The House I Haunt
I've been going to Cafe Ysabel for about 15 years. In fact, my very first real date was at Cafe Ysabel.
It's located at P. Guevarra St. San Juan, just off Wilson, in a quaint ancestral house complete with a pretty pond at the garden. Inside the restaurant are dark wooden tables and chairs, antique wall lamps, and old paintings. Cafe Ysabel has wall frescoes made by a church painter, and I have spent quite an amount of time marvelling at the detail. I wish they took care of their walls a bit more though, as the cigarette smoke, food fumes, and improper cleaning methods (I am guessing) has caused the work to deteriorate noticeably.
The house is actually 2 restaurants - Gino's (fine dining), and Cafe Ysabel (for the riffraff like us hahah). I believe the food is the same though, but am not sure, as I haven't sat at Gino's in the last 5 years.
They serve Spanish, Filipino, and Continental Food, a whole bunch of different coffee mixes, and desserts.
IMO Cafe Ysabel serves one of the best free appetizers - hot foccacia bread, a bit crisp on the outside but warm and soft inside; which you dip in a sundried tomato / balsamic vinegar / chili / olive oil mix. We've actually asked for thirds of this, to the horror of my aching gallbladder.
I am not too fond of their cakes and crepes, except the Sugarfree Triple Chocolate Velvet Cake - a lifesaver when I am on a diet and need my sweet tooth fix - but the rest of their desserts are pretty promising - especially their Creme Brulee, Chocolate Souffle' and Flourless Chocolate Cake (this you have to order, if only to see the caramelized sugar cotton-candy puff over the plate). The Coffee Jelly is pretty good too.
A rant though: Cafe Ysabel has a cooking school, and whenever the students are at the restaurant after classes they're really rowdy and noisy, drinking their beers and yelling a lot. This sometimes makes me feel like I am in Dencio's or some other beer dive, and although the waiter apologizes (I guess he sees my scowl), I hate those nosy cookposers. (I suspect that more than half of them are rich-kid kickouts who couldn't enter a normal college).
I love one of the waiters, he always makes me feel welcome when I step in, knows enough to warn me when there are noisy kids, knows how I like my food cooked, and even gives me a ciggie when I forget my pack.
They can prepare special meals for groups, and I find this very helpful, especially when I am paying and dont want to be crippled by some renegade pig who orders every expensive item on the menu. I ask them to prepare a fixed menu, with 2 main courses to select from.
I like:
Their house wines aren't bad, but I'm really a Coke or Sarsi girl.
End your meal with coffee, they've got over 50 mixes to choose from. I like the Cafe Montezuma, which has a bit of Tia Maria Liquor in it.
It's located at P. Guevarra St. San Juan, just off Wilson, in a quaint ancestral house complete with a pretty pond at the garden. Inside the restaurant are dark wooden tables and chairs, antique wall lamps, and old paintings. Cafe Ysabel has wall frescoes made by a church painter, and I have spent quite an amount of time marvelling at the detail. I wish they took care of their walls a bit more though, as the cigarette smoke, food fumes, and improper cleaning methods (I am guessing) has caused the work to deteriorate noticeably.
The house is actually 2 restaurants - Gino's (fine dining), and Cafe Ysabel (for the riffraff like us hahah). I believe the food is the same though, but am not sure, as I haven't sat at Gino's in the last 5 years.
They serve Spanish, Filipino, and Continental Food, a whole bunch of different coffee mixes, and desserts.
IMO Cafe Ysabel serves one of the best free appetizers - hot foccacia bread, a bit crisp on the outside but warm and soft inside; which you dip in a sundried tomato / balsamic vinegar / chili / olive oil mix. We've actually asked for thirds of this, to the horror of my aching gallbladder.
I am not too fond of their cakes and crepes, except the Sugarfree Triple Chocolate Velvet Cake - a lifesaver when I am on a diet and need my sweet tooth fix - but the rest of their desserts are pretty promising - especially their Creme Brulee, Chocolate Souffle' and Flourless Chocolate Cake (this you have to order, if only to see the caramelized sugar cotton-candy puff over the plate). The Coffee Jelly is pretty good too.
A rant though: Cafe Ysabel has a cooking school, and whenever the students are at the restaurant after classes they're really rowdy and noisy, drinking their beers and yelling a lot. This sometimes makes me feel like I am in Dencio's or some other beer dive, and although the waiter apologizes (I guess he sees my scowl), I hate those nosy cookposers. (I suspect that more than half of them are rich-kid kickouts who couldn't enter a normal college).
I love one of the waiters, he always makes me feel welcome when I step in, knows enough to warn me when there are noisy kids, knows how I like my food cooked, and even gives me a ciggie when I forget my pack.
They can prepare special meals for groups, and I find this very helpful, especially when I am paying and dont want to be crippled by some renegade pig who orders every expensive item on the menu. I ask them to prepare a fixed menu, with 2 main courses to select from.
I like:
- Gambas - the shrimps are refreshingly crunchy, no soggy limp ones here
- Seabass in Hazelnut Butter and Mushroom Sauce
- Seabass with Vietnamese Butter Sauce
- Lapulapu in Cream Sauce with Capers
- Filetto a la Gino's - Steak topped with Duckliver, Truffle bits, and a Wine / Mushroom Gravy
- Green Salad with Anchovies, White Cheese and Grapes
- Caesar Salad - one of the best I have tried
- Pasta Angry Sauce - seafood, vodka, tomatoes
- Pasta with Gorgonzola and Blue Cheese
- Lamb Kebabs
- Lamb Shank in Dark Gravy
Their house wines aren't bad, but I'm really a Coke or Sarsi girl.
End your meal with coffee, they've got over 50 mixes to choose from. I like the Cafe Montezuma, which has a bit of Tia Maria Liquor in it.
This entry was posted
on 3/11/2005 at 3/11/2005 05:43:00 pm.
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