Margarita Forés’ Grace Park

Here’s another farm-to-table restaurant. This one by the acclaimed chef and restaurateur Margarita Forés. I’m a long time fan of Cibo as well as her catering so I was excited to try her new restaurant. I’ve read some early not so good reviews that’s why I waited until a couple of weeks ago to try it. Thankfully our meal was mostly delicious and satisfying. 

Grace Park is located at One Rockwell Bldg. next to a row of restaurants with a common parking area. 

As you can see the restaurant had shabby chic interiors. I normally don’t go for that look but the restaurant was quite homey and relaxing. 

This was the table I chose because it was round and I liked the old table with cracked green paint.

Take note of the vintage glasses. Suddenly I have a new appreciation for the old brown and green glasses in my house. 

The menu had a mixture Filipino, American, British and Italian dishes. I like the way the chef thinks!! There’s really something for everybody. 

The new items were on the rolling blackboard menu. 

The sardine spread was a bit spicy and creamy. Not bad at all. 

 

The bland and greasy fresh mushrooms were disappointing. Not even the mild asiago cheese dip could save it. 

 

Everyone loved the tangy double baked potatoes topped with fresh shiitake mushroom and cistorra (sic) (chistorra) sausage that tasted just like chorizo. This was one single huge potato good for sharing. If you ate this on your own I don’t think you will be able to eat anything else. 

 

Hot water never looked so good.

 

Granola on salad seemed quite an interesting and unique concept but my friends found the watercress too bitter and there wasn’t enough garlic yogurt dressing to mask the bitterness of the greens. 

 

This was half an order since two of my friends split the soup. It was a good idea since an order was a big bowl full of soup.

 

I’ve always wondered why I don’t see cioppino or bouillabaisse in the menus of Manila’s restaurants since our country is supposed to have cheap and abundant seafood. Finally there’s an excellent seafood soup in town. I’m going to order this for myself next time. 

 

I wasn’t able to try this sandwich except for a pinch of the crusty squid ink roll. Those shoestring fries were so yummy and addicting. They can sell it in bags and I will buy it.

 

The last time I ate a patty melt in Manila was at the old Jusmag in QC. Anyone old enough to remember that?  It’s the only place I ever saw this American classic burger sandwich. I usually don’t eat the top bun of a burger but in this case I ate all the toasted rye bread which I loved. This burger and those fries are going into my list of favorite burgers in Manila. 

 

Rochelle and I split an order of this black pasta. It was really underwhelming specially when I compare it to my all time Cibo favorite squid ink pasta. This had a cream sauce that did nothing to the pretty pasta and scallops. The only thing that had impact were the nori strips which gave brief excitement to the boring pasta. I gave it a check mark instead of an x because Rochelle found it not bad at all. I didn’t even finish my share. 

 

I personally loved the slow cooked uber tender beef belly with a thin layer of melt-in-your-mouth fat. The sweetness from the muscovado sugar was subtle and it brought out the wonderful flavor of the beef. Even the potatoes were yummy. I brought home the leftovers of the beef and lamb and had two superb dinners from them.

 

I also loved the uber tender flavorful lamb ribs and specially the cheesy and grainy mashed potatoes. The lamb came with two kinds of sauce which boosted it’s taste.  

I like lemon desserts and this was a good and tart one. 

 

I thought Eton Mess was a just cute name until I Googled it and found out it was a traditional British dessert which used to be served in Eton College. I don’t like meringue but when combined with lots of sweet whipped cream and fresh tart raspberries and blackberries it was just perfect. We initially ordered one to share among 5 women. After 10 seconds it was gone and I ordered another one. If we weren’t so full we could easily eat one Eton Mess each. They change fruits according to availability. I wonder where they bought the fresh berries. 

 

The coffee tasted better in a pretty cup.

This is another restaurant I really like. I want to try the savory Eton Mess, US Pot Roast Melt, Chicken Parmigiana and many more. I will most definitely go back again and again!!! 

✖ skip it
✔ not bad
✔✔ do order
✔✔✔ MUST order

Grace Park
Ground Level, One Rockwell, Rockwell Drive, Rockwell Center Makati
telephone: +(63)939-9347223 , (02) 843-7275
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