La Tienda

Kristian James Gibson

"Is this place open?"That's the first question we had in mind when we wen to La Tienda. We went here for Sunday's Lunch and we first verified with the restaurant if they were open, they said yes (contrary to what it says here in website). When we got to the door, it had no sign whatsover if the place was open or not. I had to open the store and see that the front of the house was writing things on paper. She said they were open, and then turned on all the lights. We waited by her counter to be seated and we got one of their calling cards. Under the card we lifted up though was a squished insect. Yikes!!!The dining room was huge and we were seated at one of the center tables. Our server gave us some bread, bread sticks and butter before we pick our orders. We ended up picking Gambas al Ajillo, Lengua and their Paella de Mariscos.I liked their bread very much but, I wasn't sure if it was freshly baked or just heated. Either way, it was nice. The Gambas I liked but I hope the serving was too small for me. Next came the Paella and the Lengua which I was excited about. When I saw the server open up the Paella Pan, I was pretty disappointed with how little their toppings were. Two pieces of shrimp and clam and the rest was just mostly the rice. Flavors were good, but I expected MUCH more especially with how much it cost. The Lengua, I'am not a fan of becase I don't like it in the first place. But my boyfriend really enjoyed it, saying it's one of the best he's had.Ultimately, we were pretty full with lunch. I would've given it a higher rating if it weren't for that calling card incident. They have to dust the place or clean the whole area because it's unappetizing to eat at a place while consciously thinking if what you're eating was cooked clean or not.

Zamille Bernardino

popped back in for lunch a few days after enjoying a really great dinner. That night the Langustinos au Roquefort were superb (and great value), this time a simple paella for lunch with great churros to follow hit the spot. I really love this cute little place. Try it soon and spread the word

Indira Larasati Dewi

Since that memorable EATSperience of ours at the Spanish Food Festival at the Diamond Hotel, we have been looking around on where to try other authentic Spanish dishes. Also, we have been looking for that authentic Spanish tavern atmosphere to have a really complete EATSperience. Good for us, we didn’t have to look so far because just around Makati’s Bel-Air area there’s a Spanish restaurant that has been there for 30 years. Well, it’s safe to say that it has already been an institution for Spanish cuisine and yes, it took us a long long time to finally eat there for the first time. In this edition of EATSplorations, we will be sampling Spanish Cuisine at La Tienda. Join us as we try out their chorizo, churros, and many more!