A 'glamorized' carinderia

MANILA, Philippines –  Sleek, clean and straightforward are words that best describe Katrina Ponce Enrile’s brainchild, Petra and Pilar.

Located in JAKA center building in Export Drive cor. Chino Roces Ave., Makati City, the place is a mainstay with office people from Legaspi Village and Bel-Air.

Petra and Pilar specializes on Spanish and Filipino cuisine that is sure to titillate one’s taste buds. Timeless classics like chicken pork adobo, kaldereta and kare-kare are sure to remind one of mom’s good ‘ol home cooking. That is not to say of course that they always go by the book. Their rendition of paella named paella ala Cristina offers a distinct twist to the old favorite where chicken, pork and beef are sautéed with garlic, onion and healthy servings of red and green bell peppers. The different textures and flavors of the meats compliment each other nicely, making the hearty dish burst with flavors that one would be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

Petra and Pilar is not limited to these flavors though.

Food enthusiasts will call the Petra and Pilar gustatory experience one-of-a-kind. 

Kare-Kare sa Kasoy (beef shanks stewed with vegetables in a cashew-based sauce served with shrimp paste), Chorizo and Garlic Pasta topped with Bacalao and grilled tomatoes, Inasal Chicken Binacol (Chicken Inasal simmered in fresh coconut juice) and Binagoongang Liempo Sisig (deep fried minced pork liempo, sautéed in shrimp paste, liver sauce, onions, garlic  chili finger) rank as their best sellers.

 Perhaps contrasting flavors might be your speed, fret not as there are delectable Chinese cuisine in the form of sweet & sour pork and chicken fillet with tausi. Petra and Pilar is also ideal for relaxing after a hard day’s work as wines and spirits are available and made more enjoyable when paired with  Sinugbang Sinuglaw (lightly grilled seafood, tossed with cane vinegar and spices). Petra and Pilar offers different flavors of the world that converge under one roof.

For those with sweet tooth, Petra also offers a variety of desserts. Among their top sellers is San Marco, alternating layers of chiffon cake and whip cream with crispy yema. Other top-sellers are melt-in-your-mouth pana cotta and Bulo pandan with queso de bola.

Another thing that makes Petra and Pilar distinct is its 13-day lunch menu cycle. In a nutshell, the restaurant has a different menu for each day, every day for 13 days which includes one soup and five different viands on the menu. This ensures excitement every time one enters the restaurant with each day bringing a different set of meals, preventing humdrum days that occur every so often for so many restaurants in the country.

Despite the imposing feat, the inception of the restaurant started with a casual phone call between Katrina Ponce Enrile and a friend in 2007. Enrile simply intimated that she had always wanted to open up a carinderia that would feature the cooking of her family, mainly from her two grandmothers which the restaurant was eventually named after. Not long after in the same year.

If you are tired of the monotonous menus and would like to be left guessing every time you enter restaurant while enjoying hearty and flavorful meals that are easy on the pocket, Petra and Pilar is a definite can’t miss.