cafe adriatico

classy, a bit expensive but worth it, quiet, tranquil and authentic classic ambiance, fish and vegetables were divine, one of my favourite classy and traditional manila restaurant, contains so much history- lots of interesting things about this delightfulcoffeeshop and restaurant

excited for these truly inspired dishes that showcase the innovative minds of the chefs behind the ljc group!

✔️chicken karaage 350
morsels of japanese-style fried chicken with honey mustard and teriyaki sauce, served with rice and cabbage salad

the chicken were a bit dry, so dunking them in the honey mustard or teriyaki sauce really helped. i like thaat there is a hint of ginger in the teriyaki sauce, making it more appetizing. i recommend slathering honey mustard on the cabbage strips for added oomph!

✔️espresso panna cotta 195
chilledcoffeedessert with with espresso syrup, whipped cream andcoffeejelly

this was such a happy dessert mainly due to the delectable espresso flavor. one cup was not enough. each bite was bursting with sweetcoffeeflavor, making it a surefire favorite for the foodies.

experience these new offerings from cafe adriatico starting sep 5 2018 in celebration of ljc month!

#cafeadriatico
#theljcgroup
#theljcrestaurantgroup
#chizbun
#chizbuneats

let me preface this review by expressing my gratitude to the ljc group, and zomato for an exclusive invite to feast on some of the dishes (17 dishes in total! 😀) from all of ljc's nine food concepts, some of which are yet to be fully offered on their respective restaurant menus starting this september. ♥️ as for cafe adriatico we got to try their chicken karaage, and their espresso panna cotta. the karaage was predictably good. it's a dish that's hard to serve badly i guess, they have done it justice. among the dishes we ate, this was the only one served with rice, and i really appreciated that. 😆 the sauce that came with it together with the sesame dressing, rounded up everything nicely. next, a dessert which to be honest at first, i didn't expect much from, was the espresso panna cotta, yet it turned out to be one of the highlights for me. i'm not acoffeedrinker at all, but i can eat this dessert any day! it was creamy, and rich. there's a generous heap of mousse on top, but finishing the petite glass, it made me feel everything was mousse, for even digging through the supposed jellied part of the dessert, it was still rich, and creamy, almost moussey in texture! love!

had the pleasure to be invited by the ljc group of resto to attend a private food tasting for their restaurants. one of which is cafe adriatico. these dishes will be available starting on sept. 5.

some of the food we sampled are:

chicken karaage p350
japanese style fried chicken with honey mustard and teriyaki sauce. comes with rice and cabbage salad.

espresso panna cotta p195
chilledcoffeedessert with espresso syrup, whipped cream andcoffeejelly.

i loved it all! especially the espresso panna cotta. 😍

the perfect idyllic spot to get a quick meal post midnight. we used to go here to get a quick bit before going home during my night shift days. whether its just for dessert andcoffee(i adore their mango cakes), to having a savory meals (lamb adobo, stir fried crickets etc) cafe adriatico is the place to go. top it off with their turn of the century theme (19th century that is), it spells the perfect evening/morning.

after having dinner near the area, we decided to look for a place to hang and ease our tummy from the heavy meal we just had. so we ended up chilling at café adriatico. it was already 10:00pm at that time on a thursday night. unfortunately, they do not offer free parking even though the parking space is right in front of them. so we ended up paying php30.00 for the parking from a stranger who does not even guard our vehicle. the place has a nice cozy interior. unfortunately the ground floor, which is for non-smokers are quite small. and upstairs is more spacious but the problem is that it is intended for smokers, so you can smell the smokes inside the café since it is not open air and the whole second floor is running air conditioned. thecoffee/ beverages menu is not given out until you asked for them, which is kind a weird. beverages are very affordable and tasty, but the problem is that the service is quite slow, it took them almost half an hour just to serve our drinks one by one.

i've entered in a restaurant late night starving after doing some work. wearing just a shirt and flipflops, never think to change coz all i want to do is to eat.

i've entered to the restaurant, check the menu and after find what i want to have its been 7 mins no one is coming to take my order. i need to call the attention of the waitress sarcastically saying if she's ready to take my order. they didnt set the table not until the food was served.

i'm wondering is it because i'm not dress up, or because i'm just wearing a flip flops? the restaurant should put notice at the entrance door if that's the case.

i didn't finished my meal coz i already loose my appetite. i asked for acoffeeand some cake. they serve acoffeewith a stain at the side, looks like somebody drinks on it!!

its seems that its better to eat in sidewalk restaurant (turu-turo) coz u dont expect too much, this restaurant is worse than those side walk restaurant.

something that's great about this place is that they don't serve burntcoffee(which a lot of restaurants do) thecoffeestill carries that smoked flavor but it's a lot subtler while there's a trail of chocolate flavor-note at the end of every sip. it's light but still retains a part of that bold/heavy consistency of brewed coffee.
ordered the vigan longganisa. the longganisas were packed with flavor (like little cherry bombs of meat). just tell the chef not to cook it too long for they'll lose their juiciness. the spanish omelette was great too! first thing you'll taste are the bell peppers followed by the tangy taste of the tomato puree. i do commend them with the ham in the omelette! it's not the cheap flavorless ham that i usually get from other restaurants. it's real smoked pork ham (best way to complement a spanish omelette) to top it all off, you get to dine in a place rich with philippine history (timeless delight) 👌

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 early breakfast at 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 american breakfast and mine was pancakes with bacon of course.

american breakfast included 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.

americanocoffeewas 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)

.
.
.
.
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
(chilledcoffeedessert with espresso syrup, whipped cream andcoffeejelly)
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!