El Cocinero By Chef Arnaldo

I've been here once and will definitely come back. We had veggie pizza, paella, chorizo, etc. and every food was just soooo good. What's more surprising was the price...very reasonable, not costly at all. The staff was all nice as well. One of my faves now.

I seldom drink outside. Edit... actually, I don't really drink that regularly. However, when I drink, I try to find places with a relaxed vibe, no super loud music, (just music I can probably hum or sing along to). Yes, the days of rock band stalking are over. The tita days are here. Ok,.. Edit.... the cultured days are here! Yeah! Discovered El Cocinero through fellow food bloggers and I was lucky enough to try them for their much awaited Tapas X Pintxos X Cocktails night! Their tagline Your taste of Ibiza in the heart of Manila! It's simple and is quite foolproof. I wonder why bars did't think of doing this even before. All you have to do is pick your poison, that's it! Kidding aside, you just choose your tapas x pintxos from the huge spread of food they have presented at their ground floor, then pair it with your chosen cocktail. Their cocktails feature the rustic aromas of Hierbas Ibicencas. When mixed with cosmopolitan flavors we are all familiar with, this makes awesome cocktails that are uniquely Ibizan. Chef Arnaldo himself has designed his own cocktails for El Cocinero for his guests' enjoyment. I have tried all of the cocktails featuring Hierbas Ibicencas, the artisan crafted spirit infused and macerated with herbs from the Balearics. I personally enjoyed the cherry laced Cozmo Ibiza (cranberry, lime, sugar), and the lemon infused Oro Oscuro (ginger ale and lemon). The Cozmo Ibiza gave off that syrupy aftertaste, which is not bad at all since I think it does cater more to those who prefer sweeter cocktails, while the Oro Oscuro was light and refreshing. They also have the Mojito Payes (lime sugar and mint), Toni Manzana (sugar, apple and lemon), and Hierbalicious (green tea sugar lime and lemon). Out of the different tapas in their line up, I find myself gravitating more towards those with shrimps, cheese and their Ibizan tapioca or cassava. My favorite still would be the Kebab and the Bolitas de Yuka Y Auevo or cassava balls with quail eggs. From now on, I'd say Friday Night means tapas and cocktails night at El Cocinero, Molito! Your taste of Ibiza in the heart of Manila featuring El Cocinero's Signature Cocktails paired with Ibizan tapas and pintxos. From mouthwatering pulpo to gambas and all the other kinds of tapas and pintxos, they have them here! Make sure to try their cocktails too and get your taste of Ibiza every Friday night.

Best seafood paella ever!! You would know that all ingredients used are fresh as no one from my family had allergies after our dinner. Their pudding is the best i've tasted so far. Everybody loved it!! We also got good service. Will definitely come back.

What can I say?! El Concinero will definitely be up there amongst my favorite restaurants now. The food was great and the service was amazing. We ordered the Calamares, Salpicon de Marisco (Seafood Cocktail), Mejillones Gratinados (Baked Mussels), Paella Mixta (Pork, chicken and shrimp paella), along with a bottle of house white wine. We also received 2 rounds of complimentary bread and dips. All of the dishes were delicious. The ingredients in the paella all tasted fresh. Will definitely come back here again. Highly recommended.

4 stars since not all of the food was great. Some are ok. There's a complimentary bread to start with 4 different dip. The olive oil and balmsamic sauce was weird because it was sweet, which i'm expecting it to be sour. Now it taste like coco jam, hehehe. Order as well ensalada verde, the dressing is vinaigrette with balsamic sauce, and again, it's too sweet, weird for my taste. Next is bullit de peix, my husband love it but for my taste it's quite bland. The last is the el cocinero paella, and it's really good. Definitely worth the money. The ingredients are not rationed. Their seafood is fresh, not frozen (i think). I love the squid, it soft and flavorful. It's quite disappointing because they ran out of crab so they just replace it with shrimp. If we're craving for a paella, will definitely go back here. Btw, their service is exceptional.