Cafe Mary Grace - Nuvali — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

Absolutely excellent! Went to eat here with a close buddy of mine and the overall experience surpassed my expectations. It was my first time trying out Mary Grace. My friend recommended the ensaymada (we got two types), as well as we wanted to try out their pizza and pasta. The staff recommended we try out the mushroom garlic pizza. For pasta, we got the Chorizo and olives.

We started off with the ensaymada's. The Three Cheese Ensaymada was slightly sweet slightly salty from the cheese, we could tell it was aged cheese from the flavor, as well as slightly creamy. The base of both ensaymada's were a perfect consistency, very soft when tore apart. There's nothing at all I can say to improve it. The Laguna cheese Ensaymada on the other end had a great balance with sweet and salt, and we can tell that the cheese was high quality.

For starters we had the Cassava Chips with Onion dip, and boy, my mind was blown away. I've never had anything like it before. The dip grabbed my attention the most. I really wish we could have done refills, I would just order this again for the dip alone. Over all a winner and will most definitely order this again when eating here.

Moving onto the drinks, the peach ice tea was a great and refreshing blend which perfectly complemented the meal, perfect on a hot summer's day. Great balance of the brewed tea and sweatness from the peach.

The pasta on the other hand was okay. I wish they could have added a but more Chorizo for a more pronounced flavor. The pizza on the other hand was great too. Though I wanted a dough that's a bit more crispy, smokey in flavor, like an authentic Italian pizza.. Perhaps the pizza was baked at a high temperature as the dough was slightly under done, though still pretty delicious.

We are both chefs who work in the food industry and our standards for food is pretty high. Mary Grace most certainly met our expectations in terms of standards and will definitely eat here some time again soon. Overall...

Accessibility: The restaurant is within the mall premises, which is readily accessible through private and public vehicles. Easy to locate and wheelchair friendly.

Parking: Ample space for parking.

Ambience: The restaurant is spacious. House music is soothing. The design of the whole place gives that festive vibe and Christmas feels. The lighting and the color of is warm and welcoming. Their decorations are unique and lovely to look at. The place is also clean. They have airconditioned and al fresco dining areas.

Food: As expected the food is really great. They have many options in their menu. We tried their Grilled Chicken with Orange and Black Olive dressing. The twist of the orange and subtle herb notes of the dressing made the salad tasteful. The Spanish Sardines & Olives pasta is delectable, with just the right amount of oil and saltiness. My wife tried their Mary Grace Hot Chocolate, we heard it is best paired with their Ensaymada, but unfortunately it is not available during our visit, so we had cheese roll instead. The slight salty note of the cheese blended well with the bread and drink. I tried their Tsoknut Chocolate together with Cheese roll, and this combination has that playful sensation between sweetness, nutty note, chocolate note and the cheese note.

Service and Staff: They patiently wait for our orders as there are many to choose from. Accommodating to our requests. Jolly and friendly. We did not wait that long...

Ensaimada is a pastry product from the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It is a common dish eaten in southwestern Europe, Latin America, and the Philippines. The Philippines also adopted the Mallorcan ensaïmada. As a Spanish colony for over 300 years, the Philippine variant has evolved over the centuries and is perhaps one of the country’s most common delicacies.

The founder of Mary Grace started out in a humble kitchen, selling bread in villages and markets. After that, she used everything she learned to create a local delicacy called Ensaimada that had just the right texture and flavor. She opened her first small bakery in 2002, and four years later, she opened her first Mary Grace Cafe. Mary Grace's signature dishes are Mary Grace Hot Chocolate and Ensaimada Cheese Roll. Mary Grace Cafe is considered a fine dining restaurant and cafe in the Philippines.

I personally think that the Mango bene Slice cake is the best handmade cake. I think it is the best dessert. The Ensaimada had a soft texture and a nice sweetness. It went well with the cappuccino coffee. The Angus Ribeye Steak had a soft texture and was juicy, but a bit too fatty. I wouldn't recommend it. The Fresh Tomato & Herb Spaghetti had an oriental flavor and was...