Uma Nota Manila — Restaurant in Taguig

Tucked away in the former site of Ministry of Crab at Shang BGC, Uma Nota (Brazillian-Japanese cuisine) is quite the sight to see.

For dinner, we ordered a starting set of the signature Chicken Croquettes, Wagyu no Brioche, and raw Hokkaido scallops. In that order, the croquettes were unremarkable and just tasted like mashed potatoes with a hint of chicken. The Wagyu no Brioche, despite the entertaining show of a flame torch sear and the light application of truffle mushrooms, wasn't particularly outstanding. The raw Hokkaido scallops were served with an interesting blend of tempura flakes and a sweet sauce.

For the entrees, we went with the signature steak seared to a perfect medium and a side of sweet potato fries. I must say, despite the disappointingly middling appetizers - the steak & fries combination was remarkably delicious, especially paired with the array of sauces including chimichurri and sweet soy glaze.

For desserts, we had the Chocolate de Ouro, Matcha Layered Cake topped w cotton candy, and the Homemade Ube Cheesecake. As a group, we ultimately ended up disliking the overly sweet Chocolate de Ouro and we found the Homemade Ube Cheesecake utterly lacking in Ube flavor. That being said, I was genuinely surprised to find the Matcha Layered Cake to be delicious and right on the spot for dessert.

As I said in the beginning of this review, the fabulous interior design of the restaurant gives the dining room quite the lively atmosphere, reminiscent of the Babylon (Damien Chazelle) film. The staff were friendly and attentive, though appeared a bit distant in terms of being able to be waved down for orders.

At the end of the day, despite the entertaining displays of flame searing and adding sparkle to dishes, the lackluster flavors simply do not justify the excessive cost...

WORST EXPERIENCE I received a text this morning (Dec21) saying I need to pay 50% deposit so I can guarantee my reservation for December 24 lunch time, I was confused because I haven’t ordered anything yet, so I asked them to call me. The receptionist explained that it was their management’s decision to remove the Ala Carte menu and replace it with their set menu, so ofcourse I checked their menu and it’s php4,800 per person!!! It’s my birthday on the 24th and I wanted to try something new with my family, I even made the reservation way back October 29 and was excited about it, I sent the menu to my family just this week so they can see what the restaurant has to offer, only to find out 3 days before that they chose to “force” their customers into choosing their set menu. I’m honestly ok paying 30k for this experience but not for the food that we didn’t even choose! I reserved for 8 people (7 adults and 1 baby) so that means I have to pay php33,600 for it! It’s not an excuse if they are worried with the influx of customers because everything is made in their online reservation, so they know beforehand how many will dine in.

It’s unacceptable to create a new policy 4 days before the occasion. They should have done that way before. Haven’t tried this restaurant but it’s the worst experience. They didn’t think about their customers but instead chose their convenience. I even messaged their manager and said that I can send my order as early as today so they can prepare it. I was willing to let go of the whole dining experience of sitting down, looking at the menu, deciding what to order, asking for recommendations just to proceed with our reservation but no, they didn’t even made any consideration. Such a disappointment from a restaurant I was looking forward to for...

We had our wedding anniversary here earlier this week (March 5) and here are the comments we have:

The ribs we ordered were not 'fall-of-the-bones' kind and was expecting a better tasting ribs for the price

The menu still needs to have more variety. I'm personally confused whether they're trying to be a fusion restaurant or simply just a Brazilian/Japanese restaurant serving parts of each cuisine in a single menu

The uma nota udon was nice, but it would be better if there were other options that included more meat in it. The peanut sauce also lacks body and is on the light to mild side

The Coxinhas de Frango had less filling at the top portion. At the first bite from the top, it's all mashed potatoes.

Starter serving sizes are too small for the prices. Probably a 30% increase would be better

The items we ordered are: -Coxinhas de Frango -Uma Nota Salad -Pork Ribs -Uma Nota Udon -Abacaxi Assado -Cocktails

We didn't bother ordering sashimi since the prices compared to other comparable nearby sushi places are already better and I'd like to try other 'house specials'.

Side note: the servers were fantastic! Though there's a minor mishap on issuing the congratulatory complementary cake which was a birthday greeting for another person. The servers found out that our table was swapped last minute with another person. Even then, they made up by sending another complementary cake for our mini celebration.

Overall, I personally wouldn't come back anytime soon until a new menu is out with more options. It's too lacking compared to other branches outside Philippines. However, if it's for the cocktails, I'd recommend chilling here and meeting friends / business partners for a...