Toninos Ristorante

Chef and Owner Anthony Bulilan

None of the pretentious and overly-ambitious restaurants who serve all -time international favorites in a quaint and casual ambiance can beat the personal handling of Chef Anthony Bulilan . I really hope you find your hungry way to Toninos Ristorante located in Locsin subdivision in Jaro district . It is owned and managed by a well-trained- happy chef who cares if you are satisfied with your meal when you leave . The ONLY restaurant in Iloilo city I know who has a chef who takes time out of the kitchen to ask the customers " How's your meal ? " or " Do you like your order ? " even " What else can I get for you? " . This is the type of restaurant I would always come back to .

What's good at Toninos ? My tummy rumbles with the thought of a dinner I and my family had a couple of  months back ( my palate has really good memory) . We started with some reccomendations by the chef . Salad greens with a sweet and tangy Balsamic reduction dressing , I cracked a lot of black pepper on it and ate it dinosaur style . Next on the starter menu was the Crispy Calamari with tartar sauce from scratch , a house specialty appetizer , of course I downed it with a cold brew of San Mig Light beer  and man was it perfect . Holding back on the nibbles , I had to prepare my belly for the main course of Lengua in Mushroom sauce and Chicken in a Basket . The lengua was cooked in perfect timing , tender and savory with a side of rice and veggies . I cut a bit on the rice since the crispy and well seasoned chicken cuts came with a hefty mound of potato wedges . Impeccable potato wedges that I ate by itself even if the sauce on the side was pretty good .

In my mid-munching , chef Tonton came out to ask us how our meal was . A gesture that's not very often seen or felt in an Iloilo resto ( sad to say our city eats are more of the business side of things and not much bout the customer's opinion) . A very much appreciated act it was ! Made me feel like the hands who prepared all these cared on how I felt about my food . A quality that should be emulated by other food service establishments .

Okay , moving on , Chef Ton sent our table a complimentary dessert to put a "cherry on top" of a lovely meal indeed . A light delight of Blueberry Panna cotta to cleanse and freshen up the palate . A dessert that surely runs out of stock in some busy nights .

The food was really good and served hot , service was quick and I also appreciate the service water ( I mean, who cares enough to serve you a pitcher of plain water yet bothers to fancy it up with mint leaves and fresh lemon slices ??? ) . A casual setting of Brownstone , Wood and Iron makes it a cozy place to dine , with muted house music that set the tone in a not so oldish feel and none of that loud annoying music you get when at the crowded party places ( you won't have to yell at your dinner date to have a conversation) not to mention the food is affordable and servings are larger than the others . 

I hope you get a chance to drop by . Bring the kids and even the "Gramps" . They will like the menu and there is something for everybody . Plus the restrooms are nice and clean !

 What's missing though is air conditioned dining , but the food is well enough reason to come . Happy eating fellow foodies !

Toninos Ristorante is located at Locsin Subdivision Charters St. Jaro Iloilo City with phone numbers 3206645 or 09275654322