Benjamin L.
Yelp
Alright alright... Let me explain.
First off, Breakfast at Antonio's certainly serves a wonderful meal. Breakfast here is so hearty it will certainly carry you though the day. We have been to Breakfast at Antonio's on numerous occasions and it's never really disappointed me until this past Sunday, February 28, 2016. We frequent Antonio's, their white linen restaurant and I've gone as far out on a limb to tell friends, this joint could be a Michelin star rated establishment. So, I'm not sure what exactly happened this past weekend at their semi-casual breakfast restaurant.
So let me dive right in to it. The hostess was on point, certainly inviting and had a warm personality as a hostess/host should, something you would expect from Antonio's. Once seated, I really felt the service was all downhill from there. The server, Alvin, was never on point, being there we're only 2 of us, he seemed to prioritize the larger parties. From attentiveness to simple tasks like making sure there's enough water in your glass, I felt extremely neglected. Not good considering breakfast costs us in upwards of a few thousand that morning for 2 people. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to food, there is NO dollar amount you can put on it for me, I am a self proclaimed foodie through and through. I had to flag Alvin down to take our order, I had to flag him down for water, to order drinks, to order dessert! I know for certain our water glasses were only filled once, by another server who saw we've been out of water for quite some time. The table next to us with a party of 8 had their glasses full every time Alvin passed their table. The servers yell aloud 'pare pare'', I felt like I was at some bar for a moment, please don't misunderstand me, I just believe that certain places require certain mannerisms to project a certain ambiance which you are expecting when going to a place like this. If I'm with my boys at some dive bar, I would say, that's totally acceptable. When the bill came and it was time to pay, my man Alvin was right there waiting for his tip... I myself, believe in etiquette and left a modest tip of 10% on top of their service charge. As we walked away from the table, before I could take a step, my man was reaching in, maneuvering his way to take the tip away, I also overheard someone tell Alvin, there you are again so quick.
So regretfully, I'm very displeased with the service we received at Breakfast at Antonio's, VERY DISPLEASED, BEYOND DISPLEASED.
So, let me get to the food... Really, as far as the food goes, I cannot complain. I've said it before and I will say it again... I HEART Foie Gras! Love it love it and against the best wishes of my doctor and soaring cholesterol, I'll take anything with a seared foie gras on top for a final meal!
1) I forget the name, seared portobello mushrooms over toast topped with a light gravy, topped with seared foie gras and I think a raspberry walnut reduction with a side of 2 eggs sunny side up! p700 - Super delicious! I will say it's a bit on the heavy side, or that could have been the pastrami sandwich i had for the appetizer! Yes, I did, don't judge! Overall just a fantastically put together dish, no complaints all praise for a well balanced plate with enough sweetness and acid to kick up the foie gras fatty texture. You seriously have to have this!
2) Eggs Benedict p400 - 2 Poached Egg, Smoked Ham on English Muffin Topped with Hollandaise Sauce, what you say??? No this wasn't my dish, but you know my fork manages to round the table as pates arrive. Just an all around delicious classic breakfast. I could compare this to the eggs benedict at Apartment 1b in Rockwell.
3) Homemade Pastrami p385 - served with Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, Onions, drizzled with Russian Dressing. Yes, this was... my appetizer! Overall decent, a very decent sandwich, I'm no sandwich expert by any means, but honestly, the sandwich could have just had mustard and a really decent mayo, and it would have been great. Again, not a sandwich expert, just I love pastrami sandwiches in NYC and those are pretty simple, bread, pastrami, sauerkraut, mustard... I usually put the mayo on after.
4) Freshly baked cookies... minimum order of 6, and takes about 30 minutes to bake. I don't know the cost, I just ordered the white chocolate macadamia-nizut cookies :) If you go and order this, say it just like that, white chocolate "macadamia-NIZUT" cookies! Heavenly served warm as they come out of the oven, gosh I wish I could have gotten a whiff of that aroma as these baked in the oven. We couldn't finish the 6, and today, 2 days later, still... still really good, very good, better than that actually and soft and chewey, and just oh so goodness.
5) Juices and pastries+ - Quite honestly, the OJ was a but watered down. The mango juice was on point. This is the Philippines, mango juice should always be on point.
Overall... 2 stars for the HORRIFIC service.