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Elbert Cuenca’s greatest hits, replated at Harry’s Bistro

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Jeeves De Veyra

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777541183351elbert 3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Elbert Cuenca at Harry&#x27;s Bistro. Jeeves de Veyra</div>How does one condense 35 years of restaurant experience in one room? If you ask serial restaurateur Elbert Cuenca, he’ll welcome you into Harry’s Bistro.Harry is Cuenca’s late Jack Russell whose portrait adorns the restaurant’s logo. The restaurant occupies a quiet space on the back streets of Legaspi Village. Fine dining fans would remember this as the old location of Metronome. Cuenca just hung on to this space for as long as he could after that restaurant closed. He finally got the notice from the landlord to vacate late last year.After having to close Elbert’s Collective in Salcedo Village on the other side of Ayala Avenue, he didn’t want to go through the trauma of tearing down and closing another space.At first, I couldn’t understand why the extreme hesitation. But after seeing the kitchen on the mezzanine inherited from the first restaurant that was first set up here, I finally understood why.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777541212350Chef Adrian Cuenca at the kitchen.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Chef Adrian Cuenca at the kitchen. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Chef Adrian Cuenca, Elbert’s brother and longtime collaborator, now executive chef of Harry’s Bistro, holds court. It’s pretty spacious with ample space for a large back-of-house staff to comfortably move around. Off to one side is a cold kitchen while the central space has some eclectic kitchen equipment like a French cast-iron stove, and an open flame grill. A dumbwaiter keeps operations speedy and efficient, quickly shuttling food down to the restaurant and bussing dirty dinnerware back up.Harry’s Bistro is Elbert’s Collective version 2.0. It’s not a spiritual successor but more of a continuation. In the old space, they had the food, but the casual cafeteria space didn’t exactly fit the menu.Here, the space and all that goes into it supports the food. Elbert went to great lengths about the proper light temperature, to the position of light to reflect onto the table to make guests look good, to choosing the grain on seats to make them more comfortable.Downstairs, it feels like an upscale, yet still accessible dining room with touches of art deco from the wall reliefs and the portholes above the doors. It wouldn’t be unusual to see diners in business and formal wear after a long day in the central business district seated a couple of tables away from someone in shorts having a drink or a light dinner. There is a private room at the back that can be reserved for a consumable reservation fee of P10,000.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777541352551Cucum,.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Cocktails at Harry&#x27;s Bistro. Jeeves de Veyra</div>The bar that greets diners at the entrance is, as expected of an Elbert Cuenca restaurant, well stocked and well curated with hard-to-find bottles like rare, discontinued Scotch. Cocktails are mixed to the owner’s high standards. For example, the Elbert’s Old Fashioned at Harry’s doesn’t only have bourbon. It has rye for spice, bourbon for the sweetness, and cognac to round everything out.The food is familiar, but with just that little something to make it different from what I’ve had somewhere else.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754185926601 - prosciutto and potato chips.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Prosciutto and potato chips. Jeeves de Veyra</div>For instance, I ran into some repeat guests and the first thing they recommended was the house-made potato chips. This heaping dish is garnished with slices of prosciutto that makes a bougie snack with a tipple or two from the bar.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754188948701 - carpaccio.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Carpaccio. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Capers add bright notes to their version of carpaccio sprinkled with parmesan cheese and topped with microgreens.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754191646701 - Beef Tartare.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Beef tartare. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Miguel Vecin, known for his Spanish restaurants, contributed some of his pintxos to the menu. Beef tartare is sharpened by the umami of anchovies and Worcestershire sauce, offsetting the pintxos’ rich meaty flavor.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754196238701 - grilled polp with potato pave.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Grilled polpo with potato pave. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Considering the hassle of making layers in a potato pavé, this version of a polpo pintxo with a side of aioli and paprika is a low-key flex of the kitchen.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754199020501 - Pigs Ears.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Pig&#x27;s ears. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Hereabouts, one will instantly associate sisig with pigs’ ears. Not in Harry’s Bistro.
Those with adventurous palates should have the pigs’ ears with romesco sauce. They boil it to get that gelatinous note then seared under a salamander to get that slight crunch.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754202350602 - chicken a la kiev.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Chicken a la Kiev. Jeeves de Veyra</div>My nostalgia dish was the Chicken a la Kiev. This had that crisp shell with herbed butter that just splashed and oozed out after it was sliced open. Having this with French beans and creamy mashed potatoes just brought me back decades when this was my definition of elevated comfort food.Elbert recounts that Harry’s Bistro is Chef Adrian’s playground, using the kitchen to refine techniques and test out food. The a la Kiev is an example of a dish that seems simple but needs technique to get it just right. He admits that it did not fit in with any of his previous concepts, but it is right at home here.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177754205228702 - carbonarra_.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Carbonara. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Another example is the much raved about and sorely missed carbonara from Elbert’s Collective. This is the real deal adhering to the traditional recipe of pasta, guanciale, pecorino cheese, and cracked pepper. Chef Adrian just wanted to learn how to make Carbonara the authentic Roman way but didn’t quite fit in with Elbert’s Steak Room,  but eventually found its fans through Elbert’s Pizzeria.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777542081568MAINS - PORK CHOP TOMAHAWK WITH GUANCIALE RICE.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Pork chop tomahawk with guanciale rice. Jeeves de Veyra</div>For a group of family and friends, Harry’s Bistro has large plates that are meant for sharing with a group. A nod to Elbert’s Steak Room, the Berkshire Pork Tomahawk is guaranteed to draw out admiring ooohs and ahhhs the moment it lands on the table. This tender 3-inch-thick chop is grilled like a steak on an open flame that results with that proper sear. This is then topped with herbs, then served with chimichurri and their charcuterie sauce rich with drippings.Speaking of pork, have this with guanciale rice. Rice that’s been mixed with guanciale drippings that’s tasty enough to have by itself.Elbert freely admits that they don’t focus on desserts. The desserts are light and are really meant to bookend a meal. They have three-layer chocolate with cake, mousse, and whipped cream that’s great with a cup of coffee.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17775421886889 (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Chocolate mousse and Strawberry panacotta. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Or have the panacotta of the day that cycles through different fixins. This one comes with strawberries and an earl grey crisp.If Harry’s Bistro were pressed on vinyl, it could be a compilation of Elbert’s Greatest Hits: a satisfying listen for longtime fans and an inviting introduction for new food lovers.While Harry’s Bistro celebrates his time in the restaurant industry, the restaurant also teases whatever he’s cooking up next.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777541809565exterior 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Harry’s Bistro can be found on Bolanos Street, in Legaspi village and is open from Monday to Saturday. Lunch seating is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner is from 5-11 p.m. Check out @harrysbistro.ph on Instagram for more information and reservations. Jeeves de Veyra</div>

Part nostalgia, part evolution, Harry’s Bistro gathers Elbert Cuenca’s most memorable dishes into one thoughtfully designed space, where comfort food meets precision and a few quiet flexes from the kitchen.

Part nostalgia, part evolution, Harry’s Bistro gathers Elbert Cuenca’s most memorable dishes into one thoughtfully designed space, where comfort food meets precision and a few quiet flexes from the kitchen.

Makati eats: Elbert Cuenca’s greatest hits, replated at Harry’s Bistro

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Makati eats: Elbert Cuenca’s greatest hits, replated at Harry’s Bistro

Jeeves De Veyra

Published May 01, 2026 11:00 AM PHT

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food review

restaurant review

Harry's Bistro

Elbert Cuenca

Legaspi Village

Makati eats

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