2/14/2019 Update: Q&A Kitchen Makati Valentine’s: Is it Now Worth Going to? (A Review)
Update 9/20/2008 – I heard from my wife that the Valhrona dessert we are craving is not that good and it is really small than expected… Also, getting a buzz about La Regalade being a hit/ miss and the food is not consistent.
La Regalade by Mrs Awesome Planet
There are only a few times when I feel I’m in the presence of great food and dining in La Regalade Manila was one of them. It lives up to its name, La Regalade, which perhaps mean a place where you would often go to eat great food. I felt I was not worthy to review the newest French Bistro in town that would redefine the discriminating palate of Filipinos.
Eating in La Regalade is an education on fine French cuisine from a 2-star Mechelin Chef Alain Raye. La Regalade is the Manila branch of the famous French Bistro La Regalade in West Vancouver , and from the chef who authored the cookbook La Regalade, simple French Bistro Food at Home. (Any OAP readers from Vancouver who tried La Regalade in Canada and can share their foodie experience?)
Read: The Story of La Regalade French Bistro Manila Page 1, Page 2,
From the outside, La Regalade is intimidating because of the formal ambiance it creates when you passby Pasay Road. It didn’t help that we saw some foreigners and personalities in their nice looking clothes while we were in our casual jeans attire. Upon entering the bistro, some of the insecurities melted down because of the genuine smile and warmth greeting by the bistro staff. We loved the exclusive French-only background music which makes us comfortable little by little. Opened only for one and a half months, it is one of those places where you would create memories with your special love ones and price of the food is not even a consideration. If you bring a date to La Regalade, it sends a message that she is someone dear to you. Better book in advance especially on a Saturday night for they really get full and you wouldn’t want to be turned down with your date.
You can check out the partial La Regale menu so that you’ll be somewhat ready emotionally and financially. Most of the specials are not in the menu but are written on a black board above the kitchen counter. It would be reasonable to budget P1,000 – 1,500 (with wine) per person, you’ll see why when you are there for their special menu of the day. We would definitely come back to try the desserts which ranges from P350-P450 per dessert. I’m already curious how a P450 Warm Valhrona Chocolate Tart would taste like.
Soupes, Entrees, Plats Principaux (Main Courses)
La Regale Wines: Champagne, Sparkling Wines, White Wines
La Regalade Wines: Red Wines
The meal starts with a serving of baguette with butter. This is the only unimpressive part of the La Regale dining experience. They serve commercially available baguette with a simple butter.
Gratinee A L’oignon (P200). Gratinated Onion Soup.
On a rainy day, I always crave for hot french onion soup. This is a sweeter version of a French Onion Soup and uses locally available red onions which gives it a sweeter taste than expected.
Salad Regalade (P450). This is one of those moments where you eat this salad and you can’t help but just close your eyes in gratitude. My mind was overwhelmed and giving thanks to Him for all the blessings I receive each day and for the opportunity to be alive to taste this great food. My amateur palate can’t comprehend how a combination of squid, shrimp, bacon, parmesan cheese, spices and greens can be a spiritual experience. The salad seemed too perfect and I don’t want to ruin the experience by describing it in detail.
Navarin D’Agneau Aux Epices Et Abricots Secs (P750). Stewed Lamb with Dried Apricots and Spices served with Rice Pilaf.
The braised lamb is slowly cooked with dried apricots, spices, ginger, tomato, carrots and other secret ingredients. Only the tender lamb meat and the sweet carrot can be recognized when served. The servings are good for two but a typical Filipino would order more rice to go with the somewhat sweet sauce. I regret not ordering wine to go with this.
The ladies’ restroom is blessed with sofa chairs that would surely make every woman’s trip to the La Regale restroom a little longer. It is unfair that the men’s restroom is a bit cramp.
Even the takehome brown bag was designed well.
We love to eat in places where we can easily get a table pronto because we cannot let the tummy wait long at past 9pm.
Chef Alain Raye
La Regalade Manila
820 Arnaiz Avenue Makati City, 1226, Philippines
(in the middle of Paseo de Roxas and Amorsolo along Arnaiz Avenue formerly Pasay Road)
Telephone: +632 7502104, 750-2105
Website: www.laregalademanila.com
Email: Fritzweber@gmail.com (Fritz Weber is the general Manager)
Mobile: +63 917-855 3652.
Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.
P.S. Chef Alain Raye will be back in Manila on October 19. Fellow Frenchman Chef Pierre Cornelis is the current Executive Chef.
This is actually just beside our office and I’ve been wanting to try it out since I first saw their sign up. I tried eating here with my gf for lunch one Saturday, too bad I had to learn the hard way that they were closed for lunch on that day. Oh well …
Anyway, thanks for the review Anton, now I know it’s definitely worth checking out.
Hey, this is very near me! Thanks for blogging about restos again, Anton. Your timing couldn’t be any better — my birthday’s coming up, and I’m now considering both Adarna and La Regalade to celebrate. 🙂 But why weren’t you able to post the whole Regalade menu, as you usually do?
That is the entire menu but they would have menu posted on the board. I was shy to go in the middle of the tables and take a shot of the blackboard…haha.
Anton
Hey Anton! 🙂 I love this place 🙂 I looooooved the La Regalade salad too! 🙂
….lol!….rache aidan joshua tell your husband tell your daddy that he should ‘never’ felt intimidated should never feel ‘hesitant’ in going food places like this one or even in any 5-7 stars hotels or any gand places WHY? coz the reason why these GRAND AMBIANCES are created are built is to PROVIDE ALL NON VIOLENT PAYING SMALL OR BIG CUSTOMERS DOESNT MATTER{COZ MANGEMENTS CAN BE SUED FOR DESCRIMINATIONS}….meaning they are there elegantly & grand ” specifically for you filipinos ” to enjoy life to enjoy foods to enjoy dinings to enjoy the places WHY DO YOU THINK THEY BUILT THESE GRAND MULTI MILLIONS BILLIONS OF PESOS GRAND HOTELS RESTAURANTS IN THE PHILIPPINES? YES! THE REASON IS….SO YOU AS FILIPINOS CAN ENJOY CAN USED CAN HAVE FUN WITH THE PLACE lol….they build this lovely paces for you to chill out in their corners FOR YOU TO TOUCH WHAT THEY ARE AVAILABLES….my children go to any grand places any 5 star hotels and just drink soda enjoy the drink & leave after some fun conversations….i walked in any european american asian or philippines 5 star hotels & even asked few of them that they should change some of their paintings flowers or door entry coz i almost o.k. i hit my head it was confusing and they are lucky coz i didnt yell at them when i got hurt coz the glass doors were so clean lol! omg i didnt see it was a glass door lol!….our family lunch was free ‘courtesy’ of the hotel restaurant i was furious coz it did hurt so bad but my children & husband are making fun-laughing at me so i ended laughing with them lol!….you can go to any grand palaces hotels anywhere even just to drink NO BIG DEAL why are they building these places & offering drinks in separate amounts if even just drinking is not permissable i ‘naturally’ go to 5 star hotels or grand places with just my backpack & wooden bakya i go their bars in order tropical drinks without alcohol and sometimes if my travellings gave me a hard time somewhere i do joked-asked the bars if they have ‘someone’ in them {courtesy of the hotels} that i can give a hard time coz i am pissed!….lol….lol!
filipinos themselves should build elegant-grand restaurant like these ones just to break some of the monotony of traditional filipino style food places local restaurants..of course filipinos love french ambiances any french cooking-baking european or canadian doesnt matter..in my personnal visit this place i will order the france expensive french famous ‘delicacy’ if available which is also a not known delicacy of filipinos which is the ‘susu’ o sa ginataang ‘kuhol’na medyo maanghang yung may sili
coz when i ordered them once upon a time in paris france at in canada eh way too expensive compare to their other offered ‘steaks’in the menus so i must take advantage a hpoefully cheaper french ‘susu’ o ‘kuhol’ specialty with wine cooking that’s fine as long as the children are not with me so thank you OAP
the place does seem to look nice, sophisticated if i must. but the food look ordinary for a michelin owned establishment.
the lamb number especially with the rice pilaf is more moroccan than french. i was expecting something traditional like coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, or even ratatouille. but i guess they like to veer away from the usual fare and embrace the bewildering fusion, which is all the rage in the gustatory world nowadays.
….veau marengo blanqutte de veau sole mueniere
mussels marinieres gratin dauphinois supreme de poulet crepe suzette cassolet almond trout chocolate mousse etc. sounds more ‘frenchy’ cuisine to me….if this place serves my lists then christmas party dining here is genuine french & our grandkids are well behaved when dining outside….
you’re back! buti naman sir anton you’re writing about restaurants again! nauubos na kasi ung mga alam namin na restos, hahaha! wait, pano ka ba nakakahanap ng restos? sana magkaroon ka ng something like a directory ng mga post nyo about restos,tas naka link dun ung mga specific URL ng mga post. it would make life easier for us, pero matrabaho. or gawin nyo na parang kay lori of dessertcomesfirst ung archive nyo for easier browsing. sorry demanding ba? haha
this is the first good review i have read about this restaurant
anyway, i am just a newbie in the blog world.. hope we can keep on sharing our finds:)
this is the first good review i have read about this restaurant
anyway, i am just a newbie in the blog world.. hope we can keep on sharing our finds:)
Yeah I’ll do the archive within the week… thanks!!
Yeah I’ll do the archive within the week… thanks!!
i’m sorry, my pamplemousse and i just got back from regalade, and we were quite disappointed. We have been to our fair share of bistros and are well acquainted with french food but the food here just lacked…personality…PLEASE PASS THE SALT! To be fair, the wait staff was quite accomodating and friendly, but the expectations -cultivated by regalade’s michelin star chef press release–were just too high and they did not deliver. It was so lackluster. Sorry! But the bread was good!
….what i noticed from my past experiences from ‘country’ hoppings meaning crossing borders around united states….everytime i was bored eating america’s fast foods i would drive or take the nearest trains to either mexico or canada{both countries}just to eat breakfast lunch or dinner and guest what?….i saw the striking difference between ‘real’ french cooking & the french ‘name’ cooking….it was the “white typical french sauces” those white saucy creams french household daily used whether theyre baked stews tossed or bread butters of course those with wine cookings too those tiny herbs-onions the traditional used of cooking butters semi lots of pepper used their fondness of youghurts for the best french soups the ‘long’ pain staking boiling-waiting for days of those boiled meats just to produced extremely clear liquid sauces{liquid boullions}….while my love for mexican spanish or semi similar meditterranean foods is in color reddish{lots & lots of tomatoes & lots of lumpia wrappers}but brownish if grilled….they are all good foods just make sure youve got the right breads that comes with the dishes & the right wine pairings meaning….do not drink red wines with fishes or seafoods coz they appear to taste better with white wines….red wines taste better if drinking-eating with red meats….
you replied! thanks 🙂 i emailed u a few months on your gmail account about the DLSU entrance form kit, kung hindi mo po nabasa ung mail, well i wrote that you are included dun sa form, on the esteemed alumni part. made me sooooo proud. if u want a picture of that, i can mail it to you 🙂
wait, are u gonna watch the 2nd game this thursday? if you’ll watch lets make a mini meet and greet mr. OAP and family. haha :))
I Love Brown packaging! 🙂
I have to agree with disppointed, i didn’t really like the food here. though it wasn’t THAT bad, it wasn’t memorable enough for me to return. The french onion soup was too sweet and lacked a certain oomph! and the lamb, to me, tasted like kaldereta that didn’t have liver spread in it( hehehehe!) the only saving grace was the lemon tart that i found absolutely delicious. and of course, the wait staff who i found to be friendly and accommodating. well, all except 1, the receptionist. (ask your wife! :))
Hi Anton! The pictures you took were lovely… I wish my food pics looked that good. Hahaha! Yup, this place is really not getting a lot of good reviews… I ate here a week after they opened and was quite underwhelmed. The food was ok, typical bistro food, but the service was terrible beyond belief. I did not write a review about it since I wanted to give them time to adjust. By the way, you might want to check out Sommelier Selection’s French Wine Festival 3… Check out their site, the menus are astounding! Cheers!
NO STARS HERE!
Conventional menu, simple and adequate wine list, excellent service – as of October 2, 2008 (especially appreciated their prompt and accurate anwers to questions about the menu). Plaudits to those who trained the waitresses.
GOOD STARTERS: The parmesan thingy was outstanding and, it has to be said, unusual. The raw Tuna thingy was also excellent. Good soups.
FISHY effects from the main course Snapper with shrimp sauce. One sick wife at 2 AM. Two pan fried steaks – allegedly US Prime. One rare, one medium rare – both on the dry and chewy side, not to mention pricey at around Php 1500 each. Never again.
DESSERTS SO SO, so no stars from me. Haute cuisine prices for bistro food. WON’T LAST ONCE THE CELEBS STOP SHOWING UP.
Anton, I was wowed by the food in this restaurant. Ate there on my 40th birthday last Saturday without really expecting that the food would be that good. That seafood salad is sublime and the lamb dish was hearty, rustic and hit all the right spots. Liked the ambience a lot and the friendly staff. I was just disappointed that they ran out of the dessert floating island. How can a restaurant this price and this caliber run out of a dessert as simple as floating island? Will definitely to back to try the rest of the menu. Was worth the pretty penny!
just came back from la regalade. true, for a 2 michelin 2 chef/consultant the food is ordinary –at par as the smallest (often better) bistros in France. The bread was excellent (since it came from l’artizan–the closest boulangerie you can have outside of paris here!) we ordered the boeuf bourguigone, terrine de campagne, salade regalade, steak tartare, prawns with lime and giner. the only outstanding and true was the beouf bourgignone and terrine de campagne was good, too. prawns–well i have never seen that in french bistros but to be fair it was cooked perfectly well. the salade regalade of my friend was suprisingly scarce of seafood. (unlike all the photos i have seen in food blogs). our waiter was attentive till the second waiter came and i had to repeat myself (while him pouring the wine of one of our friends who could not drink tonight) that he DOES NOT DRINK and he nodded and kept pouring the wine! haaalllooo?? the chocolate mouse and valrhona tart was too sweet. overall, je suis gourmand is more homey and serving is just about the same (which is huge!)
p.s.-the manager–who speaks french fluently, even after costumers give their constructive criticsm, just nods his head ..obviously unconcerned…or he is used to complaints. anyhow, the food is good overall.
I have been to La Regalade a few times and the food is average. With a 2 star michelin chef, like the other people on this blog, I expected much more. I was in France about 2 years ago and the bistros there were much much better than La Regalade. For casual french food in Manila, I usually go to cuillere in manila. Ill give La Regalade another chance though, hopefully, 3rd times the charm.
My bad experience http://www.shootfirsteatlater.com/2010/04/dinner-at-la-regalade.html
i ate at La Regalade in Vancouver just last month to celebrate my sister in law’s birthday, and we loved the food! the stand outs for us were the pear and blue cheese tart, the grilled prime rib, and the lamb. we also had the duck, but i don’t really care for duck. we ate filipino-style, where we shared all the dishes. the pear and blue cheese tart was melt in your mouth heavenly, and we all agreed that next time, we would order one for each of us (too good to share!). the prime rib was tender, with its pan juice sauce and roasted potatoes cut in chunks. the lamb was served on couscous and was very tender. we also had the onion soup, which was for me a bit sweet. at this La Regalade (i don’t know about our local one at Pasay Road), the desserts are on the counter and you pick what you want. we were disappointed not to be able to try the creme brulee, which my sister in law raved about. instead we had the fig tart, which had a nice crust, but i didn’t really care much for the fig filling. oh, and a chocolate something, which i really liked.
service was great – we had to wait for a table to free up, but their ‘greeter’ offered us appetizers of some kind of bruschetta (not french, i know, but it was basically french bread with a garlicky cheese topping). their wait staff was friendly without being obtrusive and there was no long wait for the dishes. one thing we found amusing – the dessert guy (forgot what they’re called in french) was really anxious to find out our opinion of the fig tart which he apparently just debuted that week. they were full-to-brimming with customers that saturday night.
This review of the French bistro made me decided to try this one time. Yes, it sure looks intimidating but thanks to this review, I know that my trip to La Regalade will be memorable.