cafe adriatico

travelled to manila just to havebreakfasthere. ground floor was too crowded so we stayed in the second floor overlooking remedios circle. very cozy interior but a little bit dark due to the choice of wooden furniture. ordered vigan longganisa and tocino. both were excellent. side salad was fresh. if you are not a fan of salted egg on your salad, you may request for a regular egg instead.

malate is known for its bustling night life. and with the craziness ending till wee hours in the morning, i'd imagine itsbreakfastscene to be close to a ghost town. but i was wrong when i dropped by the iconic café adriatico. . hello, café adriatico. . café adriatico is undoubtedly one of the gems of manila. established in 1979, this small cafe was the start of the successful ljc group of restaurants.

i've eaten here since i was in high school. that's like more than 30 decades now. the tsokolate eh' is still as good as i remember it to be. the recipes that hasn't changed aside from the tsokolate was the beef salpicao, baked mac, and the gambas. theirbreakfastmenu is perfect and generous. i love the place and the ambiance.

always a favorite. this is my go-to comfort food place. for desserts, their crepe banane and claude 's dream are must tries! the cakes are no fail choices. personal favorites - all theirbreakfastsets, chicken ala kiev, callos, arroz caldo and lengua 😍 their onion soup is pretty good. i particularly like the old malate vibe in their adriatico branch.

located at malate, manila. cafe adriatico will give you the old heart of manila ☺️

they servebreakfastat a reasonable price and the serving & service is really good.

a must try esp for tourists!

cafè adriatico is my most favorite restaurant! it has been my go-to late dinners hang out place. been going here for a few years now and i have always been satisfied with everything i've ordered. been taking families and friends here, too and never pa akong napahiya :) theirbreakfastplate specials are must-haves! love love love this place! and will continue to go back.

after shift we went here to eatbreakfastwith a few friends...but it was so disappointing that its not 24-hrs just like what it says here!!!! misinformation! so upset and felt so humiliated as i was complacent that its open.😒

old manila: classic malate restaurant

(re-review)

being within the vicinity of where i live, my family used to go here pretty much every other sunday for breakfast. i've always known it to be the original branch, owned and managed by larry j. cruz, the father of one of my grade-school acquaintances. when he passed on in 2008, cafe adriatico's evident change began from there.

design-wise, the malate branch has retained its ever classic and old manila aesthetic look and feel, which i highly appreciate. i can honestly say that almost nothing has evidently changed since my childhood - which in this case, is a good thing.

service-wise, the staff is wonderful and well-trained. they are always welcoming, smiling and answer queries almost instantaneously. they've never gotten our orders wrong and are quick to respond.

food-wise, this is where the gradual changes began.

one of the most noteworthy being that they scrapped off their delicious eggs benedict - which used to be the only thing i ate there. my family would have at least three orders on our table every visit. i'm still convinced it's the most delicious version i've had, but then again might be the nostalgia playing a part.

since then, i have tried a couple other dishes such as the following:
hummus with pita bread (p175)
pancakes and bacon (p250)*
americanbreakfast(p300)*
penne al arrabiata (p250)
salpicao rice (p495)

generally from what i recall, the hummus was alright, the pancakes were light and fluffy. the americanbreakfastwas staight-forward and simple. the pasta dish was a good-sized serving and okay in terms of taste. the salpicao rice though, as with other main dishes, i recall to be quite delicious and exceptional - well for the price, anyway.

chocolate eh (p65)
an all-time favorite of mine is the chocolate eh (thick) or ah (thinner), which i never fail to get every time i am there. i would be heartbroken if they every changed it or took it off the menu.

over-all, i am giving it a 4.0 because despite its changes over the years - cafe adriatico will always have a special place in my heart. it is definitely a must-try for folks who want a taste of old manila.

cafe adriatico
malate, manila

for the past days of having a depressing life at work, an unlikely tantrums towards my boyfie, and literally nauseatic tuesday afternoon, i decided to took off from work yesterday. though having a bad time with me, still my boyfriend invited me to an earlybreakfastat this cafe for a very special day.

just around the remedios circle, i think? this very cozy cafe houses vintage details that really catched my senses. approaching the entrance made me feel like entering an old little house with hanging greens and some flowers, remembering my deceased aunt's yellow bells outside our ancestral house. entering the cafe, we were approached by this beautiful lady and we were given seats beside the window, perfectly we could see where we parked our elie.

not so much on the menu though, we just ordered his favorite americanbreakfastand mine was pancakes with bacon of course.

americanbreakfastincluded 2 whole eggs, few bacon strips, slice of red gigantic tomato, bread and butter. just the usual american breakfast, loved for its bacon strips hehee.

my pancakes included 4pcs soft thin pancakes with 2 bacon strips on the side and a merengue butter which delighted my tongue so much plus the sweet syrup on the side.

americano coffee was included in the meal served with creamer in a cute packed container. i think it's imported because i cannot understand the words ahahah german or deutsch maybe. ahaahaha... i think i should learn another language!

... and i think this cafe serves the alta de sociedad people of malate, classy english speaking lolos and lolas... lolo assisting lola through the door, soft spoken words of the old, and kind gestures of lolo. wonderful place indeed! on the other side though are couple talking about million pesos and politics and the likes ahahha (kami nang chismoso) and here we are like gusgusin couple in washed shirts and shorts... hehe

all in all, the food presentation was great, our meal is tasty and delightful, service was good and ambiance was so perfect, my tantrums for my boyfie easily fade away.

***reviewed december 2015***
(i wonder why i do not have any pictures of our food, hmmmm)

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2 years later , i am back here aug 31, 2018, today; i was invited to the ljc festival of flavors event to taste 2 new dishes in addition to their menus. on sept.5,2018 the chicken karaage and espresso panna cotta will be added to their menu.

my verdict:

chicken karaage
(morsels of japanese-style fried chicken with honey mustard and teriyaki sauce; served with rice and cabbage salad)
php 350

i love japanese food, but i am not a fan of chicken karaage, everytime we have this dish (which my boyfriend truly loves and is always included in our order in every japanese resto we visit) - i always have the feeling of having too much oil, but i was surprised that the chicken karaage served here was not oily at all.

the boneless chicken meat was tender and juicy. the fusion of flavors in the teriyaki sauce was awesome! thumbs up! i also liked the honey mustard sauce, but i think i like it better if its a little sour; so what i did was drizzle some lemon on my chicken and some on my honey mustard sauce, perfect!

taste: 4/5
serving size: 4/5
price: 4/5

espresso panna cotta
(chilled coffee dessert with espresso syrup, whipped cream and coffee jelly)
php 195

i super loved this dessert! i love coffee!
not too bitter and not too sweet!
the combination of the flavors are just balanced!

taste: 4.5/5
serving size: 5/5
price: 4/5

am i being biased? hahaha!

so make sure you visit this lovely place at the remedios circle which is i am certain now, spend some time with your old ones and the new ones and the family and all your friends.

nice cozy place!!!

happy eating!