Love at First Bite: ArroZeria Manila

I absolutely love that I’m surrounded by people who love to eat. My Instagram feed never fails to make me hungry. It also gives me ideas on where to eat next. And a few weeks back, someone posted a photo of paella. Soon, I found myself researching about the restaurant that serves that paella and after a few minutes, I listed it down on my “must visit” list. And since it’s my birthday next week, I figured that this is the place to go to treat some of my favorite people.

Hello, ArroZeria Manila!

This new Spanish restaurant has been gaining followers since it opened. Located at Century City Mall’s 4^th floor, this place has a homey vibe. 

And ArroZeria is quite artsy too with the ladders on the ceiling and adorable door handle!

We decided to go for the following dishes: Tatin De Tomate (PHP395), Jargo Asado (PHP495), Panceta Y Trigueros Risotto (PHP450) and the Paella of the Day, Del Señorito (PHP275). [One thing you have to be mindful of when ordering Paella, Caldoso, Meloso and Fideua is that there’s a minimum order of two. The prices in the menu are on a per person basis, which we find quite odd.]

Complimentary appetizer!

The first dish to arrive was our salad.

I must say, the presentation was quite different. The lettuce was on top of the baked parmesan and the mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes on spinach pesto were at the bottom. However, the taste wasn’t as impressive. It was too bland for me and for the price of almost PHP400, it was a bit expensive given its serving size.

It took them a long while before they got to serve the next dish. It was over 30 minutes before they got to serve the paella which was said to be readily available and would just require reheating.

However, after one spoonful, I suddenly forgot the wait. It was definitely worth the wait! The paella was oozing with flavors and I loved the tender chicken and seafood. The server mentioned that the serving size is just good for one person and I regret for not listening. It was divine!

The red snapper (Jargo Asado) arrived next and it was pretty good as well. The meat was juicy and it was tasty too. I loved the cauliflower espuma as well!

Last served was the risotto and the plating was quite weird as the risotto was placed on just one side. We all thought that they will still put something else but… they didn’t.

The risotto was a bit on the salty side but it was still oh-so-goooood. I liked the creamy texture of it. There were very few bits of pork belly in the risotto but it was still so flavorful. I just hoped that they included more asparagus to counter the salty taste of the risotto.

Overall, I had a great lunch. The wait was just a bit too much especially since K, T (Favorite Dragon Lady) and I just attended yoga that morning. (I even attended two consecutive classes!) I will definitely be back though.

ArroZeria Manila is located at 4^th Floor, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, corner Salamanca St., Barangay Poblacion, Makati City.