Marcia Adams: A FIRST Impression.
A beautiful Tuscan-inspired restaurant that serves Mediterranean cuisine. The creator and lady of the kitchen is Marcia Adams, Filipina, married to Neil Adams. I'm not sure what Neil's nationality is but he seemed to have a "rathah" thick British accent.
We came at a bad time though. The long weekend when half of Metro Manila was in Tagaytay. The kitchen was clearly doing its best to cope and the self-proclaimed trouble shooter was Mr. Adams himself.
"I'm troubleshooting for today," he said as we asked where we should be seated when we arrived promptly at our reserved hour, 3 pm. We were declined for the noontime reservation that we sought but settled for 3pm.
"Those who reserved for 12 arrived late so we've had to move back all reservations," he said. We were stunned. Why should we be punished for the tardiness of other guests?! He offered NO seating whatsoever. We had just come from an hour on the road just from the other end of Tagaytay. We left an hour early, anticipating the traffic, as those other guests should have done. Yet we were to suffer for their lack of foresight.
We 3 stood there, smiling helplessly, waiting for SOMETHING to be done. Finally, I just told Mr Adams we would sit on the garden tables outside, even if they were wet from the rain. There was no offer to dry it for us. We had to settle for getting our butts wet. The Virgin Mare was smart enough to just explore the grounds and take photos. "I don't know why but I had a feeling this would happen," she winced, clearly trying to control her anger and exasperation.
"I hope you understand. Please bear with us," he said feebly. And we did.
But it was 3 pm, and we had skipped lunch for this and we were devastatingly hungry. Well, by then devastated AND hungry. I looked around the restaurant for ANYTHING to eat. Anything! The bearing had become unbearable. I found crackers. "Can I just buy this box?" I asked Neil. He discouraged me (which I still don't get - were those for display?!) "I'll give you some nibbles," he offered kindly. "I make bread. But the new batch is not yet done. But once it is I'll give you some. They're 'rathah' good. We'll give you some nibbles with cheese." Sure! Will these be coming out soon? In around half an hour, he said. Patay.
It seems in the frenzy of the moment, Mr. Adams just miserably - or deliberately? - failed to comprehend the state of hunger we were in. But, as the saying goes, a hungry stomach knows no law. I grabbed a bag of nuts on the same display shelf and just opened it. I guess it wasn't valuable enough for him and they just gave it to us for free. Nice man that he is, Neil said, "It's the least we can do."
We took these pictures during the long wait. By long I mean a WHOLE hour AND a half. AFTER which the bread finally came. Without the cheese.
Thankfully, the food was very good. Of course by that time we could not really be the best arbiter of taste - we were very hungry. And getting a little loopy from the bottle of Riesling we consumed to keep sane as we waited for our soup and salad. It was 4.30 and our last meal was at 10 a.m. But at least my orders were superb: especially this Corsican beef stew. It was very tender, it was hearty as described on the menu, it came alive in your mouth. I only wish I had it with the couscous instead of the rice, which was rather heavy. But the rice was good too, if you are in the mood for it.
I was especially impressed by this guava dessert. Guava shells, the menu calls it, in light syrup with Creme Fraiche. Do you love guava? I'm a bayabas fan. Huge. To have that unique, muted sourness of guava against this rich sweet syrup and the Creme Fraiche was oh so delightful!
The fried bananas were a delight as well. Note how they are not oily in spite of having been fried!
Before he left, Neil graciously approached our table and apologized again. But then he had to tell us that if the 6 pm reservation was to arrive, we would have to be moved to another table. What???
So note to those who will be making a reservation at Marcia's. Be forewarned that Mr. Neil, nice fellow that he is, MAY discriminate against you. All the raves on the net about the kindness of the man are true. He is kind. But (!) he is not always just. The kind man made us wait an hour and a half to accommodate those who came before us and midway through our meal, short of asked us to leave for those who would come after us. Any way you put it, that was not fair. And definitely not cool.
I will attribute this to that day's volume of customers which clearly left the kind man frazzled. Honestly, he looked so lost. I'm sure less hectic days present far better service. Thank God for his wife and her exceptional cooking.
And the lovely ambiance.
And the Riesling.
MARCIA ADAMS. JP Rizal, Bgy Sikat, 4123 Alfonso. Get to the Alfonso arc, make an immediate right. 0917-801-1456. Reservations required. Facebook: Marcia Adams Restaurant. marciaresto@gmail.com. Cash basis only. Not wheelchair accessible unless you are willing to carry down the steps. 3-course meal including appetizer and dessert approx. P800. Pet friendly!
A beautiful Tuscan-inspired restaurant that serves Mediterranean cuisine. The creator and lady of the kitchen is Marcia Adams, Filipina, married to Neil Adams. I'm not sure what Neil's nationality is but he seemed to have a "rathah" thick British accent.
We came at a bad time though. The long weekend when half of Metro Manila was in Tagaytay. The kitchen was clearly doing its best to cope and the self-proclaimed trouble shooter was Mr. Adams himself.
 |
| Neil Adams in the kitchen |
"Those who reserved for 12 arrived late so we've had to move back all reservations," he said. We were stunned. Why should we be punished for the tardiness of other guests?! He offered NO seating whatsoever. We had just come from an hour on the road just from the other end of Tagaytay. We left an hour early, anticipating the traffic, as those other guests should have done. Yet we were to suffer for their lack of foresight.
We 3 stood there, smiling helplessly, waiting for SOMETHING to be done. Finally, I just told Mr Adams we would sit on the garden tables outside, even if they were wet from the rain. There was no offer to dry it for us. We had to settle for getting our butts wet. The Virgin Mare was smart enough to just explore the grounds and take photos. "I don't know why but I had a feeling this would happen," she winced, clearly trying to control her anger and exasperation.
"I hope you understand. Please bear with us," he said feebly. And we did.
But it was 3 pm, and we had skipped lunch for this and we were devastatingly hungry. Well, by then devastated AND hungry. I looked around the restaurant for ANYTHING to eat. Anything! The bearing had become unbearable. I found crackers. "Can I just buy this box?" I asked Neil. He discouraged me (which I still don't get - were those for display?!) "I'll give you some nibbles," he offered kindly. "I make bread. But the new batch is not yet done. But once it is I'll give you some. They're 'rathah' good. We'll give you some nibbles with cheese." Sure! Will these be coming out soon? In around half an hour, he said. Patay.
It seems in the frenzy of the moment, Mr. Adams just miserably - or deliberately? - failed to comprehend the state of hunger we were in. But, as the saying goes, a hungry stomach knows no law. I grabbed a bag of nuts on the same display shelf and just opened it. I guess it wasn't valuable enough for him and they just gave it to us for free. Nice man that he is, Neil said, "It's the least we can do."
We took these pictures during the long wait. By long I mean a WHOLE hour AND a half. AFTER which the bread finally came. Without the cheese.
 | |
| Latecomers who were eating into our reserved time. |
 |
| Gorgeous toilet hallway |
Thankfully, the food was very good. Of course by that time we could not really be the best arbiter of taste - we were very hungry. And getting a little loopy from the bottle of Riesling we consumed to keep sane as we waited for our soup and salad. It was 4.30 and our last meal was at 10 a.m. But at least my orders were superb: especially this Corsican beef stew. It was very tender, it was hearty as described on the menu, it came alive in your mouth. I only wish I had it with the couscous instead of the rice, which was rather heavy. But the rice was good too, if you are in the mood for it.
Before he left, Neil graciously approached our table and apologized again. But then he had to tell us that if the 6 pm reservation was to arrive, we would have to be moved to another table. What???
So note to those who will be making a reservation at Marcia's. Be forewarned that Mr. Neil, nice fellow that he is, MAY discriminate against you. All the raves on the net about the kindness of the man are true. He is kind. But (!) he is not always just. The kind man made us wait an hour and a half to accommodate those who came before us and midway through our meal, short of asked us to leave for those who would come after us. Any way you put it, that was not fair. And definitely not cool.
I will attribute this to that day's volume of customers which clearly left the kind man frazzled. Honestly, he looked so lost. I'm sure less hectic days present far better service. Thank God for his wife and her exceptional cooking.
And the lovely ambiance.
And the Riesling.
MARCIA ADAMS. JP Rizal, Bgy Sikat, 4123 Alfonso. Get to the Alfonso arc, make an immediate right. 0917-801-1456. Reservations required. Facebook: Marcia Adams Restaurant. marciaresto@gmail.com. Cash basis only. Not wheelchair accessible unless you are willing to carry down the steps. 3-course meal including appetizer and dessert approx. P800. Pet friendly!
