Cover image via postimg.org
Claws are out, people! After being tagged as an "imposter" by LA Magazine, this restaurant in Quezon City defends its reputation
Guisados Restaurant Philippines explained their side of the story after LA magazine's Josh Scherer wrote about them and tagged them as an "imposter" claiming that they (Guisados PH) stole their whole concept from a popular LA restaurant also named "Guisados LA".
"Guisados knockoff in the Philippines that's so shameless it didn't even bother to change the name," according to LA magazine.
The LA mag article compared the two establishments from their font logo, "about me" section to their menu and said that "it's not a coincidence"
"How many capital Gs actually extend downward like that? And the faux cursive "u" bleeding into the "i"? I get copying a restaurant's menu, but the font? That's cold."
They also claim that Guisados PH stole their "taco sampler platter combo" which is what Guisados LA is known for
Guisados PH:
Guisados LA:
Now, Guisados PH is not having any of it and explains their side of the story saying that it was a coincidence and that they were not aware of Guisados in LA when they were conceptualizing Guisados PH
"This mishap came off as a coincidence.Yes, we get that L.A. started it first, but Guisados restaurant at the time it started and processed its name were not aware of a Guisados in L.A."
They also explain their history and how they started with the conceptualization of the business.
"The two guys that started Guisados in the Philippines, one was originally from Texas as he wanted Mexican street style tacos that are scarce here in the Philippines. The other partner was a chef that experimented with Mexican food using local ingredients."
Image via Guisados PH
Image via Guisados PH
They explain the difference of LA with PH:
"Our food uses local ingredients to support local farmers and are just Mexican inspired in our own way. They also like the cafe racer culture which they have instilled in their restaurant with the motorcycles on display. Guisados L.A. is different where in they use their traditional authentic style method from their homeland in which they have a more refined technique when it comes to building their tacos."
With regards to their name, they note that it came from the Filipino word "Guisa" which means saute in Tagalog and "dos" meaning "2"
"We coined the word "Guisa" which means saute in Filipino due to the fact that yes we saute/stew our meat. And "Dos" meaning the both of them"
They also explain their font similarities, "when it comes down to the font and how our font was born , it started from paint shop. We chose the Free style font as that is our style of cooking and the dos font used was vivaldi which had a grungy effect. Which is what Guisados restaurant is all about. A grungy garage themed restaurant that follows the cafe racer culture and that serves your everyday comfort Mexican food. Guisados in L.A. has a thin handwritten style font where Guisados Restaurant in the Philippines has a thick bold 2-type font with a rectangle encasing it."
Image via Guisados PH
They conclude it with emphasis: No, they are not imposters who used LA's Guisados as a pedestal. It was a mere coincidence and not done intentionally "as well as all the other Guisados in Mexico and around the world."
"We are not going to back down and re brand our name as we are not guilty for copying Guisados in L.A. We just want to get it known out there that we are not imposters because there are reports out there saying that we are copying them or using them as a pedestal. They are unique in their own way and we are unique in our own right. Bottom line is this was just a coincidence and not done intentionally as well as to all the other Guisados in Mexico and around the world."
Image via Guisado PH
You can read the full article of LA Mag entitled "One of L.A.'s Best Taquerias Has an Impostor in the Philippines" here
You may also read Guisados PH official statement here.
