Alba Restaurante Espanol just opened at the second floor of Estancia Mall in Capital Commons. It’s a big place that can accommodate 170 people – big enough for celebrations! Apparently, it was a common request from customers to have a larger space to accommodate their parties, so Alba obliged and finally opened their biggest restaurant to date.
Alba Estancia has a “traditional-but-updated”, cozy ambience. They just officially opened last Wednesday! This corner has a good view of Capitol Commons:
They also have a tapas bar for those who would like to unwind with liquor and tapas, and a deli bar for those who would like to take home some of their cured meats and ready-to-heat dishes.
ALL MY SPANISH FAVORITES IN ONE BUFFET!
My favorite Spanish dishes are Lengua Sevillana, Paella, and Callos – all of which are not that easy to get every day. These dishes are too tedious to cook, that’s why I never make them at home, and the very few restaurants that do serve them, don’t make them as well as Alba. So guess who is over the moon that these dishes are a regular feature in Alba’s buffet where I can eat them to my stomach’s content?! 🙂
Not only that, they also serve Cochinillo Asado (very, very young lechon with the crispiest, thinnest skin) and Canonigo (for those not familiar with it, it’s very similar to the white part of a Brazo de Mercedes and it’s like a sweet cloud that melts in your mouth).
Also served are Alba’s popular chorizos and other dishes and desserts.
All this for only P795+ for lunch and P850+ for dinner (+10% service charge). That’s P875 nett and P935 nett respectively. It would be much more expensive to order all these individually – you’re really better off trying the buffet! 😀
The buffet is small compared to the hotel buffets we are used to, but it has all the important dishes, and those dishes are what people go to Alba for 🙂
Lunch Buffet P795+
11AM – 2PM
Dinner Buffet P850+
5PM – 9PM
The buffets are available daily at this branch (Monday to Sunday).
HOME OF TRADITIONAL SPANISH COOKING
During lunch, we also tried the other Alba specialties a la carte.
Our appetizers:
The Calamares Fritos (P290), lower right in photo, made many of us wonder how they made the batter coating remain so crispy, yet light. This was popular with everyone and was one of the first appetizers gone.
Of course, the star of our lunch was the Cochinillo Asado (P6,000 for one whole), whose skin was so thin and crispy. Don’t expect it to be as meaty as a regular lechon — you’re here for the skin! 🙂 The Cochinillo was presented to us and then chopped in front of us.
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The other highlight of lunch were the paellas!
Paella Filipino – this paella has cochinillo / lechon. Resisting won’t even cross your mind 😀
Paella con Setas y Pesto – this had mushrooms. I liked this even though it was meatless. If you’re looking for a meatless, yet flavorful paella, try this 🙂
Paella de Bacalao – this was my favorite paella among the ones we tried. It was slightly salty, but the seafood flavor permeated the entire dish. It had succulent, small cubes of bacalao (rehydrated dried white fish) throughout the paella.
Paella Negra – the classic squid ink paella 🙂 Alba’s version is neither too garlicky nor too fishy. It’s just right.
For dessert, make sure not to miss the Canonigo! It is very similar to the white part of a Brazo de Mercedes cake, but fluffier and more cloud-like than the commercial brazos that are usually available. It literally melts in your mouth like a sweet foam cloud 🙂
Here’s part of their menu (they have more dishes available in their complete menu):
SUMMARY
Nobody does traditional Spanish cooking like Alba Restaurante Espanol. They’ve been at it since 1952 and they have kept true to Don Alba’s legacy and recipes, only updating the presentation to keep up with the times.
If you love traditional Spanish comfort food, Alba is where to go! I highly recommend the buffet because it’s the best way to get all the favorites (at least, my favorites!), and the price of the buffet is a steal! All the Lengua Sevillana, Callos, Paella, Cochinillo, chorizos and Caninogos I can eat for less than P1,000 is a dream come true 😀
Alba Restaurante Espanol
Level 2, Estancia Mall
Capitol Commons, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City
Contact: +632 253 4953 / +632 253 8272
Website: http://www.alba.com.ph
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alba.restaurante.espanol/
Instagram: @albarestaurante_ph
