It really is. The OG Neighborhood Bar down South, in the Alabang area, on a commercial building not too far off from Alabang Town Center and Molito. It’s on Don Jesus Boulevard, behind the Don Gesu building. Not that easy to find if you’re from the area, but for me, coming all the way from the North, I made a trip here around a decade ago, and I never regretted it. Eleven years ago, there was no online Waze or Google Maps to guide you, instead, I relied on this little handy blue map book, which was my go-to back in the day.
Organic Encounter-maxxing
After a few stops to check my map, I did find the place, and had the time of my life. I met friends, including long lost ones from the villages in and around Alabang, drank a lot of wine and beer and gin & tonics.
I first encountered the Jamon Allioli, the signature pintxos, ground up bits of Jamon Serrano, mixed with allioli, and put on a slice of baguette. It’s simplicity itself, and I was enamored. Years later, it is still my el favorito.
Legend has it that the owner of the building noticed Tinchu Gonzalez, one of the bar’s founders, always having meetings in the pastry shop on the ground floor, so she asked if they would like to convert the place and set up a bar, and Tinchu luckily, said yes. That’s how it all began, and he was everything, the cook and the cashier, the waitstaff and yes, the marketing person. But somehow, it worked, after all, no one had really heard of the word “pintxos” before, and it proved to be a blessing. By the way, the pintxo was born in the rugged Basque region of Spain. In the 1930’s, a local bar began serving little snacks pierced with a toothpick to keep all the ingredients together. The use of the toothpick was commonly referred to as “pincho” (“spike”).” A trip to Spain these days, for many Filipinos, demands a trip to San Sebastian, the city in Spain where it all began.
Evolution and Leadership Over the Years
Fast forward to 2026 from 2015, and to be honest, not much has changed, and not because they needed to be. The menu’s retained most of the original favorites but added pages worth of pintxos, and the bar list, has greatly expanded. The interiors have the most striking change, the octopus, now fully tiled, still guards over the bar, which stands exactly where it started off. But the interior’s walls, now a striking wine red and deep black, along with the white with all the traditional Bar Pintxos paintings, including San Sebastian, still proudly stand.
Subsequently, it includes a vastly expanded, newly upgraded kitchen purpose-built to pioneer new Basque culinary boundaries under Head Chef Edward Labante. With the iconic hospitality of Restaurant Manager Ellah Ortiz—who has steered the front of house since Day 1—Bar Pintxos Alabang remains the ultimate and definitive Southern destination for authentic Spanish tapas culture.
Meanwhile, the bar also has a new Managing Partner, my uncle, Randy Libre. I’m so proud of this fact, and he’s been doing a great job.
Loyalty, aside from being faithful to our core food offerings, reaped numerous blessings—as you can see, most of our staff have been with us since we opened back in 2015. Even with the pandemic, we retained most of our staff and continued to serve patrons with the food and service they are already comfortable with.”
True words, Unc! He adds,
A key part of this evolution is Alfonso “Almond” Javier of La Bodega Vinos y Cervezas. More than an ally of the house, Almond serves as a vital culinary partner, directly supplying the kitchen with premium local sea bass and his signature artisanal Spanish chorizos on top of the service with Moritz Barcelona Beer and a rich line-up of boutique Spanish wine labels.”
An Epic 11th Anniversary Feast
Tinchu, Randy, and Alfonso came up with a menu that celebrated and honored 11 years of Bar Pintxos. Furthermore, yes, I did come all the way from the North once more, but there was no way I was missing this feast!
Of course, a special part just for me, my ultimate favorite, the Jamon Allioli. It hadn’t changed. Still luscious. The Jamon Serrano bits still hypnotized me after all these years.
The two seafood dishes came next, and I loved both immediately. The Apahap a la Vasca and the Sepia a la Pancha con Alliolli were endearing to me, recently a seafood lover. The apahap was rich, I could imagine eating it on a port in Spain, and the Sepia, cuttlefish, was another addicting dish, one that we had two of. Extremely tender cuttlefish, perfectly marinated!
In addition, the meat dishes came next, the Chuletas de Cordero, beautifully grilled lambchops on patatas panaderas. We were asked to eat this while it was hot, and I dove in, eventually using just my hands to get all the lamb. Delicious.
Together with the other prime meat dish, Codillo con Garbanzos, this was the Oktoberfest treat of the bar, a tribute to Germany, beautifully prepared pork knuckle, the skin crisp and crunchy, again, demanding to be eaten quickly. And we did!
Consequently, the two mains appeared, a paella and a fideua. The paella was Paella de Pato, heavenly slices of duck meat, with the skin attached of course on top of the paella. It reminded me of duck confit, the duck cured and slowly poached in their own rendered fat until tender. And finally, my favorite dish of the day, the paella made with thin pasta noodles, the Fideua de Costillas. Again, simplicity except for its impeccable flavor. Fideua pasta and pork ribs. Cooked beautifully, The crisp pasta bits were a true delight.
Ultimately, what an epic feast. And the dessert, tradition. Churros con Chocolate. Again, I asked for this, the delicioulsy light caramelly churros and thick hot chocolate were the most apt ending to a meal that explored eleven years of Bar Pintxos. And after, we stayed for another hour, just reminiscing about the past decade plus one, and the tremendous meal we just had, held in high regard, to be cherished, until our next trip to our favorite neighborhood bar.
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