Lunch at The Pantry of Dusit Thani Manila Hotel

I think it is a sign of aging when I don’t feel excited anymore on my birthday. I find it weird but it feels like an ordinary day to me and it is not that fun when I have to plan or decide for my own birthday celebration. Mas iniisip ko pa yung birthday ng anak ko. But of course, it is my special day so I want to celebrate it with my family or close friends.

When August month came, I was thinking if I will have a birthday staycation or buffet celebration. My birthday falls on a weekday and just like last year, tumapat pa sa coding so hindi na naman kami makakaalis. We have two holidays this August so we can have a long weekend vacation but there were unexpected expenses; we bought new furniture in the house and my MIL had an operation so my husband shared on the bill.

So I thought our lunch at Las Flores is already my birthday celebration but my husband reserved seats at The Pantry of Dusit Thani Manila Hotel for my post birthday celebration. We normally eat at the usual buffet restaurant to take advantage of the birthday promo but for a change, we’re going to eat at the hotel.

Lunch at The Pantry 

On our way to Dusit Thani Hotel, my husband received a call, the staff was just confirming our reservation. We arrived past 11AM and parking was full already, there is valet parking but we decided to park elsewhere. There is a parking area just in front of the hotel so we did not have any problem. I always see Dusit when I was still working in Makati but I was in college years when I first and last visited the hotel so ang dami na nagbago.

Since we were so early, we went to the mall first so I can buy white shorts for my son’s Cheers and Yells Competition. When we went back, we just waited at the "The Pantry Grab & Go" area, hindi pa talaga sila nagpapasok and they started calling the diners past 12NN na. So finally, it is buffet time.

The Pantry is an all-day dining restaurant of Dusit Thani Manila Hotel and it is quite new, three years pa lang itong restaurant. It boasts on their farm-to-fork fare, they get organic and locally produced ingredients from Tagaytay to create their International dishes. I was excited to try their restaurant but when I checked their buffet spread, I was a little bit disappointed. The rate is P2,150 and it was lunch time so of course, I was expecting more food options and live cooking stations. Pero mas marami pa yung breakfast buffet that we've experienced at Cafe Ilang Ilang, Circles and Spiral.

Read: Spiral at Sofitel Philippines Plaza Manila
Cafe Ilang Ilang at The Manila Hotel
Circles at Makati Shangri la Hotel

The Pantry is serving International dishes such as Indian, Italian, Filipino and Pan-Asian cuisines. They have a bread station, a fresh station for salad, fruits and sushi, beverage station, dessert station, seafood station, and carving station. Though there are several stations, don’t expect a lot of choices, like sa cold cuts and cheese, 3 choices lang.

Watch the video here.

Honestly, I was sad when I saw their buffet spread because I’m a meat lover so I was looking forward to carving station, but I only see lechon, pork loin for ramen and beef brisket. Actually, lechon and baked salmon saved my day. Nahappy na ko ng slight kasi at least nandun yung dalawang favorite ko. The beef brisket is dry so I did not enjoy it.

Well, if you are a seafood lover you will enjoy this restaurant because there are big wok of shrimps, crabs, and seashells. It is not for display, you can grab those seafood. My husband was very much satisfied with his seafood diet.

They have a lot of choices for dessert and my son’s favorite is churros. My favorite is their homemade ice cream and DIY Halo-Halo. My husband prefers fruits kaso naubusan siya nung mango so he asked kung pwede magpaslice and the staff said, for display lang daw yun. So my husband said okay and went back to our table without mango.

Next time fruits muna para di maubusan.

After few minutes, I saw the foreigner beside our table, holding a platter of mango. Yes, isang plato talaga na kasya sa family of five niya. I checked the fruit station and hindi naman sila nagrefill. Wow, akala ko ba wala na mango and for display lang. Bakit may platter of mango yung katabi namin? So pag Pinoy wala, pero pag foreigner magagawan ng paraan magkaroon ng mango. I felt irritated pag ganito, we understand naman kung wala na pero if makikita mo na yung iba meron, nakakainis lang. So iba din ba service ng staff nila sa celebrity at foreigner vs ordinary people like us? It happened to us at Makati Shangri la Hotel too. I told my husband about it and he said, hayaan na lang sa bahay na lang siya kakain ng mango. :)

Well, honestly their service is good naman, they are fast in getting the used plates, refilling our water, serving tea and others. Sumablay lang talaga dun sa staff sa fruit station. It was Saturday but the restaurant was not crowded so you will enjoy your buffet time. The other problem is their air condition, mainit e. I don’t know if it is because we are near the door so open and close yun at di nagstay ang lamig but I hope they can improve that.

Overall, our buffet experience is a hit and miss. My husband enjoyed it but not me. Hehehe! Good thing that we availed the credit card promo so we got 45% discount for adult rate and 50% of the regular rate for my son. I suggest if you want to try this restaurant, look for a promo.

The Pantry Buffet Rates 

Breakfast: 1,450 nett per person
Sunday Brunch: PHP2,800 nett per person inclusive of craft beer, wine, mimosa bar and infused gin tonic bar.

Lunch
Monday-Friday 1,950 nett per person
Saturday 2,150 nett per person
Sunday 2,500 nett per person (without wine)
             2,950 nett per person (with wine & Chandon)

Dinner
Monday-Friday 2,200 nett per person
Saturday-Sun 2,350 nett per person

*All rates are inclusive of juice, coffee or tea except for Sunday Lunch which is our Crossover Sunday Brunch.