Sentro 1771, Fort Bonifacio and Makati, Philippines
Last Visit: July 2009
"...make a foreigner appreciate the Filipino taste must faster ..."
OVERALL
Sentro 1771 belongs to a company that owns at least a dozen or more high-end restaurants in the Philippines, and I must say that this company does a really impressive job starting and maintaining high-quality restaurants inside out. With the exception of a few (like Adriatico in MOA, a total disappointment!), all their establishments are clean, well-decorated and serve outstanding food. Sentro 1771 has been highlighted as the crown jewel that serve modern Filipino (vs. Abe serving more traditional dishes) and it's actually worth all its critical acclaims!
If you don't like the Max's or Gerry's kind of Filipino, you should still come and try Sentro's food. The menu still looks Filipino, complete with the usual suspects including dangitt (fried dried fish), cristy pata, sinigang, lapu lapu and pancit, but look more closely and you'll find intriguing variations to the traditional taste in each and every dish, starting from the appetizers to the desserts, which make a foreigner appreciate the Filipino taste must faster than say Marina in the mall food court.
Out of the many times I've been there, I've almost always got the corned beef sinigang to begin with, which they'll let you have a taste for sourness before serving. It's super yummy and refreshing (since fat pork and salmon belly become boring very quickly if you live here). The appetizers include some meat platter and green mango salad, and the top main dishes are crispy pata, sauteed lapu lapu, 
rated GG (like dangitt), sauteed bihon, friend tofu, etc. They'll recommend the roasted whole chicken, but frankly it tastes less juicy and tender than the P200 chicken you get in the food courts.
The modernness is seen in subtle way in many dishes; generally speaking everything is lighter, less oily and taste is more complex; and don't forget desserts - also 
modern - like my favorite coffee bean sansrival. Totally awesome layers of light coffee cookies with heavy cream that is not so heavy, complete with sprinkles of nuts of light cream - delicious even if you hate the tradition brick-like butter-packed sansrival. I would have easily given these guys are FOUR for food if it wasn't for execution issues. The food is rather inconsistent - meat is hard one time and tender the next - and sometimes saltiness is a huge problem. One time I thought I was going to get a heart attack after eating what must have been a kilo of sea salt over lunch....
SERVICE
All the Chateau 1771 restaurants have a high standard for service. Having been to both the Sentro at Greenbelt and Serendra, I would say that Sentro provides consistenly above-average service even compared with rest of the Manila area high-end restaurants that are typically good. The waiters and waitresses are well-trained in taking orders and delivering food, and they are quick to respond any issue or complaints. Being attentive is a Filipino nature, but providing service quickly and efficiently is not so common. Sentro does a very good job and making you feel like you are not in a typical Filipino restaurant. Hmmm, may it's part of the "modern" theme!
AMBIENCE
In both Greenbelt and Serendra, Sentro provides an outside ambience for casual, comfortable yet elegant dining. You almost cannot miss it's typical theme - large windows and openness, lots of amazing paintings and wood decor, and plants in the right places. There's even fresh flower on the table - and this is not even a five-star establishment! I like their tableware too and I wonder if they hired an artist to make everything coordinate so well.
VALUE
If you want to take some visitors out to a quality modern Filipino meal and not worry about what you're paying for, Sentro is your kind of place; but if you, like Mr. MC, take refineness of everything you see and eat into consideration - the location, decoration, ingredients, manual labor, cleanness, etc., then Sentro is not such a great deal. I don't think anyone will feel robbed after a meal here, but your wallet will hurt a bit considering that all you had were glamorized chunks of meats and cheap veggies done by simple local cooking methods, served on nice looking bowls and plates.
BOTTOMLINE I hate to write lots of reviews for a bunch of restaurants owned and run by the same company, but the truth is that Chateau 1771 group is an outstanding company that does know the food business better than ANY chain that I know of anywhere. WELL, maybe it's because they are not big enough to be a chain yet.... But if you want to have a truly distinct experience in Filipino dining while fully enjoying all the great service and artistic sense of the Filipinos, Sentro will not disappint you.
BTW
Did I mention that saltiness is a BIG issue? One time we went to Serendra and we almost couldn't eat anything without accompanying it with a ton of rice. Also, I would never get that chicken again because it's simply not worth the money. Finally, go early or late, else you'll be waiting and waiting and waiting forever!
