First Bite: City Garden Hotel's Encima Roofdeck Restaurant

Dining in hotels could be intimidating especially for the wallet. But I've noticed that a lot of well-known posh establishments have developed reasonably priced menu for those who are dining on a budget. And one new discovery of mine is Encima Roofdeck Restaurant's Everything Bottomless promo. 

Hello, City Garden Hotel.

City Garden is no new name in the hospitality industry but it was my first time to visit City Garden Hotel. I blame Makati due to crazy traffic and confusing one-way streets. But last weekend, I finally made it!

We were greeted by a lobby with impressive huge slabs of white marble on the walls, floor and stairs. I failed to take photos though as we were in a hurry to go up given that we were almost two hours late. 

The roofdeck where Encima is located is quite small and can only fit about 70 guests. 

I liked that it was breezy during our visit making al fresco dining more comfortable and beer drinking more enjoyable. 

Before indulging in some of the good looking Tex-Mex dishes in the buffet area, I watched City Garden Hotel's in-house chefs cook some of their specialties to make me even more excited for dinner. 

The first thing I tried was the Watermelon Ricotta Y Jicama. And it was the perfect appetizer as it was light and refreshing. Plus, I love jicama!

I also tried the Pineapple Adobo Chipotle Wings but found it too spicy for my liking. I only had a few bites of it and stuffed myself with Mexican Fried Rice. 

And speaking of Mexican Fried Rice, it went well with the Chili Pork Ribs. 

The ribs were very flavorful and succulent. It was so good that I was tempted to use my hands to get every morsel of meat off the bones. I succeeded though in keeping my poise. 

And don't forget the Chili con Carne! It's great too! 

But there was one dish that failed me to be all prim and proper. Elote. 

Those beautifully flavored corn cobs were just so good that I had more than enough. It was so addicting that I kept saying that it was the best corn I've had to date! 

Some of the dishes in Encima are available ala carte and these are Nachos Suprema, Cigarilos Taquitos, Flautas, Steak Burritos, Chicken Chimichanga, Tacos, Chicken Quesadillas, Shrimp Fajitas, and Huevos Rancheros. 

I guess I ate the dishes one after another that it started to taste all the same to me except for the very cheesy chicken quesadillas. I'd definitely get more of that cheesy goodness next time!

We also tried some of Encima's drinks like Sangria, Strawberry Basil Orale, Paloma and spiked fruit punch. 

I liked my Strawberry Basil Orale as it had a strong kick of tequila yet well balanced by strawberry, calamansi sour and basil leaves. 

R and I both found Paloma to be a bit too bitter for our liking. I guess it's also because we're not fond of grapefruit to begin with. It looks pretty though. 

The spiked fruit punch and sangria were both sweet and were enjoyed by R. 

To cap the night, we had some freshly fried churros covered in sugar with chocolate as dip. 

As always, R went crazy over the chocolate  dip while I went with the heavily covered by sugar churros. 

We enjoyed our stay so much that we ended up leaving last at 12 midnight! 

Thank you so much, Rinna for the invite and for the great night. We'll definitely be back for our Tex-Mex fix.

Notes: 

-Encima's Everything Bottomless promo is priced at PHP650 for adults and PHP450 for kids. It is open daily from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight.

-Aside from good Tex-Mex food, there's also a live band to entertain you. 

-Last call for food and drinks is 11:30 p.m. They also clear the beer can container in the middle of the table during that time. 

Encima Roofdeck Restaurant is located at Roofdeck, City Garden Hotel Makati, 7870 Durban Street Corner Makati Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City.

Posted in: Mixed