Address: 45 Sct. Rallos St, Diliman, Quezon City, 1103 Metro Manila
Opening Hours: Daily 7:00am – 12:00am
Facebook: Dean and DeLuca QC Philippines
Update May 22, 2022
Tried out Dean and DeLuca’s brunch service. I must say it is really a huge improvement from my previous visits. I do think the taste of the dishes here lean on spicy foods, so that is one of the few criticisms I have. Other than that, I like it, definitely something worth coming back to, and finally there’s a sliver of hope in Manila’s dining scene.
Here are the dishes I’ve tried:
Chocolate Chip Waffle was a bit too sweet. The waffle is cakey, and if you’ve tried sourdough waffles (like that of Yardbird) then this one’s a pass. Needs a lot of improvement.
Aglio Olio with Shrimp was ok. If we didn’t ask to not make it spicy, this would have been another spicy dish.
Pomodoro with Meatballs was also fair. Passable, but I wouldn’t order this for sure.
Beef Tapa with Egg was too sweet for tapa, almost tastes like tocino.
8 Hour Roast Pork was another dish that was way too spicy. I felt like I was eating in a Korean restaurant.
Fried Chicken (Breast) was quite good. It was probably the only dish I liked, except the accompanying dip they used here was again… Spicy.
Aside from the spiciness of the dishes, the price points were too expensive as well. P880 for pizza was steep, IMO, and Dean and DeLuca isn’t even “Motorino”. Hence, I would recommend coming here for a cup of coffee and some croissant rather than a full meal.
I have yet to try out its Taguig branches, but I bet the quality is pretty much the same or drastically worse than this.
First Visit: Dean and DeLuca QC, Manila, Philippines
Several years ago I tried the first Dean and DeLuca store in Manila at Edades, Power Plant Mall. The first store was a massive failure on so many fronts, from the coffee to service to the foods left out cold in the kitchen. Suffice to say I wasn’t surprised it shuttered its doors.
So when I heard that celebrity Bea Alonzo opened a Dean and DeLuca franchise at Scout Rallos, QC, I was astonished. (I hadn’t been in Manila for several years before pandemic and hearing it opened 4 months before pandemic was a terrible omen to begin with.) Of course it was going to be a hit. First of all, she’s a celebrity. Much like Erich Gonzales’ The Breakfast Club and Marvin Agustin’s string of restaurants, notably the pandemic survivors Sumosam, Akira and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, celebrity-franchised restaurants usually tend to do well for about 3-5 years due to its existing fanbase.
Add to that that there’s a growing trend among restaurants in Manila post-pandemic thriving in obscurity… I’d say the only thing Bea Alonzo was wrong with is the lack of faith the Dean and DeLuca QC was going to survive in an odd location. Most of the malls are going to shut down in the capital soon and need an overhaul… I think a mixed development complex setup is better preferred than a giant enclosed building. Not because of the virus, mind you, but because of retail space.
Anyone eating here shouldn’t come in with preconceived notions of the old store. I believe that Citimax Group remains to be a partner of this outpost, but I do think Bea Alonzo has more control over the dishes.
I have yet to try the lunch and dinner service, but I was already pleased that Dean and Deluca QC’s pastry and viennoiserie selections. They were pretty good by Manila standards.
Prices can be steep for croissants at P120 each, though the Godiva Chocolate Croissant selling for P180 each seemed reasonable. It reminded me of my favorite chocolate and coffee croissants at Bacha Coffee. This is already a huge improvement from the closed predecessor.
You can also get the usual Pain Au Chocolat, and I believe Dean and DeLuca’s might be better than Coffee Academics‘ supplier. Check out the Pistachio Croissants (P180) as well, generous with that blob of Pistachio on top.
I liked the Purple Yam and Cheese pandesal as well, and I always like seeing local touches done right at any foreign brand.
You can buy Dean and DeLuca merchandise here at QC as well, and you should probably get it here… Because its famed NYC flagship store beside Prince Street Station is now closed. Yes, this chain of restaurant already filed for a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and is now emerging from it post pandemic. In my visit to NYC last April 2022, Dean and DeLuca was nowhere to be seen, a shame because it was a SoHo icon.
There were also interesting cake selections to my delight, one of which caught my eye. Here’s the Hokkaido Purple Yam Cheesecake, and I can tell from the display that it tastes good. At a whopping P320 per cake, IT MUST TASTE GOOD.
And it does. Look at that.
Cheesecake, layered with Ube, and coated in Ube shavings. This is the ultimate Ube sorcery.
Cappuccino was fair. I thought it was a great upgrade from the diluted coffee in the previous store.
I am glad Dean and DeLuca is thriving in Manila, finally. We can shove the old memories of its failed Power Plant store at the back of our heads. And I look forward to trying out their lunch and dinner menu service soon.