Rico's Lechon, Mactan Promenade

What's worst than a cancelled restaurant reservation is a cancelled reservation without prior notice. And to make matters worst, this reservation was for a private surprise birthday party that was planned days before.

My kuya's girlfriend booked this restaurant's function room for my family on the occasion of our kuya's 29th birthday and were due to go on a Sunday, 11th of June. Also, she had given special instructions that it would only be for 12 people and have also advised them on our orders in advance.

Having been a big fan of lechon and being my first time to eat at Rico's Lechon (because I usually go to CnT or House of Lechon), we were all really looking forward to it.

On Saturday, 10th of June, my kuya's GF received a call from the restaurant to confirm her reservation. We showed up half an hour early on the night of the reservation with balloons and cake, only to be told they did not have a reservation for the function room (not even for a regular table). One of the staff explained that they "do not have reservations on weekends" and then offered us a table at the back instead. That was the lamest excuse we've heard from a restaurant especially after learning that they only had one function room and a larger group had already occupied it. So they revised their excuse and said, "di mi maka book og function room for 12 kay good for 40 man ang room og mu presyo og around 15k" (we can't book the function room for just 12 people because the room is good for 40 and would cost you around 15k). Then why the hell did you say yes to us when we placed our reservation days back?!

Since we drove all the way from Consolacion, and it was already too late for us to find another private [restaurant] room that evening and my kuya & his GF were already on their way for the "surprise dinner", we decided to take the tables offered to us. It was a bit, um no, it was VERY disappointing because my family got seated separately.

To make it even more interesting, my sis called the waitress and asked her to take our orders, and SURPRISE the waitress already knew our orders and even mentioned that they had called us earlier to advise they no longer had Chicken Skin available. Funny, so you mean to say we did not have a table reservation but you knew we had placed our orders ahead? Wow. And no, we did not receive a call about the Chicken Skin. The waitress was kind enough to apologize about our cancelled/non-existent reservation though.

Few minutes later, my kuya and his GF arrived at the venue. His GF immediately approached the staff and asked for the manager. The manager apologized for what had happened and explained that they did receive our reservation first but had given it to the larger group. Oh, so there it is. It seems to me that this restaurant prioritizes customers that generate more revenue regardless if you've made reservations or not! We would've understand. It's business, yes. But why were we not given a heads up? How hard was it to contact us about cancelling?

Here's kuya's GF asking for the manager.

So our kuya's GF asked what they were gonna do about it because this simply wasn't acceptable. That was the only time when the manager decided to serve us complimentary items to apologize for the stuff-up. I just love how it took us 3 complaints with their staff before they actually thought of this idea. We weren't expecting any form of compensation to be honest and it was actually quite nice of them. However, it would've been something I'd appreciate more if it was just a regular dinner they messed up. But no, it was for a special day. The issue here is not only the cancelled reservation, but the subsequent problems that arose and made-up excuses we got when their staff intentionally rescinded the reservation to cater others. Obviously it wasn't handled well.

As for the food we ordered their Regular Lechon, Spicy Lechon, Garlic Squid Balls, Sinigang na Hipon, Camaron Rebosado, Sizzling Squid Head, Baked Scallops, Chopsuey, Pancit Canton, Rice, and a pitcher of Iced Tea. The complimentary items served were Lechon, Cucumansi Quenchers for the adults, and Mango Shakes for the kids.

And here's my verdict, Lechon (both regular and spicy) was perhaps one of the best tasting lechon I've tried. I just love its skin. It was very flavorful and crispy. Meat is also tasty and juicy. My kids also loved the Garlic Squid Balls, so did I. The Sinigang lacked a bit in sourness or maybe my taste buds are just used to my husband's extra sour Sinigang. The Camaron Rebosado was dry and boring. I find the coating too thick. The Sizzling Squid Head was good and the meat was soft. Baked Scallops were OK, I just found the garlic flavor overpowering. Chopsuey had too much black pepper according to my mum. Pancit was bland and dry. The Cucumansi Quencher and Mango Shake were good though.

Overall, it was a bad experience but the lechon was good. Other things on the menu were so-so. The place is nice, I just love the interior.But would we come back? Probably not.

Special Message to Rico's Lechon: Only accept reservations if you're intending to keep them. By making a reservation, you're entering into an informal contract; your customers will show up and you need to be ready for them. It is also your job to inform customers at least a few hours ahead if their reservation gets cancelled and we have the right to know why (the real reason why) so we can book some place else. You don't just confirm reservations, only to let us know it's cancelled once we are already there. That is simply very unprofessional.

Happy Birthday to our Kuya! At least they sang him a song. Cake was ours by the way.