Sawsaw by Sau, the flagship restaurant of Chef Sau del Rosario that promotes Modern Filipino cuisine with a Kampampangan flair, is the most anticipated restaurant opening in Poblacion. Everyone who has been to Sawsaw can attest to how delicious the food is and how it makes one proud of our Filipino cuisine.
We visited twice already, and here are some tips to have an awesome experience at Sawsaw.
Sawsaw By Sau
The best of Filipino Cuisine by Chef Sau 🇵ðŸ‡
8491 Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City
📞 +63 917 810 9322
FB: Sawsaw
IG: @sawsaw.ph
Related Post: Cafe Fleur: Best New Poblacion Restaurant by Chef Sau!
About Sawsaw
Loved the maaliwalas feel of the whole resto—the solihiya chairs, the overhang woven lights, and the mixed media artwork with a burst of vegetables and culinary ideas coming from Chef Sau’s head.
Sawsaw Menu: Appetizers, Soup | Salads, Mains, Plant-based, Grilled Special, Side Dish | Desserts, Signature Cocktails, Classic Cocktails | Craft Mocktails, Local Craft Beers, Drinks | Sparkling, White, Red, and Rose Wine
The Sawsaw menu features Filipino and Kampampangan recipes with focus on quality ingredients, matching sauces (sawsawan in Filipino), and Chef Sau’s artistic presentation.
The open kitchen is impressive because you can see the action live—how your food is cooked, assembled, and presented. Best of all, you won’t smell like food and the smoke is absorbed by their powerful exhaust.
This is the coveted private room for a group of 6 for your milestone meetings or celebrations.
Al fresco dining here is like eating in an urban garden setup with comfortable lounge chairs.
APPETIZERS
This sisig bomb explodes with pork & foie flavors in your mouth to kick-start your appetite.
Best okoy version for me, with crunchy popping corn kernels and prawn chili flavors.
These headless undressed prawns are cooked just right and served with aligue and sambal.
(Foodie tip: Ask for a bit of Alavar sauce to eat the jumbo shrimps with.)
Loved the good chew of these sliced octopus tentacles. Good to share as pica pica.
DRINKS
I love a good Pisco sour to stimulate the appetite, a good buzz for engaging conversation.
Personally, I also love gin-based cocktails, either a G&T or something like this citrus gin.
Drinks: Signature Cocktails | The Classics | The Modern | Local Craft Beer, Craft Mocktails
This Growers Gate Cab Sauv has a nice black fruit, pepper spice and oaky notes that surprisingly go well with meat-based Filipino dishes. Affordable Cab Sauv and good value.
SOUP
The best! Milky corn soup with shrimp and katsuobushi umami. Uniquely Chef Sau.
SALAD
Good appetizing salad with crunch from the fried catfish, vegetables, and glass noodles.
MAINS
The best Crispy Pata in town, with perfectly crunchy skin and juicy inside. Served whole and sliced table side for you to smell the flavors.
Each piece is tasty by itself, the skin is crunchy thin and all of the meat falls off the bones.
You can eat it with the usual soy-mansi, gravy or atsara to enjoy the meat with different flavors.
I also loved their duck cooked in its own fat with adobo flavors paired with adlai and served a la Kapampangan bringhe in creamy risotto style. Sarap nito!
I loved the Kare Kare sauce (but bitin)—concentrated sauce with macadamia nuts served with a big chunk of Lechon Macau. Savor every drop of the sauce. 🙂
All main dishes are served with your serving of rice and Bahay Kubo vegetables on the side.
Creamy Chilean Sea Bass with gingery broth for healthier bites.
This Kurobuta Pork chop is meaty and full of flavor by itself, but it’s still best eaten with the creamy sinantolan coconut gravy and white rice. 🙂 Yum!
An upgrade of your usual bistek, with a juicy fatty belly and a red wine, soy-mansi reduction.
Best to slice the sugpo into pieces and eat with the spiced coconut sauce.
DESSERTS
Loved the sweet milkiness of this Tibok-Tibok, like pastillas in liquid form.
(Note: some people find the sweet sampaguita smell a bit off on the nose.)
Yes, signature jackfruit sans-rival from M Cafe days—chewy, nutty with the right sweetness.
Like Halo Halo in tart form. Goes well with their homemade ice cream.
My favorite flavor, with just the right salty tuyo flavor to cut through the chocolatey goodness.
Sweet corn ice cream flavor for something different from the usual cheese flavor.
Yes, chocnut ice cream is always fun to end with, especially with chunks of chocnut.
You can also end with Chef Sau’s pandemic famous Kampanpangan Buco Pie.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this is the Modern Filipino food that you would like to eat—still true to its Filipino flavors, presented well with Kampampangan flair, and is uniquely Chef Sau. You won’t go home hungry because the serving is family style and each piece is packed with flavor.
I would recommend starting with Sisig Pie Tee, Sinugba na Prawns (with Alavar Sauce) and Suwam na Mais. For the mains, order the Best Crispy Pata in Manila, Duck Adobo, and Malutong na Baboy Macademia Kare-Kare. Make sure to get more rice and Bahay Kubo vegetables to complete the meal. For dessert, my favorites are the homemade ice cream like chocolate with tuyo or banana chocnut and the tibok-tibok. Budget about ₱1,000/head.
Congratulations to Chef Sau, Chef Bong and the Sawsaw team for an awesome Modern Filipino concept that makes us proud of our Filipino cuisine. Good luck on your North America expansion in Napa Valley. Hopefully soon!
Make sure to go early to get the precious parking slots. We would usually have a late lunch at 1 to avoid the peak lunch crowd, or go early at 6pm for dinner to appreciate the venue and the dinner service.
Sawsaw By Sau
The best of Filipino Cuisine by Chef Sau 🇵ðŸ‡
8491 Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City
📞 +63 917 810 9322
FB: Sawsaw
IG: @sawsaw.ph
Related Post: Cafe Fleur: Best New Poblacion Restaurant by Chef Sau!
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Disclosure: Thanks to Nikkei Team for the experience. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
Disclosure: Thank you to Chef Sau for the Sawsaw experience. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. Due to popular demand, they are almost finished building the 2nd Floor for private functions. Reserve now for your BER celebrations!!!
