Lusso

Almost halfway done! 14 letters more, meaning at least 14 more restaurants to go and I’d be done with this food journey.
     

What an experience! So many things have happened since I first started this blog and I can’t believe that, within such a short span of time, I’ve experienced so much and learned a lot, not just about food but with my life as well.

Hence, in celebration of this accomplishment, I wanted this dinner to be a bit special. And, of course, my usual food buddy went with me on this occasion and she agreed to eat in a semi-high-end place, called Lusso.

Lusso is a small restaurant located in Greenbelt 5 and it’s really hard to find because there’s not even a sign that says Lusso in this place.

The restaurant’s name is just subtly engraved on the metal door handle outside. 

As you can see above, there is an al fresco dining area outside, and I believe it’s even bigger than the restaurant’s interior.  

Nonetheless, albeit the size of the restaurant, it still looked quite comfy and elegant inside. In fact, I actually like the appearance of the place. It looked very sophisticated without being overly ostentatious and intimidating. 

Now, let’s head on to the food. I actually wanted to order a lot of Italian dishes from this French-Italian restaurant, but my friend said that she’d rather try the French food listed on the menu instead. Hence, on this day, we had a French-inspired dinner.

Bottargo di Muggine (P 375.00)

For the appetizer, we chose to have eggs. This one’s the Bottargo di Muggine.

Honestly, I don’t know what the heck this food is. I don’t even know how to eat this! I advise people to do a little research before ordering and actually eating this one as it can be a little embarrassing if you don’t know how to eat this. I swear, the people beside our table were looking at how clumsy, if not totally ignorant, we were in eating this dish.

This is how it looked like the first time we opened the heavy cover of the mini metal pot.

And this is what happens if you don’t know how to eat this stuff! LOL

Anyway, this dish was okay. The bread wasn’t stale. It was soft and delicious. The eggs had this fishy flavor close to anchovies or shrimp paste, but it also has that distinct egg flavor that’s really noticeable. 

Salade Nicoise (P 340.00)

Up next is the salad. We had the Nicoise Salad and I guess ordering this was not really the most intelligent decision I’ve ever made. The first issue I had with this dish is its name - it was hard to pronounce. I tried to pronounce it three times in front of the waiter (who can perfectly pronounce it), and I looked and sounded very stupid. It’s a good thing we’re the only ones dining in the restaurant when I ordered. Otherwise, I would have made a fool of myself in front of the other diners too.

The second issue is with the vegetables - I don’t know any one of them and some weren’t even tasty. It was like eating a bunch of leaves. The vinaigrette was also a bit strong. The dish overall was very acidic, but I still ate the entire thing. Haha! I guess when you start to get used to eating foreign vegetables, they become more friendly to your palate. 

Pan-Seared Salmon (P 550.00)

The main course came right after. We had two actually, the Pan-seared Salmon and the Shepherd’s Pie.

Now, the major faux pas of the day was asking the waiters to serve the dishes in order (as in this restaurant, the waiters, by policy, serve dishes one after the other). However, the biggest embarrassment of the night was telling the waiters that we would share the main course. Stupid! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever said. I forgot that in upscale restaurants like this, people don’t share meals. I’m such a square.

Yet, we still shared the main course. Haha! That’s because I had to taste this one to rate it, right? Anyway, the pan-seared salmon was divine. It was fried to perfection and it was really crispy. The skin was the best part of the dish as it was the crispiest. This slice of fish was also floating above a layer of creamy caviar, which was so luxurious and enticing as well.

Shepherd’s Pie (P 575.00)

Next off is the Shepherd’s Pie, which came in this very cute metal pot and was served with, guess what. Salad again! My goodness, the leaves are just so hard to get used to, but, again, we ate all of it. Haha!

Anyway, this pie was also a fairly appetizing dish. The layer of mashed potatoes is very pleasant while the lamb meat was so tender and flavorful. It was actually very filling. We were shocked at how full we were after eating just half of the serving. It’s really heavy. I just thought though that it’s a tad too rich and can sometimes be cloying. 

Pecan Tart (P 190.00)

The dessert came last. They only had two options that day, so we were forced to pick one of the two. After much recommendation from the waiter and deliberation on our end,  we settled for the warm pecan tart.

When this was served, however, another funny thing happened. My friend, thinking that the heavy cream on top was actually ice cream, scooped a huge serving of it and ate it straight away and, of course, since one mouthful of cream was just too much to tolerate, she instantly felt like throwing up right after. So much for being naive and innocent. She actually looked pale after swallowing the extremely rich and creamy topping. Good thing no one saw her spoon the thing right off the tart!

As regards to the pecan pie, however, it was really good. It was not too sweet and it was really refreshing to eat even if it’s a bit warm. This was one of the best ones we’ve tried for the day and, of course, this was gone in a flash. 

Now, if you would ask me if I would recommend eating in this restaurant. I’d definitely say yes. The service here is stellar, the food was generally great, the ambiance is delighting, and the only drawback I can think of is the price of the meals. It’s surely a nice place to try out at least once in your life.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 5/5

Value - 4/5

TOTAL - 4.25

Lusso

(02) 756 5893
G/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St.
Legaspi Village, Makati City

Posted in: French Food,Greenbelt 5,Italian Food,Lusso,restaurant review