Magna Kainan — Restaurant in Denver

While visiting Denver, I googled some Filipino spots to find inspiration for myself as a fellow Filipino Chef. I think overall the place was wonderful. My lady and I drove over an hour to get there from our AirBnB, but on that Monday they were closed according to their IG post which I missed, but no worries. We returned after driving almost 3.5 hours from Breckenridge and arrived early to snag a decent seat. We did not have a reservation and didn't think we would need one since we planned on arriving very early. Although the spot was not packed at the time we were sat in a very weird corner by the window but I had a great view of the open kitchen and pass which was fine. I like watching the line cooks do their thing! I don't think the waitress (I forgot her name) was very personable and I understand that each place and person have their days but the waiter/server for the table next to us and in front of us was SPOT ON! He knew exactly how to navigate people through a menu as unique and authentic as this one was. He offered his opinions of the best dishes that he loved and suggested various dishes to try for their table. I wish he was our server. Now I am half Filipino and was born on the Island and was very much excited to try the Chef's take on various dishes I grew up eating. We order the bread, which was great! I wasn't a fan of the Chamoy Guava Butter but it was cool and a worthy component but again just wasn't my favorite. I did love the bread and the Bulalo Bone Marrow butter much better. We shared the Kare Kare because I knew the main entrees would be decent sized portions. I thought the Oxtail was tender and flavorful but I could not figure out what the "Pumpkin Seed Sarsa" was. I didn't bother asking our server since she did a poor execution of introducing herself let alone the menu. It didn't have a huge "peanut butter flavor" as the Kare Kare I grew up eating but again, I was game for this place's interpretations. I loved the presentation of the dish though. We also ordered the Lumpia, which as any Filipino knows, it's always a must have. We both enjoyed it but my lady admitted mine were better! LOL, no shots at the Chef but us Filipinos always claim to have the best or at least our mother's do when it comes to recipes! They were very crispy and airy in a great way! The dipping sauce was different and unique as well. I order a side of the Adobo fried rice. I loved the concept of it, just wished it had a bit more of the Adobo punch, but it was very good. I think the long beans could have been a bit more present in this dish but very good nonetheless. Overall, we both enjoyed the restaurant and the food. I personally think servers should be a bit more excited about what they are serving and also not so annoyed when asked various questions about such a unique menu. I can understand how being asked several questions on the menu over and over on a daily basis can be overwhelming at times, but this is the industry "we" choose and I know for me and my comrades of the kitchen, we LOVE what we do and it shows in our efforts. I'm not sure I would return to Colorado anytime soon, I'm not a fan of the elevation but if I do, I would definitely return to this spot to try other items. The inside is beautiful and chic with subtle head nods to Filipino gatherings such as the lazy Suzannes on a few tables. The hostess or FOH manager (not sure her role) was very bubbly and smiled a lot as she walked through the dining room. The line cooks looked eager and ready to do their part whenever tickets were fired. Again, I'm not knocking on anything, not even the server we were assigned but just an opinion to be sure during a pre shift meeting that they are in good spirits and ready as well as excited to educate and give an outstanding experience to the guests! Thank you Magna...

I wish I had taken pictures of the food during this visit. Take this review with a grain of salt as I myself am Filipino and we as a family cook our own Filipino food daily. Filipino food is my life essence.

Came here for Sunday Brunch hoping to treat my family in celebration of getting a promotion at work and other special occasions. We had ordered two Sisig Hashes, BYO Silog plates (Tapa and "Tocino"), Lumpia (Shanghai), two Ensaymadas, an Ube Mochi Waffle, and an Ube Colada. The servers are super kind and attentive. I wish I had gotten her name but one of them was probably the kindest servers I've had in my life EVER. Both of our servers were super attentive with our drinks and checked in regularly with us.

I'd like to preface and say I'm super happy to see this restaurant established and seeing it so busy as Filipino restaurants are hard to come by in Colorado. From the bottom of my heart, I hope to see this restaurant grow and improve and flourish.

But we truly did not enjoy our food. Maybe we should've read the menu more carefully and it was on us but our biggest complaint was the "tocino". I apologize but that was not tocino. It was boiled and then fried pork belly with no other spices or flavors added to it. We feel kind of misled in this aspect as the protein was called tocino and well, we were expecting... Tocino?? Like real, Filipino Tocino. The Ube Colada had not a lick nor even perfume of ube, it didn't even seem to have calamansi as they claimed. It was whatever as it didn't have too big of an impact as the "tocino".

The sisig hash and tapa were just okay. Sisig hash didn't have much sisig in my honest opinion and more leaned towards the hash part of the name with mainly potatoes.

The best thing we had ordered here? The Lumpia. The dipping sauce was very good! The lumpia were crispy and the filling was probably the best we've had in a restaurant.

The ensaymada we kind of dry and didn't have much sugar. The ube mochi waffle was just okay. Both were not too sweet but in my opinion, the ensaymada could have used a bit more sugar.

Overall, I think if you're not familiar with Filipino food and are trying it for the first time, this restaurant is an... okay start. The servers are very kind and the atmosphere was bangin'. But unfortunately based on our recent experience, I think we'll opt out of coming here again. The hit to my wallet kind of hurt for the food we had gotten.

Edit: looking through the reviews, it seems they also use ChatGPT to respond to reviews. Kind of disappointing. I have revoked my statement on possibly revisiting in the future as not being able to personally respond to not only genuine criticism but seemingly other reviews has put me off of this business entirely. Also added picture of "Tocino Silog".

Edit 2: Changed rating to one star. Upon ruminating my experience here and my response from the assistant general manager in this review who has claimed that I didn't think the tocino was authentic just because it doesn't have dye... my experience has soured. He deleted the ChatGPT evidence on other reviews rather than keeping it there after being called out. The more I think about how much I had paid for the food we had gotten, the more upset I get. Food does not have a lick of authentic flavors in the slightest. "Elevated" Filipino food you say? Yeah. Sure buddy. Nice plating, atmosphere, and service...

This is a review for my visit on December 2nd, 2024. I love Filipino food and had a birthday dinner at this location.

I want to start off with a review of the service and say that there could be some improvements overall to the service. Overall, it was fine and I'm not a picky person.

I had 2 servers during my entire meal as the first server that I had advised me during their meal they wanted to go home and someone else would take over.

The first server immediately pressured wine over the cocktails despite advising that I don't drink wine. I only saw our server after that when drinks arrived and then when the food came all out at once and then they advised they were leaving for the evening.

I asked for food recommendations and were suggested mostly higher priced dishes like the kare-kare.

The second server was great but incredibly less attentive than our first server and did not even approach us until near the end of the meal to ask if I wanted more drinks and then just provided a check. I had to ask for the desert options available.

The food was decent however it lacked quality and quantity.

The sisig was watery and did not have the sizzle that I would expect from a sizzling Sisig. This could have been due to how long it took our server to provide our meal. This is my favorite dish and the biggest disappointment in this meal.

The adobo fried nice was tasty with the shredded pork. The serving size did not include much pork and I do wish you could switch the jasmine rice for garlic fried rice on this dish.

The Manok was incredibly disappointing as it was only 1 skewer for $6. This isn't even a dish you can share since we only received 1 skewer. The skewer itself was fine, but nothing to write home about and not a dish that I would order again as an appetizer as it didn't even arrive until late into my meal.

The Pancit Bihon was the saving dish for this entire order. The rice noodles were perfectly al dente and well seasoned with the right amount of garlic and soy sauce.

Finishing this meal off, I had the Basque Style Pandon Cheesecake which was lacking in pandan flavor and overall felt too dense as it was incredibly difficult to spoon into without some resistance.

Overall, I would seek out alternatives if I had a craving for Sisig or adobo. I wish them well on...