Tucked in a warm and cozy section of Quezon City is Serendipity PH, a fine dining restaurant that opened on March 5 amid the pandemic.
"Our mindset is different; people still want to dine in, take out, entertain friends and family. We see it as an opportunity," says Serendipity PH owner Rodrigo “Rad” Pelayo, who also manages Avelinas, Miguelito's and Healthy Meals PH restaurants.
The previous dull location was refreshed with Serendipity's fine décor, pleasant ambiance, intimacy and exquisitely good food. Aside from its luxurious appeal, the restaurant satisfies taste buds with Western and Scandinavian dishes. They offer two set menus that change every two weeks.
"We serve Western and Scandinavian dishes in our new restaurant, and our chef spent 16 years at Royal Caribbean Cruises. In this place, we have two menu sets which we change every two weeks as we want to surprise and encourage those who come back. We're proud of what we're serving today, which includes our mains–salmon and our hearty Osso Bucco," Pelayo says.
They serve a six-course meal with red wine called Serendipity set menu and the Phoenix set menu. The Serendipity set menu includes a refreshing frozen mango basil shot—a combination of lime and basil made into a sorbet—as a palate cleanser and chicken liver pâté.
Also on the menu are chef's salad—chopped romaine lettuce, fruit slivers, gruyere-mango vinaigrette dressing—and the warm and hearty butternut squash soup that has pieces of crunchy pumpkin seeds on top and alfalfa sprouts that give the soup more texture and cuts.
They also serve an entrée of pan-seared Serendipity chicken breast with pickled Shimeji mushroom, grilled zucchini and carrots with an orange-based sauce that one would opt for a bigger serving and make it the main course.
For piece de resistance, they serve Osso Buco—a 6-hour cooked beef shank, pinot grigio and a trifecta of celery, carrots and onions that sit on a thick and creamy mashed crab meat and potato base.
For a sweet ending to the meal, Cherries Jubilee is served. It is a thick vanilla ice cream with fresh cherries cooked in kirsch and topped with pistachios.
Inside the restaurant lies a four-seater dine-in area called the Meet Up room with no CCTV cameras, making it perfect for meetup and proposals and a man cave suited for a small group of friends.
To ensure the customers' safety, up to 50 people can seat in relaxed accent chairs. The restaurant follows government health protocols and uses a hospital-grade machine that disinfects the whole place to ensure safety.
"We make sure seats are comfortable, our clients are safe and we serve good food from our kitchens," says Pelayo.
The good fine-dining spot is new, comfy, intimate and is perfect for meetups or dates. Located on Mother Ignacia Ave., the restaurant accepts reservations via its official page– https://www.facebook.com/SerendipityQC.
