The Granary at Richmonde Hotel Iloilo

Richmonde Hotel Iloilo opened a few days ago and like a magnet it pulled Ilonggos towards it to experience the luxury it has to offer. From its gleaming facade to modestly lavish interiors, it has become "the place to see and be seen". And among the simplest way to enjoy the luxury it has to offer is to indulge in the gastronomic pleasures at The Granary.

Located at the hotel's lobby, the all-day outlet entices with its simple yet elegant interiors. Despite its business-like ambiance, sophistication is in the air - literally. Who wouldn't notice and appreciate the simple elegance these lighting fixtures the moment they step in!

Under these bright lights, the duo-toned furniture also speaks of mild sophistication. But if you prefer much brighter, then you can seat yourself in the area fronting the glass wall for maximum exposure. There, the walls are lined with native decors and another set of lighting fixtures might give you another visual fixation.

But of course, you'll get your groove back once the food servers hand you the menu. Just like the hotel, The Granary still offers a "soft-opening" menu but still plenty to choose from. For a food outlet inside a hotel, the price is very competitive to most restaurants and offers familiar items on the menu that ordering won't be such a problem.

To start with, we enjoyed the Traditional Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken. A staple on most menus but we did a double take when it came to our table. It made us appreciate the time and effort done to present a usual dish in a different and curious manner.

We had to try the Pancit Guisado but when made to choose which noodle - egg or rice noodles, we couldn't decide. So Pancit Guisado came with a combination of egg and rice noodles with a very generous serving of meat, seafood and vegetables.

Will you say no to a crunchilicious Lechon Kawali? Ofcourse, not! And when it came, it almost disappeared even before it was set on the table!

Care for some Kare-Kare? Made with ox tail and ox tripe in savory peanut - it had us also scrambling to have a piece. With sauteed shrimp paste, of course!

Yes, we were wondering about it too! It turns out be just a thin cracker adding some height to a plate of Grilled Norwegian Salmon. As always, salmon tastes great. And the cracker too - I can't help myself to let this go...

So with this burger that with a price of PHP410 made us really curios how it would taste given lots of fastfood burgers around.

And when it came, the patty alone was already worth it as one can taste,see, smell, feel its 100% beef burger. I swear I heard it moo on my first bite! And with perfectly crisp bacon on top, we can only say moore!

Desserts? Definitely! From this vanilla ice cream perfect for the hot afternoon to the very delectable Tiramisu, it was certainly saving the best for last.

And its the specialty dessert of The Granary - Richmonde Chocolate Cake with Mango Coulis, that perfectly ended the afternoon of gastronomic appreciation at Richmonde Hotel Iloilo. But it was also a sign that we will find ourselves yearning to discover what more it has to offer!

The Granary is open from 6am until 11pm. It offer Breakfast Buffets during weekends.

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FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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