Pan de Amerikana | Upside Down Restaurant in Katipunan Ave

I’ve been considering Pan de Amerikana ever since I discovered it from a friend way back when I was still working in Libis, Quezon City (that’s 2 years ago). It’s just a few kilometers away from my workplace (Calle Industria), but let’s not dig deeper as to why it never transpired because I myself can’t explain either. 😅

Now that I’m not based in QC anymore that the plan finally took place (what an irony). It’s when I was scheduled to get my separation pay from my previous company and we had to look for an interesting dining place to eat lunch nearby after the appointment. So the age-old idea of hitting up Pan de Amerikana got restored.

 

Locating Pan de Amerikana

If you’d ask me if it’s easy to locate, I’d say we found it even without Waze or Google maps. We just know it’s along Katipunan Ave. and when we drove there, it’s actually there 🤣. Not to mention that the appearance of the resto is eye-catching (imagine seeing a house standing in an upside down position). The restaurant stands on the southbound side of the road.

 

 

Food

Aside from it’s attractive and thought-provoking appearance, it is also known for its pandesal. It actually started as a panaderia (bakeshop) and later served Pinoy dishes. But it was lunch time so eating pandesal was not into mind. We ordered Chicken & Mushroom with Rice, Laing, Dinuguan, Halo-halo, and Mango Shake. We asked the wait staff to serve the Halo-halo and Mango Shake later.

 

 

The meals were okay but not really something to rave about. Among the ones we tried, what I liked the most is Dinuguan as it tastes like my lola‘s cooking (I miss my lola). I’m a big fan of Laing, but their version of it was not that good (or maybe because I’ve had high standards for Laing ever since I’ve tasted authentic ones in Bicol). Plus their Laing is ala carte only which means another expense for extra rice. For the Chicken & Mushroom with Rice, it’s just so so, but it did not taste bad. It’s just that the sauce was quite thin and not warm enough.

 

 

Their Halo-halo is good and serving is huge. Not too sweet which is a thumbs up for me. Jeric, as a mango expert, did not like the Mango Shake though. It’s quite bland and not so mango.

 

Price

Not too cheap but still affordable. Chicken & Mushroom with Rice costs ₱110, Dinuguan is ₱110, Laing is ₱75, Halo-halo is ₱60, Mango Shake is ₱75, and Extra Rice is ₱30 each.

Tip: If food is not your main agenda and you’re just curious about the upside down theme, consider merienda time so you won’t need to shell out more money for food. For example, Palabok is ₱65, Tuna Sandwich is ₱50, Red Iced Tea is ₱40 per glass. So that’s just ₱195 in total or ₱98 per person. If you really need to save more, you can cross out Red Iced Tea as they have service water. But if merienda doesn’t fit your schedule, you may try their cheapest viands which are mostly veggies such as Ilokano Pinakbet (₱70), Monggo Con Chicharon (₱65), Lumpiang Shanghai (₱60), and Tortang Talong (₱45).

It’s okay to cut expenses on food as long as you don’t try to bring your own because it’s simply unreasonable to do so. Plus there’s a corkage fee of ₱500/meal.

 

Ambiance

I really think this is their best asset. Aside from being a themed restaurant, the ambiance and feel while dining here is exceptional. The establishment is not really open-air, but it feels al fresco-ish. I think it’s because of the indoor garden and mini-waterfall whose relaxing sound creates that nature and countryside ambiance.

Wooden tables and chairs look old-spanishy which sets that feels-like-home vibe. Each table has a painted chess board and chess pieces may be requested for free.

 

 

The upside down theme would surely tickle every visitor’s imagination. The outside appearance itself was fashioned like a house in an inverted position. And it’s not just a house but a house with a land rover parked in front of it. Inside the restaurant, tables, chairs, and piano were attached on the ceiling like chandeliers.

 

Service

As we pick our table and sat down, the wait staff readily handed us the menu even before we could say a word. That’s how attentive they are. Meals were served after roughly 5 minutes. The staff look approachable and kind. The guard was polite too, we did not have any trouble parking our vehicle as he is very accommodating and ready to give us help.

 

 

More photos!

How I’d Rate this Resto:

Food	★★★☆☆
Service	★★★★☆
Location	★★★★★
Price	★★★★★
Ambiance	★★★★★
Overall	4.4