Nescafé Gold Spot Awards names best Metro restos

MANILA, Philippines - Good food is a Filipino passion. This is why we have embraced cuisines from all over the world — be it Japanese, Spanish, Chinese, Thai, Korean, Italian, French or Mexican — we simply cannot pass up the chance to enjoy a great meal.

Recently, a who’s who of Metro Manila’s culinary scene conferred the highest honors on restaurants that meet the gold standard in dining excellence. This was at the Gold Spot Awards held at Encore (formerly Embassy) at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

The Gold Spot Awards — made possible through a partnership between Nescafé Gold and online magazine Spot.ph — can also be a tedious affair, says Logan O’Brian, consumer marketing manager of Nescafé Gold.

“From Dec. 1, 2009 to Jan. 31, 2010, the Spot.ph community voted online for their favorite restaurants in different categories. Spot.ph reported that over 270,000 votes were cast for 55 restaurants. Furthermore, the expert panel must also weigh in their own judgments of the nominees,” O’Brian explains.

Only on its second year, the Gold Spot Awards combines an online poll with the expert assessment of a select panel of jurors — all to determine which restaurants provide the best in food quality, customer service, and overall dining experience.

The jury was composed of Yummy Magazine editor-in-chief Becky Kho; award-winning food blogger “Franco” of Table for Three Please; chef, entrepreneur, and TV host Aileen Anastacio; chef and food writer JJ Yulo; chef and entrepreneur Him Uy De Baron; and actress and certified foodie Cherie Gil. They all worked together to trim down the list of nominees and finally come up with the list of winners.

There were only nine categories for the first Gold Spot Awards, including Best Japanese Restaurant; Best Chinese Restaurant; Best Filipino Restaurant; Best Italian Restaurant; Best Steak House; Best Delicatessen; Best Dessert Place; Best Bar, and Best Service. This year, however, four more categories were added: Best Buffet, Best Restaurant Chain, New Restaurant of the Year, and Restaurant of the Year.

At the awards ceremonies, suspense was brewing from the start — as video clips were shown to give background information about the nominated restaurants.

The winner for the Best Japanese Restaurant category was announced first. From the silence that descended on the room, it was easy to imagine each audience member silently rooting for the nominees, which included reputable establishments like Inagiku, Sugi, Tsumura, Sushi Kappo, and Seryna. In the end, Inagiku was proclaimed the winner.

For the Best Filipino Restaurant category, it was a face-off among Aristocrat, Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino, Adarna, 1521, and Sentro 1771. It was Kapampangan restaurant Abe, which bagged the award.

When asked what they thought about their win, Abe SVP for corporate affairs Eugenia Billones says, “We are just very proud of this achievement and it encourages us even more to do our best to come up with great food and great service.”

No one can deny that Pinoys love their meat, so there was quite a stir when the finalists for the Best Steakhouse were announced. It was a tough choice as crowd favorites 22 Prime, Elbert’s Steak Room, The Fireplace, Gulliver’s of San Francisco, and I’m Angus were named as the top favorites. It was 22 Prime that brought home the bacon.

For the Best Delicatessen category, the five nominees all stood out with their fresh products. They were My Little Store, Mickey’s Deli, Terry’s Selection, and Santi’s Delicatessen. It was Santi’s that was proclaimed the winner.

Filipinos don’t just love to eat, they love to drink as well. So, Nescafé Gold Spot reserved a category for the Best Bar. Included in the list were Cav’s Wine Bar and Resto, Barcino, Museum Cafe, White Moon, and Barcino’s. Cav’s was declared the winner.

The next award was for Best Chinese Restaurant. It was a close contest among nominees Choi Garden, Jasmine, Li Li, Su Zhou, and Shang Palace. It was the Shang Palace that got the nod of the online voters and judges.

Then it was time to proclaim the Best Italian Restaurant. The finalists were Balducci Ristorante and Deli, Cantinetta, L’Opera Ristorante Italiano, Pepato, and Papparazzi. It was a hard decision since all of the food establishments offer the best pasta in the Metro. But in the end, Papparazzi bested them all.

With so many restaurants offering buffet meals nowadays, Nescafé Gold Spot and Spot.ph just had to ask the voters which food establishment offers the best buffet with the same category. The clear favorites were Circles Event Café, Dusit Thani Crossover Sunday Brunch Buffet, Museum Café Sunday Brunch Buffet, and Paseo Uno, but Spiral was the one that emerged at the top.

The ninth award given out was the Best Dessert Place. This was the last award in which the voters and the judges got to decide who would win the category. The nominees were Cupcakes by Sonja, Café Breton, Café Xocolat, and Classic Confections. When the hosts opened the envelope and announced Sonja as the winner, the crowd cheered as she went up on stage to accept her well-deserved award.

The second part of the awarding ceremony was dubbed as the People’s Choice Awards since the winners in this section were decided solely by the Spot.ph voting community.

There were only two categories here: Best Chain Restaurant and Best Service. Cibo Nuovo emerged as the top choice, bagging both awards.

After the crowd cheered Cibo for its big win, they instantly became silent as the hosts prepared them for the two most-awaited awards of the afternoon. They explained to the crowd that this part of the event was the panel’s choice awards since the judges were the ones who picked the winner after much thought and deliberation.

The first category was the Best New Restaurant of the Year wherein the finalists were Azuthai, Cicou, Crystal Room, Lusso, and MoMo. It was Lusso that emerged as the victor.

The most prestigious award given out was Nescafé Gold Spot’s Restaurant of the Year. It was really tough to choose among finalists Abé, Aubergine, The Fireplace, Je Suis Gourmand, Lolo Dad’s, and Sala Bistro. But in the end, Lolo Dad’s emerged as the big winner.

The awards ceremonies were the perfect tribute not just to the winners but to all the nominees, too. After all, the participants in the Nescafé Gold Spot Awards are all one in their love for good food and their commitment to fine dining.