I’m not 100% sure if Tadhanà even self-identifies as “fine dining,” but certainly it places a lot of emphasis on vibrant flavors, integrating cultural Filipino heritage with elements of conventional US fine dining (i.e., caviar, duck breast) and some bold choices. I don’t know a ton about Filipino culture, but my dining companion is from the Phillippines and offered some insights that helped me make sense of the extensive menu.
Overall, I really liked this and had a great night. Competent, professional but not intrusive service. Everyone in the restaurant is brought their dishes at the same time, which was fun. It’s a very small place–if it gets a Michelin star, I suspect it’ll be very hard to get a reservation.
**Pan de Sal**: Nice, crusty bread with a creamy butter. The bottarga (roe) added a nice textural element and some salinity. There was supposedly salted duck egg in the butter, but neither my dining companion nor I could tell how it factored in. Lovely aftertaste that made me appreciate the dish more after I had it than during.
**Ceviche**: A real standout of the night. The smoky, salty pork jowl worked beautifully against the yellowtail and the vinegar. They pour a creamy sauce on top at the table–I can’t remember what it was but I think it was some sort of coconut milk.
**Grilled Stuffed Chicken:** The most playful dish of the night–this was my friend’s favorite. It came out very hot, so I had to eat it gingerly. The hot dog in the middle was unexpectedly tasty–not something I think I would’ve expected to be as good as it was. Props to the cooks for cooking the chicken perfectly.
**Duck Egg Custard**: An elevated version of Philippine street food, this reminded me a bit of Jean-Georges’s signature vodka cream egg. It was fine–not quite my thing, but I don’t have any critiques of it.
**Cod**: Another standout for me. Perfectly cooked, with depth of flavor from the fermented mustard greens. The sauce balanced acid and fat really beautifully.
**Ka-Sa-Lay Trio**: This was a little confusing for me as the menu listed these three dishes–a rice, a broth, and a squash puree as complementary, but the rice was served with the next course. Not sure what the deal with that was. They were all good, though, especially the sour broth which had some daikon and ginger (I think). It was extremely, extremely flavorful. The rice was a nice palate cleanser although it would’ve been nice to have all three served at the same time.
**Grilled Pork Belly**: Delicious, smoky, crispy, with a nice sweet banana ketchup glaze. The pork belly was already sliced on skewers, which was thoughtful and ensured that each piece was perfectly tender.
**Seared Duck Breast**: Duck isn’t really my favorite protein, so I’m not sure my thoughts are worthwhile. My companion tells me that it’s not a conventional protein in the Phillippines. I think it was fine–the sweet pepper sauce was nicely sweet. Small portions here, but by this time of the night I was so full that I didn’t mind.
**Halo Halo**: This was actually served last, but appears on the menu as the penultimate item. It’s a frozen jackfruit dessert. The two pieces served to our table were pretty different in size, so we had to negotiate who got which piece. Nice pop of flavor.
**Sweet Coconut Cheese Bread**: This was fine. Very, very sweet and almost one note except for a bit of roasted (possibly even fermented) coconut at the bottom, which added a lot of complexity. If I were to redesign the dish, I’d add much more of the coconut and integrate it throughout.
Overall, an excellent night. A few things I’d tweak but nothing bad or off. I think it’s deserving of one-star, for sure, and I look forward to going again.
godiloveswords
At the risk of sounding like a snob, tbh this place looks way more appealing to me than other “elevated Filipino” restaurants like Kasama as a Filipino. Haven’t actually been to either so can’t speak in regards to flavor though, just feel like the heritage is more present here.
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I’m not 100% sure if Tadhanà even self-identifies as “fine dining,” but certainly it places a lot of emphasis on vibrant flavors, integrating cultural Filipino heritage with elements of conventional US fine dining (i.e., caviar, duck breast) and some bold choices. I don’t know a ton about Filipino culture, but my dining companion is from the Phillippines and offered some insights that helped me make sense of the extensive menu.
Overall, I really liked this and had a great night. Competent, professional but not intrusive service. Everyone in the restaurant is brought their dishes at the same time, which was fun. It’s a very small place–if it gets a Michelin star, I suspect it’ll be very hard to get a reservation.
**Pan de Sal**: Nice, crusty bread with a creamy butter. The bottarga (roe) added a nice textural element and some salinity. There was supposedly salted duck egg in the butter, but neither my dining companion nor I could tell how it factored in. Lovely aftertaste that made me appreciate the dish more after I had it than during.
**Ceviche**: A real standout of the night. The smoky, salty pork jowl worked beautifully against the yellowtail and the vinegar. They pour a creamy sauce on top at the table–I can’t remember what it was but I think it was some sort of coconut milk.
**Grilled Stuffed Chicken:** The most playful dish of the night–this was my friend’s favorite. It came out very hot, so I had to eat it gingerly. The hot dog in the middle was unexpectedly tasty–not something I think I would’ve expected to be as good as it was. Props to the cooks for cooking the chicken perfectly.
**Duck Egg Custard**: An elevated version of Philippine street food, this reminded me a bit of Jean-Georges’s signature vodka cream egg. It was fine–not quite my thing, but I don’t have any critiques of it.
**Cod**: Another standout for me. Perfectly cooked, with depth of flavor from the fermented mustard greens. The sauce balanced acid and fat really beautifully.
**Ka-Sa-Lay Trio**: This was a little confusing for me as the menu listed these three dishes–a rice, a broth, and a squash puree as complementary, but the rice was served with the next course. Not sure what the deal with that was. They were all good, though, especially the sour broth which had some daikon and ginger (I think). It was extremely, extremely flavorful. The rice was a nice palate cleanser although it would’ve been nice to have all three served at the same time.
**Grilled Pork Belly**: Delicious, smoky, crispy, with a nice sweet banana ketchup glaze. The pork belly was already sliced on skewers, which was thoughtful and ensured that each piece was perfectly tender.
**Seared Duck Breast**: Duck isn’t really my favorite protein, so I’m not sure my thoughts are worthwhile. My companion tells me that it’s not a conventional protein in the Phillippines. I think it was fine–the sweet pepper sauce was nicely sweet. Small portions here, but by this time of the night I was so full that I didn’t mind.
**Halo Halo**: This was actually served last, but appears on the menu as the penultimate item. It’s a frozen jackfruit dessert. The two pieces served to our table were pretty different in size, so we had to negotiate who got which piece. Nice pop of flavor.
**Sweet Coconut Cheese Bread**: This was fine. Very, very sweet and almost one note except for a bit of roasted (possibly even fermented) coconut at the bottom, which added a lot of complexity. If I were to redesign the dish, I’d add much more of the coconut and integrate it throughout.
Overall, an excellent night. A few things I’d tweak but nothing bad or off. I think it’s deserving of one-star, for sure, and I look forward to going again.
At the risk of sounding like a snob, tbh this place looks way more appealing to me than other “elevated Filipino” restaurants like Kasama as a Filipino. Haven’t actually been to either so can’t speak in regards to flavor though, just feel like the heritage is more present here.