Half Saints — Restaurant in Quezon City

Read the rave reviews and convinced my friend to try this restaurant with the intriguing name.

Phoned my reservation on a Sunday night, got a SMS confirmation immediately. Top marks for Ease of Reservation!

Arrived ahead of 12:30 reservation for party of 3; table was immediately available. Friendly welcome. So far, so good.

Until I went into the toilet…door does not close properly - looks like the whole door frame is out of alignment, so it was tricky to get the lock to latch. Toilet floor was wet; looks like there is a leak ion the flooring because water would seep when you step on the tile. The toilet seat half came off when I put it down! This is NOT acceptable.

Let’s talk about the food and drinks.

The Iced Tea was refreshing and not sweet at all. The Fermented Lemon Soda was also perfectly balance sour and sweet. I love their glasses!

Humshuka was hummus combined with Shakshouka (I had to google what it was) which actually worked quite well. The hummus was creamy, the tomato sauce was piquant and the egg on top was firm. Served with sourdough slices which were hard, toasted too long and there was not enough for 3 people to share. We asked for additional bread and server advised an extra charge for which we agreed but asked for the bread not to be toasted too much. Still not enough. We still had left over humshuka but we do not want to pay extra again for bread which should be served in sufficient quantity relative to the dish.

The Four Herbs Salad was a very small serving, so pricey at PHP410.00. The vinaigrette dressing had a surprising crunch (olives!) at the bottom of the salad.

The Blackout Bowl is of generous proportion - enough for 3 of us. The black rice is topped with Wagyu Cubes and mushrooms and calamansi kosho. While the Wagyu cubes were tender, they lacked flavor. The calamansi kosho is intended to bring out the flavors in the rice and toppings and is a perfect blend of bitter, tart and salt. A small extra portion of the calamansi kosho was provided. But because we all found the dish lacking in flavor, we wanted more of the calamansi kosho and again server advised extra charge for extra kosho. How expensive is calamansi kosho that the restaurant cannot provide it gratis? Lost my appetite.

The Shiitake Puff Pizza is the star of the meal! Delicate puff pastry, crunchy at the edges and the balsamic glaze complemented the salt of the goat cheese and the umami of the shiitake mushroom. I just noticed that the puff pasty at the center has become dense, perhaps the toppings were too much for the puff to hold. Nevertheless, this is a welcome innovation to pizza!

We ordered the 4-inch Tres Leches Cake which was shown to us in the chiller showcase. To my surprise, it was served in the plastic clam container like something from Goldilocks Bakeshop! At PHP320.00 one would expect a bit of plating execution. I could not get over the appalling plastic take out container so the Tres Leches Cake just lost whatever allure it had.

We gave the above feedback to the staff who was gracious in accepting our very detailed feedback.

Half Saints described themselves as not yet saints but trying their best. I hope our feedback will be useful as you strive to...

Half Saints has unique and quality food, intimate ambience, clean restroom (I really have something for clean restrooms, hehe) and accommodating staff!

My friends and I ordered the following: Ratatouille Puff Pizza (P325), Arroz Con Pollo (P395), Braised Tomato & Mozarella Cream Penne (P320), and 64% Dark Chocolate Tart (P220). All the food we ordered were just enough for the three of us and good for sharing. However, one plate is actually good for 1 person only.

As to the food, I'm not really a fan of their puff pizza but it was a nice take on a usual carb-loaded pastry crust since it's very light. Imagine eating croissant because that's basically a puff pastry, folded many times before baked. Anyway, the pastry itself was good and the vegetables (Ratatouille is a French vegetable stew usually made of zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes--thanks 'Binging with Babish'!) made it more interesting. TAKE NOTE, this is a pizza without any cheese on it so brace yourselves cheese lovers! But you may always politely ask for condiments including parmesan cheese. ;)

The Arroz Con Pollo we had was similar to a Filipino "arroz caldo" but a dry version. Just like our local arroz caldo, the rice was cooked on the chicken broth and other herbs. The dish was served with a single thigh-leg chicken probably the base of the chicken stock. It was not the fanciest but I love it the most among our orders because the rice was very very flavorful and the chicken was soft, juicy, and tender.

The braised tomato & mozarella cream penne pasta we ordered was not quite memorable for me but my friend enjoyed it so much! She even scraped off the cheese sauce left on the plate. It was a meat-free pasta dish so taking a bite was not painful at all.

Their dark chocolate tart was divine! It was served with Himalayan salt and whipped cream on sides. The staff told us to first try the tart without salt and cream, then with salt, and lastly with all three. Since I love dark chocolate, this will be one of my go-to dessert to satisfy my cravings (as well as CBTL's Guiltless Chocolate Cake)! Thank heavens for cacaos! THIS IS RECOMMENDED.

Aside from the food, the place also has a unique touch in it. The modern rustic interior give its diners a semi-fancy experience. The lights were quite dim so taking photos were a miss unless you're using iPhone X, among others.

PS: Half Saints allows RESERVATIONS! So better make a reservation before going there especially during peak hours of Monday-Saturday (Sunday is not a problem).

[Dine in experience in 2019, review originally posted in 2019; edits were...

My sister and I usually eat here whenever she visits. I also had a date with my partner here once. So this review consists of different food we tried over time.

In no particular order:

1. Chicharron teriyaki - we always order this one! have it with their hot sauce for extra kick.
2. Humshuka - like nachos but make it healthier. We enjoyed this one! The hummus and shakshuka really blend well together
3. Merci buko - while I'm normally hesitant to eat anything buko-based at night, this is an exception. Sis loved it also so we look forward to this whenever we visit.
4. Ruby chocolate pistachio tart - I loved this one! Weirdly enough, it reminded me of a twix bar.
5. Ratatouille pizza - I normally steer clear of veggie pizzas since I view pizzas as a bit unhealthy so I usually opt for the meaty one, but this one was so good and light. The veggies and the pesto works well. Plus the pastry puff was a nice base.
6. Baked salmon bento - this was okay naman. Huge serving though. I like their miso soup. But it's okay. Sakto lang.
7. Arroz con pollo - this one was flavorful. Like risotto, na lugaw but may gata... I can't describe it. Masarap siya. I also loved that they use the chicken thigh and drumsticks since those parts are normally not dry.
8. Mushroom soup - a different kind of mushroom soup. I think there's olive oil in it. We enjoyed this one.
9. Blackout bowl - I didn't enjoy this one. It was mostly because of the bitter taste of the calamansi zest. My partner loved it though so you do you.
10. Flower tartlet gourmand - the three tartlets... we loved it! However, I think these tartlets are no longer in their menu
11. Blue cheese cloud cookie - tasted weird but it grows in you. Acquired taste. Okay naman for me but won't get it again. This is no longer in their menu ata as of now.

Not in photo:

1. Tres leches - I loooove their tres leches! Plus it's a real tres leches because they soak it in milk
2. Crema de fruita - this was okay... honestly forgot what it tasted like so I might try it again soon.
3. Ube and cardamom sans rival - as a sans rival lover, this was too much for me. I guess because of the cardamom. I normally prefer my sans rival very simple and buttery
4. Chocolate babka - hmmm I love babkas but this one... I guess I'm just not a fan of their babka dough.

Overall, would return here again. The staff are very attentive which is impressive. This is one of our go-to restos. A bit pricey but good...