Cafe Ilang-Ilang

Food is great overall. Quality is splendid. We truly enjoy the steak and seafood (salmon, lobster) lobster bisque is one for the books and a must try.

Japanese selection is good as well. Dessert is quite good except for the crepes

Its around 3k but you can avail of 50% discount if you joined their club. Message them to know more. I love all their dishes and would come back and try those I haven’t tried yet due to so many options . Kids below 5 years old get to eat for free. Multiple cuisines to choose from. They have lobster on Fridays.

Great venue for reunions, family gatherings and company get togethers.

Complete range of food available, including a small section of halal food (suggest the halal food be put together with seafood items and vegetarian).

Despite being full on a weekend, still felt cosy and warm.

My favorite part of this buffet experience is the cochinillo. The skin is crispy and the meat is tender and flavorful. The liver sauce makes it even better. The food selection is wide (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Italian, Steaks, Seafoods, desserts etc. but not overwhelming. It is impressive that each dish is of quality and is worth trying. Another pro is that food is served plated and garnished which makes dining more convenient and less messy. I was hesitant at first since it is less popular than other hotel buffets but surprisingly, I had the best time. I also commend the staff for being attentive and accommodating to everyone.

A ton of selection. Sashimi was nice and fresh. Roast beef was nice and tender. Dimsum was good too. Servers very attentive. i recommend👍🏼

We were there Thursday. It was expensive, but worth it.

Kinda difficult to gauge the value since overall price was high per head. All I can say that they were consistent with the variety, and the cleanliness of the resto.

Things to note tho:
- Prime rib is originally served rare, you'd need to ask the chef to further grill it if yiu want it medium- well done.
- freshness of sashimi varies from time to time, but this time it was good
- made to cook shrimps were okay, but was kinda mushy this time. But was huge and cooked well. Freshness issue I suppose.
- must make room for desserts. They have a lot from halo halo to 10 flavors of ice cream to pastries to crepes and so on.
- steaks are generally heavy to the stomach, but there are a lot of varieties and sauces in the 'churrasco' section.
- make sure to have your post meal coffee and tea to help with fullness.

Note 1: check for promos like bdo cards. You can get up to 35% off. In our case, it was dinner priced at 3500++ it went down to 2300++

Note 2: minor rant on the servers because it's hard to quantify on how much food they should scoop for you. Be loud and clear when asking for a dish. And yes, it's not self serve yet, still need to ask them to serve you portions per dish per section.

Overall 5/5 with discount price, ambience, and consistency of the buffet.

One of the best hotel buffets, if you ask me. The choices were not overwhelming and this allows them to serve quality food. My ultimate favorites were the peking duck, abalone and mushroom, roast beef, lamb chop, and of course their super fresh salmon sashimi.

Sulit for the price. Di lasang unli lang. lahat masarap and made with quality. Really love the steak, lobster and cochinillo. Hehe. Worth the money. Ambiance is good and staff are friendly. We ate during Christmas eve for 3,888 per person.

Do yourself a favor and visit this lovely buffet restaurant inside the Manila Hotel. The service is unmatched. The staff truly cares about your experience. The food is absolutely amazing and everything we tasted melted in our mouth with all that sumptuous dishes. Absolutely the best meal we had while in Manila. Outstanding food. Menu is extensive and seasonal to a particularly very high standard. Definitely fine dining buffet style. It can be expensive but every cent is worth it. The atmosphere is chill and cool but the staff is also really friendly. They know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about, and you can tell making the customers happy is their main priority. All buffet stations have all mastered thier cuisines to offer thier dining guests from japanese, chinese, halal, italian, mediterranean, korean and filipino. Also, thier carving station is totally legit with thier best item which is thier US Prime Rib steak and will grill it on the spot with your preferred doneness. Again, steak is a must get item on this one. You'll know what I mean when you bite into it. As expected, cleanliness is a 5 star rating as well as thier health protocol guidelines. They also have thier on going promo for BDO card holders so you can give them a call to inquire the current discount offerings as it varies depending on the day of the week.

Kindly give a LIKE 👍 if this helps!
Follow ME for my other REVIEWS!

Everything was perfect, from each international dish, drink, pastries and sweets. Ambiance was very relaxing from the restaurant to the lobby.

No need for a long review. This buffet restaurant is well-recommended. The Manila Hotel’s Cafe Ilang-Ilang is one of the most famous buffet restaurants in the metro. Excellent service, best food quality and nice ambience. I love their steaks and giant prawns and crabs.

Great buffet spread! There's Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, American, Italian, Mediterranean, and a good array of steaks, prime rib, beef ribs, sausages, salads and yes, dessert!

If you're looking for a memorable dining experience, look no farther. Manila Hotel's Café Ilang Ilang offers an All-You-Can-Eat buffet that's hard to beat.

After months of being cooped up at home due to strict lockdowns and travel restrictions, it was indeed a pleasure to reunite with family and friends for lunch at Café Ilang Ilang. The indoor restaurant reopened last May 2021, after community quarantine levels were eased to Alert Level 2,  with dine-in  allowed for vaccinated customers (18 years old and above), and children 17 and below.

Getting There:
The iconic Manila Hotel (opened in 1912) is accessible via Roxas Blvd., with ample guarded parking. Before entry into the hotel, you'll need to present your vaccination card to the doorman,  then proceed to the x-ray, and fill out the contact tracing form.

You'll have to go through their grand hotel Lobby to access Café Ilang Ilang.  Taking photos with their towering Christmas tree is a must to record your visit. At the Café's front desk, a receptionist will take your reservation name, and escort you to your table.

Gastronomy:
There will be plenty of delicious, healthy and fresh food selection among the 8 food stations, that include Asian, Mediterranean, European and Western dishes. All  stations now have partitions, and you order from or point at the food you want from the chefs/food servers, and get the plate/bowl from an opening on the partition or on the side. This is unlike the type of buffet where you take food by yourself. These partitions are for hygiene and health purposes. It's challenging for the chefs to hear our orders because of the partition and our face masks, so we used our hands and sign language to make ourselves understood.

The food stations and tables are spaced apart and at specific locations to prevent congestion. A bar for drinks will be the first you'll notice upon entry at the restaurant. Next the pizza station. There are a selection of  Filipino favorites like Lechon. I queued up for their extensive array of Japanese dishes including Sushi, Salmon, Maki, Tempura, noodles, etc. I like their authentic Samosa, curried vegetables and shrimps from their Halal food selection. The Korean soup with seaweed and mussels, their prawns, steak and Halo Halo were some of my favorites. The kids enjoyed the wide variety of desserts, cold cuts and salads.

As an added treat, birthday celebrants are serenaded by restaurant staff, complete with cake blowing at the end of the meal.

Additional Notes:
Make your reservation in advance, due to the limited seating capacity and the Café's popularity. Some of the reasons it is popular are the wide selection of delicious local and international cuisine, the cosy and safe ambience, the health protocols that they adhere to, the discounts (BDO and senior citizens) and promos they offer, and their highly efficient service. They boast of sanitizing the premises using UV light, air filters, with all their serving staff fully vaccinated.

The atmosphere inside the restaurant may be a little confusing to navigate between your table and the food stations. But there are friendly hosts and staff who can guide you, they also go around collecting empty plates, taking requests, and reminding diners (who are walking around) to wear face masks.

One suggestion is for them to open a Mexican food station, highlighting the cultural and historical ties between our two nations. With Tacos, Tortillas, Nachos, etc., these would have added a more festive ambience to the restaurant.

Now that I've enjoyed the delicious and wide selection of food at Café Ilang Ilang, with its safe and clean ambience, and efficient services, I can say that it is highly recommended for a cosy twosome, a family gathering or a group dining experience.

Everything was ok..... food is great, service are fine, atmosphere is ok for small talks with friends and family, parking no problem, this i must say, their pizza is better , of course, the price is higher too

You can tell that the ingredients are of high quality and they have a fairly extensive selection of food. Although we would have wished that there were better Japanese options, the others compensate for it.

Favorites are steak, samosa, salmon, cheeses, and dessert, particularly the dark chocolate tart.

Also, they have high chairs but don’t have baby/kiddie utensils

Perfect breakfast buffet after a long airplane ride. This place is big and offers an excellent assortment of typical Filipino breakfast favorites.

I had my breakfast buffet I checked in alone as a bday gift for myself ha ha and their breakfast buffet was great it's like they serve lunch or dinner buffet. Lots of food choices. Taste great.

One of the best dinner buffet in town! It was my first time and i was so surprised as to how diverse their buffet is. Italian,American,Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino with lechon! I wasn't able to eat every single dish! They were just so overwhelming. Their dessert bar is massive 👌 Worth the long drive. Must try guys!

One of the best, most elaborate and expensive buffets I ever had to-date. Located in prestigious Manila Hotel, right in heart of Manila’s Tourist district. Week Day Lunch for just over CAD$65 (2700 pesos), I would definitely say it is worth every penny.

Buffet is spread over a large dining area with separate stations for major cuisines from around the world. Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Italian, American, Mexican, Mediterranean, Burger, Wings, Wraps, Sushi, Pizza, Pasta, Variety of International Cheeses, Fresh Oysters, Seafood section, Carving station, Variety of Salads and most of all my favorite a Huge Desert section. Well laid out buffet with beautiful presentation. Those cute little individual portions of appetizers & desserts in shot glasses and Chinese porcelain spoons are not only delicious, they are eye-pleasing.

Serving staff are so attentive, you feel like you have your own dedicated staff just to serve you and your guests. During our lunch, never our glasses were neither empty nor single dirty plate on the table. Our glasses were constantly filled and plates were removed as soon as they are done. Restaurant hostesses at the front of the house were reminded me of Air Hostesses of 70s, classic, elegant, sophisticated.

I can keep going on and on, but to summarize in one word, Café Ilang Ilang is “Exquisite”.

The food are great. The personnel are friendly and accommodating. I love how they serve their steak. The buffet comes with drinks (juices and coffee).