I’ve been hearing raves about Lavigne for sometime now, but my gut is telling me that there is something wrong with this place. First, everytime I pass by Yakal on my way home, there were only a few cars versus Bianca’s or Carpaccio which is along the same street. I thought the place was intimidatingly expensive. Second, I noticed that they changed names from Anthony’s to Titania and at some point there was a healthy restaurant here. Finally, last January 5, we celebrated Rommel and Jinky’s birthday at Lavigne. The ambiance and service was great, however, the food was regrettably bad. Sorry for this but we were served with seafood bouillabaisse that was not fresh that tasted it was frozen for ages and cooked for us, the only customer on a Thursday night. Of course, we did not pay for its P850 price and we did not let that ruin our entire night, so we shoot the night away 🙂
The wine cellar ambiance is actually perfect for that evening dinner conversation. Although, it really feels weird that we are the only people eating in this place. I actually suggested to my brother to eat in Gourmand but you really need a reservations because that place is packed every night (in contrast to Lavigne).
This is the culprit — seafood bouillabaisse that was suppose to be the killer food but turned out to be a seafood that is not fresh and frozen for the longest time. You’ll know by the taste of the soup and the taste of the seafood if it already lacks its crunchy-ness or juicy-ness. Ok, maybe this is just a one-time thing since we were walk-ins — but consider yourself warned 🙂
Three ladies and a baby. I’m glad that the place looks nice to make it worth our while 🙂
Lavigne Bistro
Jose Sotto, Chef- Patron
7435 Yakal St., San Antonio Village, Makati City
Tel # +632 894-1373
hi anton,
i chanced upon your blog purely by accident and too bad about your experience at la vigne. i have heard of similar comments before i started working there as their executive chef last february. there is a new menu and my cooking style is totally different from jose sottos’.im happy to tell you that on a good day, our parking area rivals that of bianca’s or carpaccio. i hope you wil give us another chance.
i totally i agree with your comment anton, the ambiance was ok, but the food taste awful. I suggest they changed their chefs, the food they serve smelled like it came from the ref.