Cultural Dinner Show at Barbara's Restaurant in Intramuros

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We dropped by Barbara's Restaurant for a dinner buffet and their cultural dinner show. It was our first time in Barbara's and to be frank, I was not expecting much, but the night turned out to be a lot of fun! I had been seeing buffet offers left and right and that somehow conditioned me to expect a lot more food in any buffet, so I was a bit disappointed to learn that there were only a few dishes available in Barbara's buffet. The cultural show, however, that one I completely underestimated. I was expecting one or two numbers with the dancers in an elevated and faraway stage. Boy was I wrong! That cultural show was the best part of the evening.

facade

exterior walls of Plaza San Luis

When we arrived, a band was playing. We were ushered to our table and the band continued playing with their stringed instruments as we ate, performing songs such as A Little Night of Music, Let It Be, Yesterday, and Dahil Sa 'Yo.

At around 7:15pm, the musicians were replaced with dancers. Soon, everyone was crowding around the group to get a better view as these dancers swayed to various traditional music. They danced continuously for about an hour, with costume changes in between numbers. Some of the dances they performed: Binasuan, Tinikling, Pandanggo sa Ilaw, La Jota Manileña, and Sayaw sa Bangko. Up until now, I never really got excited with folk dances. As a kid, we had to learn them at school but I never really appreciated them (and I hated Binasuan because the glass on top of my head fell and shattered during freshman high school!) but seeing them being performed by graceful professionals with colorful costumes, impeccable hair, and a perpetual smile made me swell with nationalistic pride.

dancers with their colorful costumes

Check them out!

After the performance, the guests were coaxed to try dancing the tinikling, followed by a photo session with the dancers.

Taste
The menu for that night:

• cream of mushroom soup
• ensaladang mustasa
• fettucini with fresh tomatoes
• stir-fried veggies
• beef caldereta
• Silva style fish
• chicken with rosemary balsamic sauce
• coffee jello
• sweetened cassava

The soup was okay. The fettucini was cold. I was not sure if that was intentional (cold pasta) but I would have preferred it to be hot. I skipped the caldereta because it looked very oily. The fish and the chicken were both good. I came back to the buffet table a few times just to refill my plate with those two.

There were not much choice when it came to drinks so we just ordered Coke. We were surprised that Barbara's didn't have Filipino-type drinks such as buco juice or sago't gulaman. I think those drinks would have been more appropriate to the restaurant's theme.

Affordability

The dinner show was well worth the money because the restaurant looked amazing and the cultural dances were very entertaining.

Interiors

Barbara's Restaurant evoked an old-world charm. Even the staff were wearing traditional clothes. From entrance, throughout dinner, and until exit, you would be fascinated. You would have an understanding of how the rich people in the Philippines feasted 150 years ago. It was like attending Kapitan Tiyago's party at the start of Noli Me Tangere.

Several crystal chandeliers cast a warm, yellow glow that flattered everything and everybody. Deep-colored wood with intricate engravings peppered the place and the staircase was just gorgeous! Even the comfort room was nicely decorated, preventing it from appearing too antiseptic.

dining area

the pianist

antique statue, patina and all

large silver-gilted mirror

another silver-gilted mirror on the way to the comfort room

beautiful staircase

Cleanliness
The dining area as well as the comfort room were clean. The abundant wood were polished.

comfort room

Service

Service here was good. The staff were warm and friendly. The manager Ms. Quimpo (I hope I got her name right) came to our table and chatted with us. At first I thought she was the Barbara, but she informed me that Barbara was Barbara Gordon de los Reyes, ex-Senator Richard Gordon's sister. She also introduced us to a female staff who was assigned to our table. Later on, Ms Quimpo came by and chatted with us again, this time introducing another manager.

We appreciated that these two managers took the time to talk to us, even though we were just two very casually-dressed ordinary people, not rich or popular or with a big group or with foreigners. They seemed sincere and I doubt they were nice to us because they thought we would be blogging about our visit (in fact when they asked us why we were taking notes and pictures and we answered that they were for a blog, they seemed confused and asked us what a blog was).

Ms Quimpo told us that some of the dancers were dance scholars, which I thought was great. Those kids were staying in school, keeping fit with all that dancing, staying out of trouble, while at the same time preserving our culture for the next generation to enjoy.

One tip: if you will be dining on a cultural show night, arrive early and finish your food right away because once the dances start, you will have a hard time eating. The lights will be dimmed and unless you are seated near the performance area, you will most likely abandon your food to get a closer look at the dancers.

Barbara's Restaurant

Plaza San Luis Complex, Gen. Luna St.
Intramuros, Manila
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