Manila Sunset Grille — Restaurant in National City

Today, i ordered one arroz caldo, and one order of the longganisa, rice, and egg combo, which includes a small cup of sour soup (Sinigang sa Sampaloc). There was an option to order online through their website so i used it, and that was very convenient. When i arrived at the restaurant, i was expecting a line, and sure enough there was a small line with a bunch of customers sitted and waiting. They probably ordered on arrival. Covid measures were in place, sanitizer available, and they're also selling a face shield if you wish to don more protection, though they might be selling them particularly to anyone planning to fly over to the Philippines, where it some malls require a face mask, and a face shield.

My first observation upon coming in, was that i didn't want to cut through the line, just so i can pick my food. Not sure who was in the same situation as me, but i figure it would rude to just come up the register. And so i waited, since I'm not really on a rush, and just trying to enjoy my Sunday. I noticed how hard the staff was working. I noticed each one had at least two tasks that they are juggling in real time.

Four or five customers later, it was my turn to receive service. I received my food with no problems and the lady that gave me my order did so enthusiastically, amidst what seems to me was semi chaos.

I am giving five stars because the staff is working too hard just to keep up with their high standards of customer service. They are getting overworked because their service processes need some changes to address issues. For the owner and shop manager, i will give three stars.

The management seriously needs to take care of their employees by helping them streamline their processes. There is a point in their service process that is creating a break in flow. Right now, all customers, regardless of how they ordered, are lining up to one front register lady, who does work the register but also addressing the orders that are ready for customer pick up. To streamline the process, she can ask "Are you ordering initially, or did you order via phone or via online?"

If the customer has not ordered yet, she will then take the order. If not, then she will then guide the customer to a different employee that will address the pick up process.

The lady in the pick up section only addresses the pick up orders, and nothing else. This way, customers that are there to pick up will be serviced as quickly as they come in. If the customer ordered through the phone, then they get to pay their order.

More simpler is to have two lines, one for ordering, one just for pickup, and they should be far from each other to avoid customers getting confused, and moreover to keep covid measures intact.

I would say that there should be a lady who just organizes the prepared orders. Her main job would be to supervise each prepared order for accuracy and completion, keep tabs on the ordering method used by the customer and more importantly, label each order with the customer's name, though i know this last one is in place already. One lady from the kitchen section will move the order from the kitchen to the organizing section.

Aside from my recommendations, this is a good restaurant and i will be visiting again...

The worst experience at Manila Sunset and a very poor choice to dine in. I regret going to this place this August 2025. VERY VERY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE …. JUST BEACUSE OF THE SHREDDED COCONUT PLUS THE LACK OF PROPER CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM MANILA SUNSET RESTAURANT…LONG PROCESS OF WAITING AS WELL… As far as I know a Customer service isn't just an on-the-job training topic; it's a vital skill that should be explored during the hiring process. Both new and experienced hires benefit from discussing customer service to ensure they meet company standards and contribute to positive customer experiences. An interview serves as a two-way street where both the candidate and the interviewer can assess if there's a good fit in terms of expectations and communication. Regarding the poor experienced I had with them…. The owner claimed as an excuse it’s because the employee is newly hired or re assigned to do a different job but it is the sense on how they understand and assess the situation of their customers. Don’t matter if you are newly hired The idea that "customer service is always explained on the day of the interview", as customer service is a topic that can be, and often should be, covered during an interview to assess a candidate's suitability, regardless of their experience level. A well-structured interview includes discussion about a candidate's understanding and experience with customer service, which helps the interviewer gauge their ability to represent the brand and handle customer interactions effectively representing your facility or reputation or restaurant business… I always thought that this place is always a satisfied dine in experience until that day. ALL be courteous enough to have a proper customer service and not to ignore a customer because that is very rude. Not sure how they are all being trained but what they showed that day is very improper. Being busy and working at the back excuse still not an excuse to be rude to a customer. About their shredded coconut policy i suggest change it. Specially a customer who’s upset due to poor customer service and they can’t make an amends just for a small portion of coconut of which I am willing to pay but know how to satisfy your customers and know a strategy on how to divert your ways to make your customers happy. Manila Sunset have a VERY POOR SERVICE. Poor service, poor quality of the restaurant, and food is not that great. I DON’T RECOMMEND MANILA SUNSET RESTAURANT AT ALL FOR...

We have been long time fans of the food here for over 10 years. Love the Pork BBQ, Pancit Malabon, and of course Bibingkang Galapong. They have been great at remaining open with a modified scheduled due to the ongoing pandemic that has affected everyone, especially businesses.

Picking up the food from today's order was a let down in service and the food quality. The order we did was nothing new sticks BBQ pork & chicken, bibingkang galapong, and whole leche flan.

I ordered the day before online and since the online system stated payments via online were temporarily disabled forcing you to pay at the restaurant. Arrived Easter Sunday at 10:45am and waited my turn in spaced out line to pay. I paid the bill at 11:10am. Waiting patiently most of the people waiting in store before eventually got all their orders and left by 11:30am. At this point I asked the two working staff members if I could check on the status of my order. The lead cashier stated to me that there were looking into it on two occasions.

At 11:45am the final customer who was just ahead of me in line got his entire order. I followed up by asking order status for the 3rd time. It turned out my two trays of BBQ were on the back counter (behind the register) the entire time along with the bibingkang. The only thing that came out was the lechon kawali around 11:20am and the whole leche flan was already prepared in the refrigerator.

I asked two times around 11:20 to 11:30 what was missing from the order that was preventing it from being complete, but just got a response that they were looking into it. During the entire hour there were a lot of people still placing orders over the phone while there was a long line of people outside looking to place or pickup previously made orders.

Either they could have staffed 1 more person to staff a busy Easter Sunday pickup or periodically could have checked if the food on the back counter was part of someone waiting for their order inside the store. Even during the modified store hours they have done this in the past so I don't understand why it wasn't done today.

In the end thankful that we had food to eat, however, unlike in past purchases the food was cold at the time of pickup due to sitting on the counter for over 45 minutes and the leche flan wasn't even fresh.

Always happy to have a discussion with the management team if they are open to the idea, but understand if they choose to leave this case as is.

Take...