Pan de Sal

It was closed for renovations

Horrible stomach illness afterwards.

I was here with a small group of people for a private event catered by Pan de Sal's sister restaurant, Grill 21. The food was very authentic Filipino--not the trendy Asian fusion food that has proliferated in Manhattan. Everything was delicious. Served buffet style (these are normally a la carte), we had Dinuguan (pork cooked in blood), Puto (steamed rice cake), Pancit Palabok (seafood flavored rice noodles with crumbled deep fried pork belly), Lumpiang Shanghai (meat-filled fried spring rolls), and chicken Arroz Caldo (a soupy rice porridge with ginger flavored chicken). For dessert, Pan de Sal, which is actually a bakeshop/café has an array of authentic Philippine sweets and baked goods. I tried their Brazo de Mercedes--a slice of sugary heaven that puts me at a loss for words. The location is very nice--right on the corner of 21st and 2nd Ave. It's a great place to sit and people-watch. As for the ambience, it's clean and well-lighted. There's a well-executed rainforest mural in the main dining area. Pan de Sal is a nice and cozy place to hang out and enjoy authentic Philippine cuisine in New York.

I came here for breakfast, and while I really wanted my Tapsilog, all they had on offer were pan de sal sandwiches.

So I went ahead and ordered an adobo sandwich and a corned beef sandwich. (it was $8.00 for 2 huge sandwiches) and it's good because one sandwich will fill you up. Take the other one to go and eat it for lunch.

Ok, first off, this is a review only for their food / lunch, unrelated to their baked goods.

Let me just say, they have a $12 LUNCH BUFFET of catered Filipino deliciousness that totally hits the spot if you're feeling REAL hungry. They serve breakfast as well and sandwiches that are also really decent. Granted, it IS a $12 buffet so don't expect anything special, but they had a number of really legit dishes that had me coming back for fourths!

The service is really friendly, the lady who works there was super nice. They're a little slow with the service, but it's really not too bad and I can't complain against great-tasting and inexpensive food! Definitely coming back for more, and a nice alternative to Indian cuisine.