There is something to be said about restaurants that are unafraid to shake things down a bit in their menu, those that offer bold and exciting new dishes even if their previous offerings were well-loved by their guests. In the case of Restaurant Tapenade, that gem of a dining place at Discovery Primea along Ayala Avenue in Makati City, Executive Chef Luis Chikiamco didn’t just tweak the lineup a little: he revamped the entire menu in a major way.
shrimp, and snapper with lemon-garlic mayonnaise.
“This is our most comprehensive review of the menu. We make adjustments from time to time but this one – it was a top-to-bottom review,” said Discovery Primea General Manager David Pardo de Ayala.
“The flavors, the textures are all familiar. The menu is still Mediterranean, but our chefs felt it was time to launch new dishes. After all, the menu has to be always dynamic to stay alive,” Pardo de Ayala added.
According to Chikiamco, the latest menu reflects carefully curated dishes from Spain, France and Italy, “with emphasis on the convivial nature of the Mediterranean.”
“The new food items are meant to be shared. Previously, the dishes that we offered didn’t factor in much the Filipino tradition of sharing food around the table. The portions are bigger now, ideal for families and groups,” Pardo de Ayala said.
Highlights of the new menu include Mediterranean staples such as Fettucine Al Nero (P460), which uses homemade squid ink pasta with garlic baby shrimp, Chilean mussels, snapper, cherry tomatoes and basil; Braised Lamb Shank Al Chilindrón (P590) which is a Spanish dish that has a thick sauce made of red bell pepper, tomatoes and pimento; and the crispy roasted Italian duck (P1,800) for two, served with roasted peaches, marble potatoes, baby greens and drizzled with honey garlic.
Tapenade also offers guests two Spanish dishes that have to be ordered 24 hours ahead – the salt-baked whole red snapper (P3,900) served with veggies and Romesco sauce and the slow-roasted cochinillo (P12,000), which can serve 10 people.
In crafting these new items, Pardo de Ayala said the Tapenade culinary team let their creativity run in the selection of pasta and brick-oven pizzas, and rice specialties such as risottos.
There’s the homemade pimentón linguini (P420); double smoked bacon, goat cheese and scallion ravioli (P420); and spaghetti alle vongole (P390), with fresh clams that remind you of the ocean, making you forget for a while that you are enjoying these Mediterranean dishes right smack in the middle of Metro Manila’s urban jungle.
As for the pizzas, these are cooked in a brick oven which is the highlight of Tapenade’s open kitchen. New flavors include the piccante dolce (P520), which has spicy salami partnered with the contrasting sweetness of honey and provolone cheese, and the slow-roasted mushroom pizza (P480) with sweet garlic pureé and two kinds of cheese.
For dessert, guests can cap their meal with a bittersweet chocolate tartufo which is paired with an olive oil gelato and crispy bread chips, or with a moist orange and almond cake with chocolate glaze served with pistachio cream and homemade vanilla gelato.
Chikiamco, however, was quick to assure Tapenade regulars that a number of its well-loved signature items continue to be on the menu. “The stone-baked feta, the salumi pizza, the porcini-crusted US Angus ribeye steak (500 grams) and the Bistecca Fiorentina steak (700 grams) will probably be on the menu forever,” he said.
“Our regulars will most likely protest if we touch these favorites,” Chikiamco added.
Tapenade’s Salad Room (P750, except on Thursdays when the restaurant does a throwback and you can score this salad buffet for only P620) remains a must-try, offering an abundant spread of newly harvested greens and exquisite salad sauces, freshly-shucked oysters, premium cold cuts and cheese stations.
Despite the comprehensive review, the latest menu does not have a jarring effect on guests, especially on the regulars of Tapenade. There is no feeling that one is eating in a strange, unfamiliar place. If anything, the new dishes feel like natural and organic additions to the old menu.
“Chefs and diners alike love innovation. And our culinary team wants to stay creative and keep the cuisine relevant to our loyal patrons,” Pardo de Ayala said.
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