cafe adriatico

glad they kept the place's old design. very relaxing atmosphere. serves yummy martinis. steaks are okay. wouldn't go for the cakes again, except the tiramisu - their desserts are just not my thing. nice waiters.

my only request is that they clean up the outdoor area. it's not appetizing to see dead roaches or to smell sewer.

a little sweaty and tired but with tummy filled up with different influences of filipino cuisine we headed to malate to have dinner at famed café adriatico.

café adriatico, opened in 1979 by larry j. cruz, has become an icon in manila, occupying that corner of remedios circle, it has served as a meeting place for artists, writers and lovers. i don’t remember ever having eaten at café adriatico before but i do know i’ve eaten at the other restaurants it has spawned in the same area.

sinigang na bangus belly sa bayabas started our dinner. the skies started drizzling when we arrived so the soup was a nice hot start to the meal. the guava used in the sinigang was not as sour as i expected. i particularly enjoyed the vegetables in the soup.

the lola ising’s adobo was excellent, pork ribs are used for this adobo which is not usually the case. the ribs were fried before being cooked into the sauce which gave it lots of smoky flavor. i’m quite proud of the fact that i did not eat a single spoonful of rice, my little penance for all the eating i did that day.

multiple servings of knockout knuckle were laid out for us to share. i got a small piece only to start since cripsy pata is so sinful, good thing because their version was quite spicy already without any sauce.so better beware if you are there and in the mood for crispy pata.

claude’s dream. good thing, i held off on the rice, this was a great dessert. i could have gone for 2nds of the creamy macapuno ice cream topped with buko slices and pandan gelatin. thinking about it again is making me crave for it.
the dinner was a fitting end to a day full of bite after bite of mouth watering local food, which we sometimes take for granted. i’m glad that sooo pinoy has taken the cudgels of increasing local appreciation of filipino cuisine for both diners and chefs. filipinos should be knowledgeable and proud of their own cuisine, which is second to none.

the flagship restaurant by the ljc group in has managed to survive many years in the genteel malate neighborhood, which has seen much better days. its wooden interiors, small round tables, and softly played classical music are longstanding trademarks. it's great for friends and romantic dates.

you'll do well with the lengua estofada - tender ox tongue in a mushroom sauce, and the salpicao rice - tenderloin beef and sprinkles toasted garlic in rice.

but for me, their desserts are most memorable - the mango jubilee, served warm and tinged with liquor over cold vanilla ice cream; claude's dream - pandan gelatin and coconut with rich ice cream made from buffalo's milk; and their mango crepes - flambeed and served with blueberry sauce and cream, now with chocolate sauce.

it's romantic in the evenings - if you are in the neighborhood, or avoiding the traffic from a storm, like i once was, this is a good place to be.

for some strange reason, the filipino-chinese love to eat at cafe adriatico and also make it a watering hole. apart from the large community of chinoys, you would see some foreigners frequenting there. out of curiosity, my family went there for a lunch. cafe adriatico is a spanish cafewith a lots of food excellents, so is the service and the ambiance is unsurpassed. i have eaten there at many times of the day, many different dishes, and different wines; never been disappointed. the hainanese chicken is superb, the spanish dished are hard to find in spain in that quality and the chocolate fondue is the crowning.