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| - I dig mojitos, so this place seemed like a must. We had just finished a meal at the most excellent Wallflower and Dolly's was pretty close, so in we walked on a Friday evening.
We were able to get a table right away even though we didn't have a reservation, which was great but we were next to the door so we had a perfect view of people with reservations being told to sit at the bar because there were no tables. It was weird (and a little awkward).
Anyway, this being a joint with the word "mojito" in its name, I obviously had to order a mojito. I decided to go with the Filipino ("Flor de Cana 5 year, fresh pineapple juice, cane juice, calamansi lime, mint.")
It's not great, honestly. I mean, it's fine. It's a mojito, it gets the job done, but I just expected so much more. The flavors are so muted as to be non-existent. At a price point in the mid-teens, I was expecting to be blown away and honestly I've consumed tastier drinks at Pickle Barrel.
We decided to also share an appetizer: Calamari Fried Pusit ("Tapioca/corn starch battered squid, calamansi lime, cane vinegar/red chile aioli.") The portion is plentiful and the dish arrived hot, but again, there's a lack of flavor here that sinks it. The calamari is cooked well, admittedly, but the batter is bland to the point of frustration. And so is the aioli, surprisingly enough. Usually if a fried item isn't great, there's a tasty dip to rescue it and that just wasn't the case here.
I should also note that service was painfully slow. I suppose it's not entirely their fault, since for some bizarre reason, the guy doing the drinks was also our waiter and he was super busy all night.
Finally, and I know this'll sound weird, but the joint is way, way too bright for a nighttime establishment. With all the garish lights and displays, it was like trying to enjoy a drink on a busy amusement-park midway. It was distracting and annoying.
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