It was a warm weekday when I joined some friends for lunch at Pilgrim Restaurant in Marilog.
The restaurant has been on my bucket list of places to eat in Davao City since I found out about it through social media posts.
Their rustic charm and photos of their mouth-watering food are what drew me the most.
But what made me put them on my bucket list was the good reviews I heard about them. Foodie friends have consistently said Pilgrim serves good food.
Therefore, I was very excited when a dear friend invited me to have lunch at Pilgrim. It will just be a quick trip for lunch.
THE PLACE
Pilgrim is truly a rustic restaurant. Its overall look and feel simply fit the vibe of Marilog. It is the kind of high-end restaurant that you would expect in a location like Marilog.
The restaurant has a large dining area. I would recommend you book a table on the patio so you can enjoy the cool breeze of Marilog. But if you are a foodie, a seat at the bar table overlooking the open kitchen is what I would recommend. Who would not want to see the action that happens in the kitchen?
I also love the open kitchen. I find it exciting to see the chef and cooks prepare the meals.
At the back of the restaurant is their herb garden though there are also some vegetables and fruits growing in the area. You can also find a long table here that has a grill beside it. On a good day, maybe you can book a private meal here.
THE FOOD
Being listed among Tatler Philippines’ Tatler Dining 2023 and the good reviews from friends, my expectations were quite high.
For this visit, we ordered Beef Adlai Soup and Truffle Mushroom Soup to start the meal. A bread basket was also served alongside our orders.
For the mains, we had Braised Beef Short Ribs, Blackened Salmon, and Jerk Chicken. For the pasta, we ordered their Truffle Mushroom Gnocchi and Seafood Aglio Olio.
The bread basket has a brioche, soft rolls, and this kind of buttered pastry. This came with a side of butter and balsamic vinegar in olive oil. I was able to try the brioche and it was soft.
For the soup, I got the Truffle Mushroom Soup. It was delicious. One of the best mushrooms I have had in Davao City. It was rich, creamy, and a bowl of hug in the cool weather. Surprisingly, it is quite light despite being a rich soup.
There was an extra bowl of the Beef Adlai Soup. However, it had already cooled down when I tried it. Nonetheless, the soup was still good. It was a filling bowl of soup and quite flavorful.
Now for the mains, the Braised Beef Short Ribs were served with potato pavé and roasted vegetables. This one had beets, carrots, and asparagus. I loved how tender the beef was. The sauce was flavorful too. The potato pavé was also good. Potato Pavé is a serving of layered thinly sliced potatoes with a creamy sauce.
Of the three mains, the Braised Beef was my favorite.
The Blackened Salmon was the next main dish I tried. It was served on top of a bed of couscous, shaved carrots, and cucumber with fire-roasted peppers and drizzled with gremolata. The salmon was well-seasoned and cooked perfectly. However, it had that subtle fishy taste that I was not loving. Meanwhile, the couscous was delicious.
The Jerk Chicken was served with Jamaican rice and peas alongside fried bananas and roasted vegetables. This was also a great dish. The chicken was perfectly cooked and well-seasoned. I loved the charring on the skin giving a smokiness to the dish. The sauce that came with it was also good.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two pasta dishes we had.
Let’s start with their Seafood Aglio Olio. They use capellini for this pasta dish. The dish has shrimp, scallops, salmon, capers, olives, and garlic confit, and is topped with Grana Padano.
This was a delicious serving of pasta. I love their choice of seafood for this. (No rubbery squid and clunky shells, yay!). I also like that the shrimps have been peeled. (I have a pet peeve for unpeeled shrimps in dishes that have them). My favorite part is their garlic confit. The pasta was also topped with this crunchy component. I can’t identify what it is but it looks like salmon based on the color. Anyway, this was a great addition to the dish as it adds texture to it. I love the crunch from each bite.
While I enjoyed the dish, it is one that I would not recommend if you will be eating leisurely. The problem I had with it was once it cooled down. It is an olive oil-based dish and because of the cool climate of the area, it cools down quite fast. Once it is not hot anymore, the sauce gets this grainy texture. This dish is best enjoyed while still hot. If it cools down, maybe you have it reheated.
I am saving the best for last. The best dish I tried here was their Truffle Mushroom Gnocchi. Easily, one of my favorite dishes of the year.
For those unfamiliar with gnocchi. It is a kind of pasta that uses potatoes. And it is my favorite kind of pasta too. For this dish, Pilgrim used potatoes from Bukidnon.
The pasta dish also has ricotta, mushroom, truffle cream sauce, and shavings of Reggiano Parmigiano.
The Truffle Mushroom Gnocchi was the most humble-looking dish on the table. Yet, it was the most delicious. The gnocchi was pillowy and soft. The pasta sauce was rich, creamy, and flavorful. This dish was so good that it is one of those dishes that you cannot forget.
I also have to say that Pilgrim does a great job with the other components of their dishes like their sauces and vegetables. Their roasted vegetables were very good and that potato pavé, again, delicious. The sauces were good in the sense that it did not overpower the main ingredient of the dish but served as a component that holds the dish together or elevates it.
They also serve coffee but I was not able to try it because the espresso machine had already been turned off when I wanted to get one.
THE SERVICE
We got a great service from Pilgrim.
I believe my friend had a good experience with their online booking based on what she has told me.
Despite running quite a bit late, they were very gracious and understanding. They still accommodated us and served us efficiently.
The staff was friendly, and I love their proactiveness. When water was running low, they would top it up. Empty plates were also removed each time they checked on us. They also offered to take our photo.
BOTTOMLINE
So does Pilgrim live up to its name and its great review? Yes.
The different stories of Pilgrim serving a delicious plate is true. Though there was that hiccup with the salmon and the aglio olio, I still enjoyed what we had. However, I would say that some of the most memorable aspects of the mains were the sides that came with it.
While the Braised Beef Short Rib was my favorite main course, it was the Truffle Mushroom Soup and Truffle Mushroom Gnocchi that were the stars of the visit. And that is coming from someone who is not a very big fan of food with truffles. Both dishes had a simple presentation but were complex with their flavors.
The service was generally good too. I commend the staff for being proactive and efficient during our visit.
Pilgrim Restaurant in Marilog, Davao City is a must-visit restaurant.
OTHER DETAILS
Location: Baganihan, Marilog, Davao City | Google Map pin
Business Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday; 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
* For those planning to come here, I highly recommend that you make a reservation. They do accept walk-ins, but it depends on the volume of their reservations and guests dining. So, if you want to secure a table, make a reservation.
**For their menu, you can request it by messaging them. Restaurants similar to Pilgrim regularly change their items on the menu depending on the season or the availability of some raw materials for the season.
*** A word of caution for non-residents of Davao City. Marilog is a district in Davao City, but it is around an hour to 1.5hr travel from downtown. You can commute going there but I would not recommend it because getting back will not be as easy. Either book a van rental going there or if you have a friend with a car, ask them to join you for brunch or lunch.