Nothing beats discovering hole-in-the-wall restaurants. There’s always that thrilling feeling of not knowing what’s in store for me. 

A week ago, an invitation to visit this new hole-in-the-wall restaurant was sent to me. It was the first time I heard the name of this restaurant, Sauceria. I didn’t do my research because I want to be “surprised”. The element of surprises would always pump up my blood. I simply love surprises and apply it even in scouting for food. So when the time of restaurant visit came, no assumptions in mind, my food tasting in Sauceria hit that surprise spot in me. 

Sauceria is an artisan restaurant. In Filipino, artisan is translated as maarte restaurant. Haha! Of course I was kidding. But seriously, this restaurant is kind of maarte because they want to make sure that each dish is cooked with the craft in mind. They don’t just throw everything to the pan and cook in an instant. Artisan restaurants are defined as being artistic and crafty. These restaurants are usually made out of art and passion not of business. 

In addition to that, Sauceria researches extensively on every dish they create. For Sauceria, it would help them to have a deeper understanding of the dishes and coax out its little nuances.

All their dishes are proudly Artisan-made.

They bake their own Breads.

They make their own Artisan sauces from scratch.

They create flavor naturally.

They support local farmers via their ingredients.

Healthy, nutritious and Balanced taste.

Let me give you a peek of what’s on their menu:

Caesar Salad (Php 160) – Crunchy veggies, the way to start a long dinner. I would commend the restaurant for serving me fresh greens. As mentioned earlier, Sauceria supports local farmers. They source products, like these vegetables, from farms in the Philippines. The admiration I have towards our tourism is at its utmost. In other words, I’m proud to be Pinoy. Hearing the philosophy of Sauceria in choosing to sourcing products from our locals and how they give importance to our own agriculture, I give them a +1 to my overall rating.

Garden Salad with Vinaigrette dressing (Php 110) – I prefer putting Vinaigrette on my greens. Their vinaigrette made me munch a bunch of greens. Aside from the mixture of vinegar and oil, I don’t know what herbs they used to make it taste beyond my standards. I am particular with salad dressings and this caught my attention.

Tuna Tataki (Php 340) – According to Sauceria’s historical research, Tataki style was invented by a Japanese Samurai, Sakamoto Ryoma. 

Grab your chopsticks and taste what samurai men eat. This Japanese sashimi is a “value for money” type of dish. For its price, you can feed 4 people already. Crunchy on the outside, soft and raw inside. Give it a try as you get to taste bites of spice while eating it. The photo of Tuna Tataki may look enough but that is only 1/2 of its original serving. 

Nachos Grande (Php 360) – Pick up those chips, munch them while waiting for your orders. Jam-packed nachos for the gang can feed up to 3 persons. 

Pomodoro (Php 210) – Red vs White? Not a tough choice for me. Choosing between red and white, I choose Red. The red Pomodoro sauce was rich with flavors and spices yet it was made healthy and diet-friendly. The tomatoes gave the pasta a striking taste. For its delicious rich sauce, you would think they used MSG. But NO! Indeed, no artificial chemicals used for any type of dish. 

Pizza Galore:Charsiu Pizza (Php 390) – From afar, I thought those yellow diced bits were corn. When I took a bite and had them on my plate, I was surprised they were mangoes. First time to try mangoes on my pizza bread. In fairness, good experiment by Sauceria to mix barbecued meat and cheese with mangoes. Something new for me, and maybe for you guys.

Spanish Sardines (Php 330) – My second favorite pizza! Later on, you’ll know why it’s my second. Anyway, the sardines made me say delicioso after my slice of pizza. I enjoyed the strong flavor of the itsy-bitsy sardines scattered on top of the pizza. Just so you know, sardines are good for the heart. According to research, it is rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which help lower down your blood sugar level. 

Salted Egg and Ampalaya (Php 250) – My eyes turned @_@ when I found out Ampalaya Pizza would be served. First of all, I don’t eat Ampalaya because I’m not bitter. Haha! Second, I found it unusual to use it as the main ingredient for the pizza. Initially, I wanted to remove the ampalaya and leave the salted eggs, since I love salted eggs.

Well, I didn’t push through with those thoughts. Of course, I was up for the bitter challenge. 

The verdict? I was literally SURPRISED I finished one slice without any violent reactions. My face didn’t turn sour or disgusted. It’s amazing how they removed the bitterness and transformed to betterness. The salted eggs also helped on the totality of the pizza. Good combination! 

For those of you who hates eating vegetables, this would do the trick. Try and taste for yourself! Accept the Bitter Challenge! 🙂 

Mango Yogurt – Gotta get get this drink because it’s really really gonna shake you up. I wish there’s a cocktail like this. So when I go out with friends, I can just drink on this perfect cooler. 🙂

Going back to the dinner, I really thought I needed this for the Ampalaya Pizza. I guess NOT. I give a clap for Sauceria. They made me survive the Ampalaya Pizza without sipping on this sweet Mango Yogurt shake. 

Smores Pizza (Php 300) – This pizza is the reason why Spanish Sardines pizza was my 2nd. As you can see, melted marshmallow and chocolate galore on this thin crust pizza. I lalalalove this pizza! Now I really have a reason to go back to Sauceria. Smores Pizza is the dish I wanna try to copy at home. Hehe. 😀

Something special about their pizza is the chocolate they used. They didn’t use any ordinary chocolate to complete the Smores Pizza. Hershey’s chocolate is the brand they used. Reasonable to get, right? 

YUMMY Smores recipe!!!

The pizzas prove that sauces can make a huge difference to the dish. “Change the Sauce… Change the Dish!”

Just to give you a heads up, the restaurant started recently so the service is not as fast as you think. Since it is artisan, that could add to the factor why their service is at a semi-slow pace. But once you try their dishes, you would say “It is worth the wait”. Besides, the prices are reasonable, adapting to the budget you have.

Go and feel the artisan style of cooking here at Sauceria. 

LIKE Sauceria’s Facebook page by Clicking THIS! 

Cheers,

Location: 25 Bonny Serrano (formerly Santolan) Road cor Sunrise Drive, Quezon City (near Camp Crame)

Budget: PHP350++

Rate: 8.5/10