concept, but I don't think we will ever go back. Value for money is not very good for the quality of the food. You're better off going to Vikings itself or other buffet...

Went here for lunch because too many people have been raving about their roast beef. Was really looking forward to that but it was so disappointing 🥲 The meat was served cold and it was really tough. The only saving grace was the gravy. Dunno if they're just serving scraps from dinner the night before but they could've at least served it warm or something... Was looking forward to seafood, but was also disappointed 😣 Was the lunch served here really just very underwhelming? Maybe their dinner would be better? 😔

Got a reservation on a weekday but my schedule for that week suddenly changed so decided to just go this weekend and be one of the walk-in customers. Slot was secured easily which was nice (got there before 10:30 am). But they could've sped up how they let people in. Yes, people with reservations were entertained first, but if they're coming later than those who are walk-ins, it would be better if they just let the walk-ins get in (since no slots are gonna get stolen anyway) instead of waiting around for like 10 groups of reserved people who weren't there yet.. I also suggest that some employees be added at the entrance. One to announce/call for customers, one to give them their wristbands, one to check the list of customers and to confirm the list.

Honestly I was dissatisfied with the seating layout. I've eaten at other buffet restos with reservations like Tongyang & The Food Club, and your seat doesn't look that different whether you're a walk-in customer or you reserved beforehand. In The Alley, walk-in customers are seated at the farthest right corner and it doesn't really feel that welcoming. It's too dark, too (yes I complain about the lighting because I have vision problems). But you get to the toilets easier so I guess that's a plus? 🤡 ah, and the floor is so oily, I was afraid I'd slip multiple times.

As for the food, there's a lot of variety to choose from. They're not that mind-blowing (except I guess, for the almond jelly, now that was amazing) but you do get your value for money.

The staff who get the dirty plates should be commended. They work quickly despite the number of customers and tables. One of the staff at the Italian booth also hands out garlic bread kindly, and I think that sort of service is commendable too, adding a sort of human touch to...

Revisited after 7 months…

As expected, they are only good while when new.

Their roast beef is like a carrion, you can’t feel any thread of meat. They won’t even serve their displayed lechon.

They don’t have sushi anymore, what’s left are maki and sad looking sashimis, no ginger to cleanse your mouth after eating something raw either.

O11 also lacks the oyster, a customer even asked them for it and the attendants only looked into each other as if they have a secret then eventually told the customer that the shipment did not arrive.

Bopis tastes like last Friday’s, my favorite carinderia can do better.

The only service I can commend is the dimsum station. I asked if they have hakaw and told me it will be ready in 15 minutes. I actually forgot about it and went back only before leaving. The attendant probably remembered as he placed a hakaw on the steamer when he saw me coming. Kudos!

We also did a reservation since the last time we ate here, they seated us on the benched table. We were told that the chaired tables were for with reservations. Turns out, this is no longer the case as even if we have a reservation now, they still seated us on the benches. We have a Senior Citizen with us and this was difficult for her.

Overall, The Alley, like their BGC site have failed to maintain their standards, if any.

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Went here in September 2022 (4 stars)

The place is new so you won’t be disappointed for now.

Food selections are good. They could have done better with their oysters: small and not freshly baked. Not enough staff on their japanese selection, they are a bit slow on serving sashimi which sometimes will include fish scales.

Carving station is great too,...