RESTAURANT REVIEW: Nono’s at Greenfield Tower in Greenfield District Mandaluyong

A Nono’s branch opened up near us in Greenfield District, Mandaluyong, just in the lobby of Greenfield Tower. We knew because there were print ads everywhere in the area announcing their opening alongside giant photos of their specialty Chicken and Waffles dish. We’ve never eaten at Nono’s before, so what better time to try if it’s just a few minutes of walk away from us?

To start, as with my other reviews, one of my pet peeves is drinking water not being served immediately in a sit-down restaurant. For Nono’s, we had to ask for service water despite the store not being busy (it was 2:30PM), so it wasn’t a good start.

It’s no surprise that we wanted to try the dish that got us to Nono’s door. Their Chicken and Waffles dish is known to be their specialty, with their tandem of gravy, honey, and maple syrup.

The waffles were flaky so it was unique. Their quick tip on dipping the chicken in both gravy and honey elevated the taste, however, outside of that, it wasn’t anything special, which left us dumbfounded as our expectations were high knowing this was supposedly their hero dish.

Chicken and Waffles: P425 (solo)

Dane and I’s Rating: 2.5/5

On the other hand, I went for their Nono’s Sisig, also marked as “Nono’s Favorite” on their menu.

I only like my sisig crispy, so when the menu says “using crispy pork belly..” that’s what you would expect. However, it wasn’t. Only a few pieces were crispy, and most were overcooked and chewy. I may be biased in my judgment as I fixated on the fact that it wasn’t crispy. But at P425 for a solo serving, you’d expect a bit more than oily pork strips and mediocre garlic rice.

Nono’s Sisig – P425 (solo)

Dane and I’s Rating: 3/5

I was curious about the salad because the menu description was mouthwatering, boasting of “seasonal fruits with mixed greens, candied walnuts, and almonds, in a honey lemon dressing, drizzled with balsamic glaze.”

The portion size is pretty big for a side salad. But the fruits (watermelon, mangoes, grapes, strawberries) were clashing and overpowering instead of bringing together the dish. The honey lemon dressing barely tasted like honey or even as a dressing, as if it was tossed directly to lemon alone. A lot of the nuts tasted burnt, not toasted, so it wasn’t a good eating experience.

It’s one of the worst salads I’ve eaten from a restaurant.

Nono’s Salad – P195 (side)

Dane and I’s Rating: 2/5

Dane and I are also suckers of margherita pizza whenever we eat out. It’s a dish of few ingredients, so you can’t hide technique and ingredient quality easily.

Nono’s Margherita Pizza uses cherry tomatoes, which is not traditional. It’s delicious but falls flat in taste if your bite does not have any of the basil that offers freshness. It’s not bad, it’s average. It also took a follow-up and about 30minutes from order time before it was served.

Margherita Pizza – P475

Dane and I’s Rating: 2.5/5

Of all the dishes ordered, Nono’s Iced Lemongrass Ginger Tea is the only thing we enjoyed. It’s new and refreshing.

Iced Lemongrass Ginger Tea – P185 (one glass)

Dane and I’s Rating: 4.5/5

My go-to drink is watermelon shake because in my head, you can’t go wrong with something fresh and there’s no way you can mess it up.. until now.

The seeds were included when the shake was made, something I believe is done by other stores as well. However, typically when this happens, they’ll be so small that they goes down smoothly with the rest of the liquid. Not for Nono’s. I had to pick out several seeds from my mouth after sipping because they were very distinguishable.

Watermelon Shake – P175 (one glass)

Dane and I’s Rating: 1.5/5

All prices include 12% vat but excludes 5% service charge.

Some people seem to like Nono’s as evidenced by their several branches across Metro Manila, but unfortunately, we’re not one of them. The 2,000php we spent nor the calories that came with it weren’t worth it. We don’t know if this is a branch issue, or because they only opened recently, but we are unlikely to dine in any of them again.

Overall Rating: