One of our friends had a birthday last month and asked for a recommendation for where to go. My sister had heard good things about Silantro from another friend, and off we went. The premise was nonpricey Mexican with a Filipino twist, and unlimited mojitos so we figured that would be hard to get wrong, and heck, they did things right.

It was a Friday and the place was packed. It only had about 12 tables and there were double the amount of patrons, half of which were waiting for others to finish. We were hungry, so we ordered a plate of Nachos (P145) to eat while waiting for a table to free up.

Here is what we were served:

Isn’t it pretty? We said it was like the best kind of parol (for the non-Filipinos, a Christmas decoration like this), since it was colorful, and we could eat it. And eat we did. We finished that sucker off in five minutes we were so hungry. It was so worth every penny, we ordered two more. It was a group of 8 people, and we each had our own things to eat, but it was so good we had to have some more.

We got a table around 30 minutes later and got the Calliente wings (P170):

Which was their take on buffalo wings from what we gathered. I liked the green stuff but was unsure what it is. The sweet, spicy, barbecue like sauce good for those who have little tolerance for hot things, served with a couple of sauces (I only know them as white and orange)with a bowl of orange sauce that was fiery and woke up the senses. Add a touch if you want a little spice, but more than a drop is punishment for those who don’t regularly eat spicy food.

My favorite of the bunch was the Silantro’s quesadilla (P160)

Basically a cheese plate, it was fries, cheese, bread, and other blobs of things that I couldn’t stop eating. We also had the beef version, but I liked the Silantro’s better.

What we had that wasn’t pictured:

1. The Silantro’s Burrito (P180): I wasn’t a fan. The rice had a frozen, then nuked texture to it. The meat didn’t chew well either. Burritos for me are 50-50, either you do them well or you don’t, and for me, they did not do the rice wrap justice.

2. Unlimited mojitos (P250): We loved it. It wasn’t the most faithful rendition of mojitos, but it was sweet, citrusy, sometimes strong, and the bartender was easy to talk to about adjusting the sweet or the strong depending on the three people that were drinking it. My sister had the most lethal mix, one friend had the sweeter, the last, more juice than anything. They each had at least three glasses each.

Verdict: Definitely Mexican for Filipinos, everything had a slightly sweet tinge, and gobs of cheese on every dish. Not faithful to the original recipes, but caters to the Filipino palate, and is on a cool, casual setting that is affordable for both yuppies and college students on a good day.

Tips: Go early. Place fills up and you don’t want to be waiting forty minutes for a seat. Have the unlimited mojitos if you like girl drinks, the beer buckets for a nice, chill time with friends with fun food.

Price per head: P200-300 with drinks and definitely full bellies.

Silantro’s details:

Hours: Mon - Sun: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm