Uno Restaurant in Tomas Morato

I heard about Uno Restaurant from a friend who makes it a point to come there every month. It’s tucked in Scout Fuentebella, a house away from Tomas Morato, and provides an unassuming façade that’s in opposition to everything else you find in the area. While the individual establishments in Morato have embraced a more global aesthetic of neon lights, glass and steel, Uno Restaurant remains rustic: plain architecture that features concrete walls, glass windows, wooden furnitures and metal accents. It is a purist’s dream: its facade promises faithfulness to the essence of food and avoids the overzealous tactics of many restaurants to distract the senses in the hopes that it is these superfluous sensations we associate with the experience of food.


This visual aesthetic translates well to the whole eating experience. It has everything I like in a restaurant: simple décor, clean crisp white table cloth, sturdy wooden chairs, big windows that let the sunlight in, a menu that changes as often as possible, uncomplicated food prepared meticulously and delicately, frsh ingredients made from scratch, the smell of home-made bread, servings that are just right and really great desserts to end a meal.


For starters, we had Orange and Fennel Salad with Olive Oil. The orange provides the needed acidity to it and another layer of sweetness you just won’t get with any other fruit or vegetable. I just wished there were shaved almonds and cracked black pepper to this.


The Barbecue Chicken with Lemongrass was a treat. The chicken was cooked crisp outside and chunky and juicy inside. The best part of it was the tart taste that just zings through the charred protein without being too barbecue-like.


The Prawn Pasta was creamy, cheesy and surprisingly light. The shrimps were tender and wonderfully seasoned.


My favorite in this meal was the Dory Fillet Wrapped in Filo Pastry. The dish was seasoned well and its textures played in the mouth as the fish’s soft and somewhat creamy consistency played with the crustiness of the baked filo dough that covered it.


The desserts were to die for. The Cheesecake and the Fallen Chocolate Cake are an event in themselves. They’re very small portions but they go a long way lingering in the mouth. The Cheesecake was smooth and really one of the best I have had in a while.


The Fallen Chocolate Cake was velvety and melted in the mouth. The bitterness of the chocolate was tempered well by just the right amount of sweetness. I had this paired with an espresso, with no sugar, and sipping coffee between cake bites was just a joy.

The best part about eating at Uno is the warmth behind the food. It's reassuring to eat food that wasn't prepared by machines but by people who put in a lot of thought and love to it. Hopefully, it resists the urge to franchise.

Uno Restaurant is located at 195 Scout Fuentebella near the corner of Tomas Morato, just behind Little Asia. You can call them at (02)374-0774.