Brunch at Manila Social Club

My boyfriend, friends, and I had brunch at Manila Social Club located on Hope Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The cuisine is Filipino/French. We made reservations for noon on a Sunday and surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded at all. The restaurant was very clean, simple, cozy, and relaxing. The staff are very friendly, super nice, and laid back. Brunch is usually crazy, busy, and feels rushed, but when you come to Manila Social Club – it just feels relaxing and not rushed. It was such a wonderful experience that I didn’t want to leave.

Biscuits with Ube Butter

Biscuits with Ube Butter

We were given complimentary biscuits and ube butter. These were probably the best biscuits I’ve had so far because they were fluffy and had a little sweetness to it. The ube butter complimented the biscuits very well. The ube butter was unlike anything I’ve ever had. It had a smooth and melt-in-your-mouth texture, not too sweet. I really liked this!

a glass of Tres Leches and a glass of Ube Iced Latte

Tres Leches & Ube Iced Latte

My boyfriend ordered the Tres Leches (espresso, milk, Dulce de Leche, whipped cream). This drink can be served iced or hot, but my boyfriend got it and hot. This was an interesting concoction in terms of taste and I also think it would taste a lot better if it was iced. I got the Ube Latte (ube infused with simple syrup) and it can be served iced or hot. I got it iced and it was interesting. It was a little too sweet for me even when I mixed it. I liked that Manila serves most of their drinks in cute mason jars!

Appetizers

Appetizers

We ordered three appetizers.The Lumpia Shanghai are Filipino egg rolls filled with duck and longanisa (sausage/chorizo). It came with two types of sauce – one was spicy and the other tasted like a fish sauce. The Lumpia Shangai were crunchy, fresh, and yummy!We also had the Longanisa Sliders which are sliders with daikon pickles and lotus chips. The Longanisa Sliders were adorable, moist, and just really delicious. Who would ever  though lotus chips would or could taste so so so good? The Spam Fries is listed as a side dish under Manila’s menu, but we treated it like an appetizer. I almost always order Spam Fries at a Filipino restaurant. First off, love love love the presentation and creativity behind it. The Spam Fries weren’t salty at all. I wonder what was their secret to making some of the sodium diminish.

Mango Souffle Pancakes

Mango Souffle Pancake

My boyfriend loves mango and he’s a pancake type of guy. The Mango Souffle pancake looked like a giant,fluffy cookie with chunks of mango embedded inside. I tried it and loved every bite of the pancake and there’s that Ube again, extremely yummy!
Garlic Rice

Garlic rice

My boyfriend & our friend ordered the Garlic rice as a side dish. We all felt it was a little bland and definitely not enough garlic flavor in the rice.
Roasted Vegetable Paella

Roasted Vegetable Paella

One friend ordered the Roasted Vegetable Paella which looked absolutely vibrant, inviting, and hearty. The paella tasted yummy and is a good vegetarian option if you prefer something vegetarian.

My girlfriend and I ordered the French Toast Espesyal. The French Toast is deep-fried with black & blue jam, mango syrup, and macapuno ice cream (coconut). I don’t typically order sweet dishes like pancakes, waffles, or French toast for brunch, but this sounded really good. In my own opinion, I kind of regret ordering this dish because it was just too sweet for me. and very filling.

Longanisa Hash

Longanisa Hash

We also ordered the Longanisa Hash as a side order too. Everything was cut into perfect bite size. The Longanisa Hash was delicious and just full of flavor.

Overall, it was a delightful experience at Manila Social Club. I definitely want to come back and try their dinner menu some time. I would most definitely come back to Manila Social Club again and it’s definitely one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in Williamsburg. There’s really something genuine about Manila Social Club!

 

Have you eaten at any restaurants in Williamsburg before? If so, what was your experience like?