Reviews Lola Maria Restaurant

Spent team lunch here a while ago. Location is just across the street; very accessible for us! Price is worth the payI liked majority of the food served at the buffet table. Everything’s got that home-y vibe that is actually the hotel’s main peg. From the food taste to the ambience of the restaurant, this buffet gets 4 stars for me. Food variety’s limited though. I hope they can add some more Filipino dishes when we come back so the next time I review ‘em I can set it to 5. 😂

We stayed at the Legends Villa Hotel, Mandaluyong from Dec 29, 2017 to Dec 31, 2017 to celebrate the New Year. Our 2 story Villa Suite was spacious and very comfortable (which included 2 queen beds, 2 bathrooms, refrigerator, coffee maker and toaster) for our family of 5 adults and one 3 yr old child.
 

The breakfast buffet at Lola Maria restaurant was fantastic incl omelet station, pancakes and salad bar with unlimited juices and coffee. A wide array of filipino dishes (beef tapa, pancit, egg plant, adobo, longanisa, and scrambled eggs, etc.) were also available.
 

A special thanks to the entire buffet staff incl Chef Elly, Cooks Renato, Danila, and Jonathan, Pastry Vencent and Jerome, Butcher Rowel, Cold Section Edsel, Helper J.C. and Servers Frances. Val, Alex, Miko and Nica. Thank you for the gourmet breakfast buffet.
 

Special thanks to the Front Desk Office staff incl Katrina, Jay, Rommel, John Ray, Marienelli, Xuxa and Mick. Bellmen Marvin, Henry, Jim and Melvin were great also.
 

We will be sending a personal thank-you letter to the owner, Mr. Wyden King and his Hotel Property Manager, Jesselyn Amagan to let them know how wonderful our stay was at Legends Villa Suites Hotel and the excellent gourmet food at the breakfast buffet. We will be coming back real soon to enjoy it again. Timothy Lee Nye Sr. and family.

We checked in at Legend Villas for staycation with former officemates. It included breakfast buffet.

The have several options from all time favorite breakfast, cereal, bread, cheese platter, create your own omelette and a lot more.

Had issue with the utensils though, my friend's was used and wasn't replaced. We had to request a new set.

I've tried Lola Maria before but that was a breakfast buffet. This time, it was a lunch buffet. There are about 6-8 mains you can choose from and every single one of them stands out. I honestly didn't think it was that good, but hey! You gotta try it before you judge it!

I attended several christenings here already. It lends itself well to big family gatherings and celebrations because its traditional Filipino decor provides a great background for the meals and photo opps while the food, while having the familiar taste of home-cooked meals, are leveled up considerably. For example, the nilagang baka has a very flavorful broth with beef pieces so tender it practically melts in your mouth. Other notable dishes for me are the baked mussels, baked fish and the lumpiang hubad. However, I'm not a fan of putting pinipig on anything, least of all the buko pandan.

Part of our event in The Legend Villas was a buffet lunch c/o Lola Maria Restaurant. My expectations were correct, it was a usual buffet with dishes as typical filipino cuisine. But the taste of each dish made a difference, particularly the dinakdakan and fish cake. All were freshly cooked and taste was memorable. There maybe a few choices served but it's okay because each one tasted great.

The lechon binagoongan was an awesome meal for me. As a person who does not mind paying for quality food no matter the price, I happily forked over my 298 pesos to the people here. I mean, it was worth it and then some. Kudos to the chef and owners. You got a great thing going in there. keep it up!

At first the 360 peso asking price for their lechon kawali was a bit expensive for me. However when I tried it, I realized that the price was worth it. The pinakbet that came along with it was the perfect partner and their pandan rice added a nice texture to the whole thing.

When I got an invite to attend a food tasting event at Lola Maria Restaurant, I honestly did not know what to expect. We pass by The Legend Villas a few times a day on the way to Lauren's school and sometimes see advertisements for buffets on streamers.

Entering The Legend Villas, I felt transported to the past due to the decor, old wooden furniture, etched mirrors and wooden carvings. I bet foreigners and some balikbayans would get a kick out of the homey historic decor
I was excited to see that we would be served a Degustation menu that night composed of recipes shared by celebrities just given a twist by Chef Michael Martinez of Lola Maria.

A trio of shot glasses composed of Dalandan Slush, Pandan Ice Tea and Pomelo Slush. I picked the Pomelo. The Pomelo Slush had a lot of pulp that I liked and is extremely refreshing in taste.

Vegetable Quiche by Randy Ortiz. I'm a fan of almost anything with egg in them and quiches are no different. The crust is flaky while the inside was filled with chopped veggies cheese and of course eggs. A dollop of sour cream is sitting on top of one of the quiches. A nice opening to a wonderful dinner ahead.

Prawn Cakes by Atoy Llave. This reminded me of Thai shrimp cakes except this one has hoisin sauce instead of sweet chili sauce. Although the picture is a ball, the usual serving size and shape is the same as a shrimp cake. The oustside was crunchy while the inside contained roughly chopped prawn pieces, you know its the real thing and not the processed stuff. I love hoisin sauce and still dream of the one we had in Canada but this one was good and gave the cake a nice sweetish coating (yehey for sweet food!).

Fish Pinipig by Iza Calzado. Dory fish fillet covered with pinipig (roasted rice puffs) with tartar sauce and homemade potato chips on the side. I felt the pinipig overpowered the fish, this would be better if they made the fish fillet bigger or lessened the pinipig a little to make both flavors rise up. I loved the potato chips, big thin pieces of real potatoes fired to a nice crunch.

Cocido by Anton Diaz. Beef ribs stewed in tomato sauce with chorizo and fresh vegetables. The meat was very very tender and the sauce went well with the plain rice served. I like the vegetables on the side especially the banana and beans.

Rosemary and Garlic Rib Eye by Ara Mina.I had wanted my rib eye to be cooked medium but a mix up had me getting a medium well one. Since the beef was a little thin, the edges were a little too overcooked for my tastes, but would be welcomed by blood-averse beef eaters. For my tastes, I would have wanted a thicker cut, but the meat was still soft and marbled. Mashed potatoes on the side were great as well.

Ube Langka Panna Cotta by Sherilyn Reyes, Ensaymada Pudding by Danica Magpantay and Fried Suman at Tsokolate by Wilam Doesnt. The trio of desserts was a fitting end to the meal with great company. The three desserts show a slant towards Filipino desserts but with a European twist. The Ube langka panna cotta tasted like halo-halo in custard form. I had my share of panna cottas and this was one of the more unique and well made ones. I wish I had a bigger serving of that. I also enjoyed the Ensaymada pudding, the top portion is composed of day-old ensaymada and the bottom is a custard so its their take on bread pudding. The pudding underneath was just sweet enough to give it that don't stop eating pull. I least liked the fried suman since I like my suman fresh and coated with sugar all over. Another minus is I don't like native chocolate.

A wonderful hidden wonder I would never have ventured into. After hearing my raves, Irene has been hinting about me taking her there.

So are you looking for a quiet place to have a meal in the heart of the city then look no further than Lola Maria. Give it a try and enjoy all the wonderful food it has to offer.