13 Ubay St: Great All-Natural Meats and Eats

At 13 Ubay Street, the adage “Bacon makes everything better” is taken seriously. From the same team that brought you Lolo Joe’s bacon comes a hidden oasis of great Filipino food in this side of town.

 

The brainchild of Chef Zaza Sarmiento with the help of Chef Riyan Sandagon, many of 13 Ubay’s Pinoy dishes are inspired by Chef Zaza’s family recipes and the generations of love and care shine in each dish. Their menu is a ride down memory lane of classic Pinoy dishes made from scratch.

Aside from the restaurant, located at Chef Zaza’s old family printing press, 13 Ubay also has Narda’s, the private room named after Chef Zaza’s maternal grandmother, the matriarch that introduced good food to the family. Narda’s has a relaxed garden ambiance, filled with fern and orchids in a cool and airconditioned place. The area can sit about 30 people and can extend to the main dining area for larger groups. But for cozy and intimate family and friends’ private dining, Narda’s fits the bill just fine.

Some of the outstanding dishes diners can enjoy at Narda’s/13 Ubay are the bacon dishes – bacon-topped pizza, bacon marshmallows from Pufft and chocolate dipped bacon doughnuts. The bacon itself is Lolo Joe’s, 13 Ubay’s in-sourced bacon made from all-natural ingredients without msg and artificial preservatives. In fact, all of 13 Ubay’s dishes are naturally made.

13 Ubay’s Bacon-topped Pizza

The Sesar Salad is a Pinoy-inspired lettuce-onion-tomato combo with bagoong-isda dressing and topped with shrimp, shredded queso de bola and quail egg. The salty, fermented taste of the bagoong-isda goes well with the fresh greens.

For the main entree, diners can try Chicken Inasal, Beef Pares and the inimitable Chicharon Pata with the very crispy skin and tender meat. Dipped in the spicy soy-vinegar sauce, this pork knuckle is one of the best in the city.

The desserts at Narda’s and 13 Ubay are reminiscent of homecomings and fiestas where the best is always served. Their homemade ice cream in Tablea, Tres Leches and Salted Egg are must tries. They are all rich and creamy and not cloyingly sweet. The rich, local tsokolate goodness is very present in the tablea ice cream. The Tres Leches is full of milky and caramel goodness while the Salted Egg ice cream bucks the salted egg trend by working so well with ice cream and not tasting powdery and artificial at all. Didn’t we tell you they use all-natural ingredients?

13 Ubay is located just off N.S. Amoranto Street near Banawe Avenue. There is plenty of parking space below the restaurant and is well-guarded. Like them on Facebook and Instagram: @13Ubay.