Last week, my wife took me to Caffe Dolce, an inspired vegetarian restaurant along Banawe Street in Quezon City. Located on the second floor of the building at 848 Banawe Street corner Linaw Street (the building’s name escapes me, but there are restaurants selling burgers and cheesy rice meals on the ground floor), Caffe Dolce is impeccably designed, delicately furnished, and elegantly inspired. The restaurant serves vegan-friendly Asian-Western fusion cuisine that will have health-conscious diners returning over and over… especially if you’re female.
That’s right, female.
Are you familiar with Etude House, the Korean cosmetics maker? If someone decided to make an Etude House restaurant, Caffe Dolce would be it. It’s pretty. It’s oh so pretty. The flowered wallpaper. The faux garden. The waterfall glass pane. The pinks and oranges. The clear chairs (from Dimensione, I heard). The smiling staff at the counter, and the pretty, can’t-wait-to-eat-it pastries. The free WIFI. It’s the perfect watering hole for women.
Yet the food appeals to me, a meat-and-potatoes guy. And this is ironic because Caffe Dolce doesn’t serve meat.
That’s right, it’s meatless.
The lamb? The chicken? The pork? The beef? All items on their menu are veggie meat. But oooooh they’re good. And not just good, they’re presented just as prettily as the restaurant. Caths ordered an eggplant with dragon fruit (almost typed dragonfly, oops!) sauce, and it was different and delicious. I had this incredible ice cream cake that had bread around it and cream in the center and fruits all around…
It was pretty.
And it was delicious.
They had a fruity iced tea that was ridiculously refreshing.
They had a whole bunch of chocolate cakes I wanted to try. And “lamb” dishes. And “fish” dishes. And pastas.
It’s a mouthwatering menu. Every dish looked good. Burgers and patties are all house-made and are 100% veg. Presentations are lovely. The staff was extremely friendly, like people out of Coffee House, a Korean romantic comedy that aired on TV a few years back. We could totally produce a TV show around these kids.
Wifi, baby. Wifi. And a smoking area outside.
Prices were okay. You’re not paying for McDonald’s here, folks; you’re also not getting the run-of-the-mill food types that people normally eat, so it’s a nice place to try something different.
If I had to recommend a restaurant for folks wanting to try out vegetarian cuisine, I’d recommend they go to Caffe Dolce, because it serves good food. And it’s pretty. Oh so pretty. Guys, guard those man-cards and take your girls on a date there. You’ll enjoy it. And even if you don’t, I’ll bet your girl will.
Caffe Dolce | 848 Banawe Street corner Linaw Street | 11am-11pm | Web | Cash only
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