When in Manila and panicking as to where to bring your date for dinner (or even for lunch or brunch!), I suggest that you head on over to Cafe 1771 in El Pueblo, Pasig City for a truly enjoyable dining experience with good food and a comfortable setting.
Upon entering Cafe 1771, I was immediately drawn to the incredibly cute color scheme. In fact, for a good five minutes or so that’s all I was talking about. I took note of the baby blue walls, white accents, pink paisley chairs and all the other trinkets that were used to decorate the place. For the private rooms, you’d see shelves of books against beige walls accented by teal curtains. If I could, I’d have whoever designed the place to fix up my room!
After being seated, my friends and I were given popcorn to snack on while waiting for our to food to arrive. Within 10 minutes or so, our food was being served, here’s what we had:
Tomato- Cheese Fondue (P950). Gruyere cheese fondue flavored with tomatoes. I realize that the fondue is a bit pricey, but trust me, if you like cheese, it’ll be worth it. You simply dip the bread bite into the creamy mixture, take a bite and boom! Explosion of gruyere cheese in your mouth. My friend, Jude, could not stop eating this! In fact, he pretty much gobbled up the whole basket of bread himself.
Fried Squash Flowers (P280). Stuffed with anchovy and kesong puti and deep- fried. I’m not a fan of vegetables, so the mere fact I had 3 pieces of this should be testament enough that this was good. I didn’t really like the anchovy though as it was too salty for my liking, but a bite without it was simply delicious!
Holy Cow Pizza (P300). White cheese, mozzarella, arugula with extra virgin olive oil. As simple as the toppings were, this was delicious! You could taste each and every single ingredient, something I appreciate as opposed to eating pizzas whose toppings are all over the place and just heap upon each other.
Pasta Chorizo (390). Spaghetti tossed in chorizo sauce reduction and parmesan cheese.
Lacquered Salmon (P680). Grilled salmon steak with soy-sauce honey reduction, smashed potatoes with parmesan. My friends and I agreed that this was hands down delicious! The only thing I didn’t like about this dish though were the potatoes! Smashed potatoes? I think not! I couldn’t get my knife to go through! Apparently the potatoes were pan- grilled. When I’d tap my knife upon it I’d literally hear, “Thud! Thud! Thud!”. The potatoes were THAT hard, but thank goodness the salmon more than made up for it!
Spanish Paprika Chicken (P460). Grilled chicken breast rubbed with pimenton, turmeric, and olive oil. Served with tomato rice.
Lime Butter Prawns (P660). Grilled headless prawns with lime-butter sauce; grilled brocolli and risotto cake. THIS WAS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE DISH FOR THE NIGHT!!! Anything with lime, butter and prawns gets me anytime, so this. THIS, ladies and gentlemen was just awesomeness on a plate. The prawns were cooked perfectly, they weren’t overcooked thus it was easy to bite into, the lime butter was silky and had a tangy kick to it! The risotto cake was delicious! I attacked the poor dish like no one’s business. If I didn’t love my friends as much as I do, I wouldn’t have bothered sharing this. Yeah, it’s that good.
Rose Noir (P250). Layered dark chocolate ganache, meringue, hazel nut praline topped with chocolate glaze. Anyone who loves Fererro Rocher, will definitely love this as it is Ferrero in cake form, complete with the crunch and oozy hazelnut filling! Like the lime butter prawns, this was just… No words could do this dessert justice.
Espresso Cheesecake (P250). A serious cheesecake marbled with real espresso flavor.
Strawberry Cheesecake (P220). A no-bake cheesecake with fresh strawberries, strawberry macarons and lemon sponge bisquit. I appreciate that this made use of FRESH strawberries as opposed to canned strawberries as alot of establishments do. After all, we’re paying P220, it’s only fair that we get our money’s worth, right? Also, I loved the lemon sponge bisquit at the bottom of the cheesecake, it added a tangy kick to the dish.
Coffee Pie (P185). Chateau’s 1771 signature dessert; coffee filling on chocolate- cashew crust, cream topping and toffee sauce. This was good, but again, I say go for the Rose Noir! Good gracious, to die for!
I don’t know if you guys can see it, but look at our plates, take note as to how clean they are. WE ATE EVERYTHING. I know that people may say that the dish prices are a bit too expensive, but this is a restaurant that I am personally vouching for as you get what you pay for. The quality of the food was superb, the ambiance of the restaurant was relaxing and the service was terrific! Cafe 1771 is definitely a restaurant that I’ll be going to whenever I can. So, when in Manila and panicking as to where to bring your date for dinner (or even for lunch or brunch!), I suggest that you head on over to Cafe 1771 in El Pueblo, Pasig City for a truly enjoyable dining experience with good food and a comfortable setting.
Cafe 1771
El Pueblo, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center
631- 7340
Mondays to Saturdays: 7:00am to 10:00 pm
Sundays: 7:00 am to 3:00 pm
Cafe 1771: Comfy Fine Dining In Pasig City
