Borgo Cafe: Where “Value for Money” is a Promise Well Kept

 

When wandering around the South side of the metro, you should definitely visit BF Homes. After all, you can discover all sorts of awesome restaurants and establishments here, the kinds of which you might not see anywhere else in the country. Some good examples would be the awesome cupcake joint called Larcy’s Cupcakerycafe, and, of course, – Borgo Cafe.

In an exciting turn of events, I actually found myself inside Borgo Cafe (which means Village/Suburban Cafe in Italian) one day. I had been hearing quite a lot about this restaurant, and had been itching to try it out as soon as my crazy schedule permits. Well, not so long ago, I got invited to Borgo Cafe by the owner himself, Ryan Mendoza (who, by the way, is a triathlete and a person I have worked with before in the multi-sport scene).

The cafe exudes a homey aura that promotes lengthy table conversations between parties and friends. The music was subtle enough to add to the ambiance and the staff was friendly and accommodating.

We started our dinner with a hearty Tomato Celery soup. It was served with a strip of bacon and a piece of bread. The bacon’s purpose is to amplify the richness of the soup, which is made all the more wonderful by the infused celery. Tomato soups tend to be very plain, but this tomato soup was an exemption to the general rule (and this is coming from a non-tomato soup fan, too!).

We were then given two sets of fried calamari with two different dips. One was a pomodoro dip, which tickled my adventure for taste. It has the right blend of salty and sour mixed with tidbits of tomato chunks, while the other dip, the garlic aioli, has a more tangy taste. Both dips complement the dishes that they accompany, though. By this time, I was already certain about the sense of balance incorporated in the dishes at Borgo Cafe. Everything works well together!

Finally, we were served a huge serving of Octopus and Mango Salad. It mixed grilled octopus, salmon and slices of ripe mango, plus a whole lot of healthy greens, together. The salad is so filling that I thought eating another meal might shut down my entire system. I asked Ryan if these meals are recommended for active lifestyle folks (such as himself, and he stated that it is actually an awesome selection as a recovery meal after an intense workout.

Not long after the end of the appetizers, several dishes came out of the kitchen and onto our tables. We started our main course with one of Borgo Cafe’s bestsellers, the Butcher Steak. The steak is tender and flavorful and is served with a side of mashed potatoes. The potato is well-prepared and served without chunks or disproportioned bits. The steak sauce is a wonderful option to add to the steak, as well (I say ‘add’ because I loved the steak without any sauce, but loved it even more when sauce was applied).

My favorite dish of the night would be the Savory Garlic Anchovy Steak, Squid Ink Risotto. The combination of the meat and squid ink risotto is inspiring. At first, I was really hesitant since squid ink tends to have an aftertaste that I’m not very fond of. However, since the dish looked very appealing, I tasted it and fell in love with it instantly.

The risotto isn’t as powerful as I expected, which is a good thing. The chimichurri adds a twist to the taste when combined with both the steak and risotto. When you look at it, the dish really has so many elements incorporated to it. However, I believed it is carefully formulated as strong contrasting flavors tend to fight one over the other. In the case of this dish, it didn’t. In my opinion, it is perfectly harmonious.

After the bountiful main course, our party was then treated to a final round of food to culminate our wonderful dinner experience. We were served with an excellently presented and intensely appealing chocolate lava cake with sea salt and vanilla ice cream. The way it looked captured my curiosity. I couldn’t wait to taste is as I was sure it would be as good as it looked (considering the consistency of awesome dishes that came out of Borgo Cafe’s magical kitchen the whole night).

The one thing I look forward to when it comes to lava cakes is the first slice. I love seeing hot chocolate flow out of the cake and into the dish. The first bite of this is equally fulfilling as the right amount of moist and flavour will greet you. The sea salt adds a twist to the sweet chocolate-y flavour, too. Suffice to say, this dish does not disappoint.

Dessert was culminated with a strawberry cheesecake. It wasn’t like any cheesecake that I had tasted thus far, and ‘new’ is always good for me. This cheesecake is like a cheesecake meets crème brulee kind of thing, and I really loved it. The generous serving of strawberries makes the experience even more wonderful as opposed to the typical strawberry cheesecake that comes with a piece of strawberry. This lovely creation puts shame to the typical strawberry cheesecake and is a tough one to beat!

Me and my friends enjoyed our stay at Borgo Cafe and would love to find ourselves deep in conversation again within this awesome joint while indulging in its awesome food sometime soon. The restaurant stays true to its promise of value for money as the prices are very reasonable (if not really affordable) in exchange for the top quality of food that Borgo Cafe shares with everyone. Thank you, Borgo Cafe, for making us feel at home. You made our hearts and tummies happier. This is definitely a must-visit restaurant down South!

 

 

Borgo Cafe

 

312 Aguirre Avenue, Phase III, BF Homes, Paranaque City 1720

borgocafe@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/borgocafe

Twitter/Instagram: @BorgoCafe

 

 

Borgo Cafe: Where “Value for Money” is a Promise Well Kept