Elbows Off the Table: Mesa Filipino Moderne at Greenbelt 5

If there's one Filipino restaurant that we know of that we are pretty sure would not disappoint, that restaurant would have to be Mesa Filipino Moderne. We have been dining here for the past few years now and we can safely say that this place serves some of the best Filipino dishes, coupled with great service courtesy of well-trained staff that makes dining here a really pleasurable experience. Maybe some other Filipino restaurants could learn a thing or two from this establishment.

We would normally dine at their SM Megamall branch, but we recently found ourselves at Greenbelt 5 since we wanted to avoid SM Megamall at the time because of an on-going 3-day sale (I'm sure some of you are aware of what SM Megamall is like during these 3-day sales). We were just so tired and hungry already after a long day that we decided to settle for Mesa, instead of trying out the other restaurants in the area.

Mesa's Greenbelt 5 branch is also their very first branch, which opened its doors to customers in 2009. Within just a few years, Mesa has undergone a massive expansion, and they've opened up more restaurants in Metro Manila as well as in places like Cebu, Boracay, and Davao. Mesa, by the way, is also partly owned by Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan.

Since its initial opening, Mesa Filipino Moderne has managed to build its reputation and has gained a loyal following among those who have dined here before (my family included), and also attracts curious people who may have heard about this restaurant chain through word of mouth or online. As such, expect to wait in line for a table. Wait times may vary per branch though--at their Greenbelt branch we had to wait for around 30-40 minutes while we wouldn't usually have to wait as much at their Megamall branch.

Apparently, Mesa was given a "2013 Philippines' Best Restaurants" award--I'm not surprised. I'm not sure which award-giving body gave them this, though. Anyway, having that sign outside their restaurant would surely help attract more people--especially clueless foreign tourists or expats, and there are a lot of them in the Makati area.

Since we first discovered this place, we've managed to try out a number of their dishes with some hits and misses. Certain dishes have already made it to our "must-order" list, meaning, we order them each time we eat here. Still, though, we do experiment and try out other dishes occasionally. 

Our usual appetizer: Baked Scallops with Garlic Butter. These are served fresh, always.

Their Pork Sisig with Egg is considered an appetizer but we like eating this with rice anyway. Their sisig is surely one of the tastiest ones I've had.

The waitress chops up our Pinatayong Manok--"standing" crispy whole chicken carved right at your table. This one comes with a variety of sauces. This sight never fails to get funny stares from customers at nearby tables whenever we order this but who cares? It's really good!

Sigarillas--"wing beans tossed in coconut milk and shrimp". This one is one of my favorites!

Baby Squid Adobo In Its Own Ink--prepare to have really blackened lips after eating this. My parents really like this one.

I ordered a Banana Shake to go with my meal.

Aside from the ones above, another item on their menu that is worth a try is their Crispy Boneless Pata which, just like the Pinatayong Manok, comes with a variety of sauces. 

But, aside from the food, another aspect that really encourages us to come back is their level of service. The staff are really well-trained and they do take the initiative to make the dining experience at Mesa Filipino Moderne a pleasurable one. Even the simplest of gestures like refilling our water glasses without us asking have made a good impression, but it's in the screw-ups that we really got to see how committed their employees are. The last time we ate at their Megamall branch, my brother accidentally slipped at their handwashing area because the floor was really slippery and they forgot to put a wet floor sign (negligence on their part). The manager was really very apologetic and escorted my brother back to our table. She would keep coming back to our table to make sure my brother was doing fine and didn't have any injuries (he didn't). After the meal we were offered free dessert, and I don't think something like this would happen had my brother slipped at some of the other restaurants we've dined in before. Thankfully, none of us slipped when we ate this time at Greenbelt, but the staff were still excellent anyway, and they really know how to treat the customers well.

Good food, great service--what more could we want? Once again, we are reminded of why we love this restaurant so much!

Mesa Filipino Moderne

Ground floor, Greenbelt 5, Makati City

Sunday-Thursday: 11:00 am-11:00 pm; Friday-Saturday: 11:00 am-12:00 pm

www.mesa.net.ph

Other branches: SM Aura, SM North Edsa, Robinsons Magnolia, Powerplant Mall, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, Tomas Morato, SM City Clark, Ayala Center Cebu, Boracay Regency Beach Resort and Spa, Centrio Mall Cagayan de Oro, SM Lanang Premier Davao