La Parrilla de Manila

On January 3, 2025, my wife and I dined with a good friend of my wife's at La Parilla de Manila. In terms of atmosphere, La Parilla is clean, bright, stylish without being overly upscale in appearance, with white tablecloth covered tables. My wife and our friend, both having grown up in the Philippines, are better judges of "authenticity" of the dishes we were served, which were: (1) Lumpiang Shanghai appetizer; (2) Kare Kare; (3) Pork BBQ; (4) Lechon Kawali; and (5) my selection - Shrimp Gambas. We also had Garlic Rice with our dishes. All dishes wree very tasy, with the runaway consensus best being the Pork BBQ. The Lechon Kawali was flavorful but the preference of my two wiser co-diners was that it should have been cut smaller than it was. The Shrimp Gambas, comprised in part of shrimp, onion, garlic, red and green bell pepper and cooking wine, was great - it had the perfect level of spice to complement the deflt-balanced ingredients. My wife absolutely loves Kare Kare and was very happy with that delicious dish. The sole disappointment was that due to a very large party that was celebrating at another table, our service was very slow. I expect that this is not the norm and would refrain from eating again at La Parilla de Manila because of it. Having had Filipina fare for the more than 30 years that I have ben married to my lovely wife, I can comfortably concur with the sound opinions at my tible, that La Parilla de Manila is a worthwhile venue whenh you want a quality meal (and especially when you yearn for quality Filipina food.) We will return when next we are the area and respectfully suggest you visit La Parilla de Manila as well.

First time visit and as much as we enjoyed the food the service was extremely slow. My partner and I arrived before a large party of 20 and for whatever reason this party was served their apps and meals before us. Service was disappointing and we do not plan on returning.

The first time I tried this place was 3years ago. Used to take clients here to try authentic Filipino food. Today, had late lunch here with fam and food doesn’t taste good at all. Sizzling balut taste bland, nothing extra ordinary, chicharon bulaklak’s not crispy, sizzling squid is not properly cooked and the Kawali, bland & the meat smells. The Kare2 and fried calamari tasted okay. The service was so unsatisfactory. Food service was slow, all main dish should be served together and not one then after 15-20min. another dish. Not the service you expected.

Was passing by and noticed this place and parked. I love Filipino foods. Very cozy place for made to order food. Authentic and tasty foods served with friendly smiles. I was filled to the rim and could not stop eating. When you leave here you will need a nap 💟🐷

I made a reservation for a specific time, but we were running late so I decided to call to let them know that we would be about half an hour late. The young lady who answered informed us that they were heavily understaffed and asked me if we would like to place order on the phone so that we wouldn't have to wait. I unfortunately had to decline because we didn't know what we wanted yet. When we got there, we rang the bell and we were greeted with the young lady whom I later discovered to be the hostess, waitress, food runner and bus girl. She promptly checked each of our temperatures before we were seated. She took our drink orders after which, I watched how she managed to care of three other tables that were enjoying their meals. After waiting for about 10 minutes, she came back with our drinks and took our orders. The menu was quite full but unfortunately, they didn't have the appetizer that we were all craving that evening (chicharon bulaklak.) We ordered an array of dishes and each and every one of them were delicious. They were portioned just right (maybe even larger) for a party of five. The flavors and the freshness of the ingredients were all there. Kudos to the chef who prepared them. The crispy pata were all kind of crispy and fatty in the best way. The bulalo took me back to Tagaytay. The pinakbet was made with fresh vegetables. The sisig and the pork BBQ made me want to take a shot with my barkada back home. And you can't have a proper Filipino dinner without rice; garlic fried rice that wast just comforting. I have to admit that I was very hesitant after I was told that they were understaffed, especially after she asked if she could take our orders over the phone before we even arrive. But I was shockingly surprised by how everything turned out and the quality of the food. Very impressed. Definitely will be back, especially on a Friday when they have street food specials.

Came here on the recommendation of a family friend. We don’t have as great of a selection of filipino restaurants anymore in JC (the few left can be overpriced with measly portions). Was initially shocked at the menu prices which were a little high and noted as “single servings” but don’t let that fool you - those single servings are enough for sharing. 2 single serving dishes can nearly feed 3 when you add rice. We had the grilled squid, lechon kawali, pinakbet, and sisig. Everything was single serving or lunch portion except the squid which is one size. And everything was delicious! Loved the pinakbet isn’t too oily or fatty, the veggies are cooked just right and not mushy, and the amapalya isn’t super bitter. The lechon kawali too was delicious and the skin crispy. My only knock is I wish it were a touch browner but I understand they were aiming to not overcook and dry it out. Squid was delicious and perfectly grilled (but gimme more teriyaki glaze personally). And the sisig was good but not stand out. I prefer it with a bit more texture and it just comes out a little too mushy. It tastes good but it needs a coarser chop so it doesn’t end up like paste at the end. Overall 10/10 and only wish it were closer to JC but 30-35min isn’t too bad. Will be back again!

The restaurant is at decent size. There is two levels. The food is delish. I’m not a big fan of the dish kare kare but I definitely enjoyed it there. It’s a must try if you stop by. The food is good and the prices are more than usual because their dishes is majority family size. Just be mindful that their entrees don’t come with any sides or rice so you must order it separately. The bus boy who takes away the dishes is so nice and friendly. He entertained people with his singing as he cleaned or took away their dishes. I recommend this restaurant to anyone that has a craving for some great Filipino food around the area. You will definitely not be disappointed.

The dishes are mostly authentic, the prices are very good, and the place is usually packed. Some dishes have strange ingredients like frozen supermarket veggies. We also had old and very off-tasting jack fruit in the halo-halo. The service is friendly, but somewhat chaotic. Larger groups should definitely check the bill and what actually was served. We had 2 group meals there, and in both cases, they forgot to serve dishes or drinks that ended up on the bill. We also got 2 servings of a dish due to an error of the kitchen. The staff was a bit reluctant to fix the mistakes, and argued a little bit, but not too badly.