Thoroughly exhausted but culturally enriched by our walk this way tour with Carlos we decided to try out one of the more famous restaurants inside the walled-city — the ILUSTRADO Restaurant. We ate there during lunch time but I suggest that you go there for dinner so you can eat in the main dining room since that has a better ambiance than the little cafe portion of the restaurant where we ate. Though if you’re just eating a light lunch or merienda the cafe portion is ok since it has this bohemian vibe to it.
The food in Ilustrado is composed mainly of traditional Filipino dishes but they do serve other European dishes as well. The food is cooked rather well and they have creative desserts like their homemade ice-cream. Service was a bit slow though but I think it was because it was a Sunday so they were under staffed but they were very courteous so we didn’t really mind waiting. We also loved the dinner rolls that they served since it had some raisins on them and was particularly soft and toasty warm.
I’m sorry I didn’t take pictures of the food anymore since we were so famished. It was presented well though. Servings were big but hello…the rice…it was a teeny-weeny-cup of rice so if you’re a rice person order four! hehe 
For our meal we ordered:
1. Soup of the Day: Shrimp Chowder - This was not a chowder. It was a soup. A shrimp soup. Flavorful and seemed really healthy but I beg to differ…This is NOT a chowder.
2. Norwegian Salmon Fillet -This dish was ok. The salmon as a bit overcooked but it wasn’t rubbery so that was good. They could improve on this dish a lot since the potatoes that they served with this was just a plain old baked potato. I guess when in Ilustrado stick to the Filipino dishes
3. Bagnet with KBL sauce - A sure winner. The KBL sauce was fantastic. I could drink it. I swear. Although, I’m note sure about other people. I’m a big fan of bagoong or alamang so I may be biased but I simply loved it! The bagnet was tasty also. Crispy and incredibly tasty. One word: Cholesterol.
4. Lengua con setas - I love lengua and this dish was just right. Servings were huge and the meat tender and flavourful. The sauce wasn’t overpowering nor overflowing. Hearty meal.
5. Sampaguita ice cream – Wow. It really was sampaguita ice-cream. It didn’t taste like flowers of course but once you taste it you can really smell the sampaguita…wow. This is really a creative dessert and seems like a famous one as well since a lot of people were ordering it.
Check out their MENU here. Photos of their food here.
The Verdict Food: ÜÜÜCleanliness: ÜÜ Service: ÜÜÜ Ambiance: ÜÜÜ Value for money: ÜÜÜ
The resto had ample parking. If you see the sign of Ilustrado along Gen. Luna just go inside that building there’s a small driveway that will lead you to the parking area. The parking area is quite nice also since there are brick arches or whatever you call them that have plants around them so its like a mini-veranda-patio garden of some sort. Do try it out for dinner and not on a sunday since I think the ambiance and the whole dining experience will be better. Overal a decent meal, a bit pricey though for the overall experience but then again I am thinking that since it was a Sunday the resto wasn’t staffed (but then again is that an excuse?) I shall try it for dinner again next time and will let you know.
Cheers,
February 17, 2008 at 11:26 am
they have a branch at Serendra. it’s beside Guava. the lengua’s really good but the i didn’t like the seafood chowder. it was too salty for my taste buds.