Provenciano — Restaurant in Quezon City

Provenciano is a wonderful place to dine in and enjoy Filipino cuisine. True to their name, they offer dishes from different provinces in the Philippines. The place is cozy. They have indoor and outdoor seatings. So, if you feel more at ease to eat al fresco in this time of pandemic, you need not worry. The staff are very courteous. They can even help you find a place to park; because we all know how hard it is to find a parking spot along Maginhawa during lunch and dinner hours. One thing that weirded me out, though, is when one of their staff politely asks if you would like to dine inside because you might not be served accordingly if you were to eat al fresco. Err...at this time when dining at enclosed spaces is a risk? No, thanks. The food is to die for. We ordered Tinumis and Adobong Bicolano. The smell of rice infused with pandan leaves wafting through the air would just make you start to salivate and expect of greater things to come. The Tinumis, not to be confused with Dinuguan, is wonderfully tasty. The meat is succulent and the blood sauce compliments it well. The Adobong Bicolano is just as succulent. Stewed in vinegar, garlic, chili and lemon grass, it is elegantly embraced with coconut milk. With the exact amount of saltiness, creaminess and tartness; every Bicolano would be proud of this. It lacks the level of spiciness that Bicolanos are known for, though. But, then again, not every one has that kind of infernal taste buds. So, everyone will surely enjoy this. The price is a bit steep since one dish could cost around 250-400 pesos and the seafood dishes are priced even more. But, if you were to come here as a group or family, it will be worth it since one dish is good enough to share between 2-3 people. And, one more thing, you have got to try their Bibingka. The rice cake itself is so soft and buttery. The salted egg and the cheese hidden within help balance the sweetness of the bibingka. Top it with shredded coconuts and some muscovado sugar and you are in bibingka heaven. Their coffee goes perfectly well with it. If you are a foreigner or have foreigner friends who would want to try Filipino dishes, this where they should be. Experience Provenciano...

I was able to try this restaurant few years back and really enjoyed the food. I even consider it as one of the best Filipino restaurants. That is why we opted to try it again now that I have tried several good Filipino restaurants.

FOOD: Gising gising - 4star, even though it was not made from the usual sigarilyas, it was still good, with the proper level of heat. I just want the gata to be a bit more toasted to capture that smokey taste

Pork Sisig - 5star really delicious and tasty. Far from the usual sisig with soy-mayo sauce, this is without any sauce, not dry but not crispy as well.

Baby Pusit Adobo - 5star this is for me the best we ordered, very delicious, but on the salty side, perfect to pair with rice. The baby squid was perfectly cooked, I just wish the portion was bigger.

Chicken Tinola with Gata - 2star, this is probably the biggest disappointment, the taste did not sip in to the chicken meat. I also wish they put more ginger. This for me lacks taste

Bibingka - 4star, I love bibingka, this was good but for the price I was probably looking for something more special. Personally I feel like Manam's was a bit better, I even personally prefer Bibingkinitan

SERVICE: Upon entering, we were quickly greeted and assisted, crew were very attentive and helpful. They missed serving our drinks, but it only took one follow up for them to quickly serve them.

ATMOSPHERE: Clean and nice, with a traditional Filipino decor with slight eclectic vibe. Spacious and senior friendly.

Overall, although there were disappointments we still enjoyed our dining experience, It may no longer be on top of our list for Filipino restaurants but it is still one of the good options. Probably we ordered the wrong dishes and might to revisit this and order other items...

Great restaurant that showcases popular native dishes from across the country.

From the looks of it, the place used to be a big house. This gives it a very homey atmosphere perfect for "home cook" meals. The place is big and parking is available, but it can get packed during peak hours (lunch time, dinner time) so getting a reservation is highly advised. The place also has rooms that may be exclusively used by large groups.

They have a "sauce bar" where you can get various condiments but since the meals are also served with their specific sauce or condiment, I would suggest that one should go to the sauce bar only after the meals are served, in order to avoid the nice sauces and condiments from getting wasted.

During our visit we ordered "Okoy" as appetizer. It is very good. Very crunchy and has a very shrimpy taste. The vinegar they serve with it is perfectly matched. It did its job as appetizer.

For the main course we had the following: baby squid (cooked with ink adobo style), fried bangus (cooked daing style), sinigang na ulo (salmon head with belly cuts), "Poqui" (eggplant & other veggies cooked with egg, commonly known as "torta" in some places), inihaw na pusit, and plain rice. They are all cooked to perfection and i enjoyed every bite.

For dessert I had "guinumis", puto bungbong, and bibingka. They all taste authentic, specially the putobungbong that has its "cooked near the street" vibe which is perfect.

Service is good, and all the crew, from the guard in the parking lot, the waiters, and the cashier, are all very friendly. I will definitely go back to this place to try the other items...