A Memorable Dinner at Cafe 1771

After months of planning and waiting for just the right time to officially kick off The Burp Society, we finally did it at Cafe 1771, a very posh cafe in El Pueblo. It was one night of almost unadulterated fun with our newfound foodie friends over scrumptious food at a gorgeously designed restaurant.

Photos taken from their Facebook page.

It was meant to be. The Chateau Group invited us and The Burp Society (TBS) over for dinner and drinks at WineBar 1771 to introduce us to what they have to offer. With my growing love for wine, I was excited, plus the fact that it’s going to be TBS’ very first meet-up. However, since the date we chose was very close to the holidays, only the private room in Cafe 1771’s The Lounge was available. Still, our anticipation never wavered. Besides, we’ve heard only raves about the restaurant from fellow food bloggers.

Cafe 1771 is a member of the Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants that includes Chateau 1771 in Greenbelt 5, Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt 3 and Serendra, and Sidebar in El Pueblo. I’ve heard about their restaurant concepts before, but it was my first time to finally dine in one of them. It was a wonderful introduction and I can’t wait to go back.

We had a huge spread of deliciously unique food from Cafe 1771 that night, so I’ll be writing about the meet-up in a separate post. But, more details would be on The Burp Society’s site.

Cafe 1771 is located in El Pueblo along ADB Avenue in Ortigas. It’s easy to find them because of the Colonial-themed facade that’s painted white, with tints of black on their windows.

At night, the restaurant looks like a newly-constructed Colonial house, with almost an eery feel that I was tempted to use vignette effects on the photos I took. 😀

As soon as you enter, you’ll immediately feel welcomed by everyone at Cafe 1771. The interiors made me wish I can take photos with my eyes. Everywhere you look, you’ll find something strikingly vibrant and beautiful. Boy, we were all camera-crazy that night! Even the restrooms were eloquently designed. No, I didn’t take a photo inside, but it was only because I left my phone and camera at the table. 😀

 

Cafe 1771 The Whimsy and The Lounge

The restaurant is divided into two areas – The Whimsy and The Lounge – each offering a dining experience unique from the other. WineBar 1771 is located on the third floor.

For diners who are looking for a more casual breakfast, lunch or dinner, there’s The Whimsy. It’s the area that you see first as soon as you enter Cafe 1771.

It’s brightly lit and as you look around, you’ll agree that the name was fancifully appropriate. Shades of pink and blue are on chairs and the walls, playfully setting the mood to a fun meal.

The Lounge is the area they especially dedicate to Chateau patrons who are looking for a more private or intimate meal.

The walls of The Lounge are filled with shades of teal, brown, red, brown and green.

The shelves are occupied by mostly hardbound books and words ‘believe’ and ‘love’.

I wanted to know more about the reason behind those two words scattered on the shelves, but I had a more important task at hand – to enjoy the food and the company! 😉

 

Cafe 1771 Function Rooms

The restaurant is the perfect place for celebrations or even business meetings. They can accommodate groups of 6, 12, 24, 50 or even 100. Ask one of their wait staff or call 631-7340 for your reservations.

They were able to fit us comfortably in the private area in The Lounge. The acoustics are perfect for meetings as everyone at our table heard me quite well even when I was at the far side of the table.

 

The Menu and The Food

Cafe 1771’s menu is filled with comfort food after comfort food. As you read through the list, you’d be left somewhat baffled as everything sounds delicious. They offer a wide variety of well thought out dishes: from stews and pasta, to delectable snacks and mouth-watering desserts. Below are their menus. Click to zoom in.

 

MENU: Beverages | Coffee Concoctions | Pastries

You might be taken aback by the prices, but take note that they’re very generous with the servings, so you can share each dish with a friend or two, depending on your appetite. With everything we had that night, I highly recommend Cafe 1771 for celebrations such as anniversaries or birthdays, and even for bonding times with friends or someone special. 😉

Ken was super late, so we only got to take a full ‘class’ picture while waiting for the desserts.

The Burp Society was accommodated in the private dining area of The Lounge. We started off with drinks and most of us picked their freshly brewed house iced tea (Php 130). We were also served popcorn while we wait for our food, which didn’t really take long.

We started our dinner with Fried Squash Flowers (Php 280). They’re stuffed with anchovy and kesong puti, then deep-fried. This was most definitely an appetizing dish!

Because it was deep-fried, you might find it slightly oily, which I didn’t really mind since I was enjoying every bite of it.

Next dish was Oyster Rockefeller (Php 550, 8 pieces). I’ve had this from different restaurants, and I must say that Cafe 1771’s makes it to the top of my favorites. They’re baked Aklan oysters topped with creamy spinach, bacon (!!!) and cheese.

I think I ate like 4-5 of these that night ’cause they were really good. I pity one of the ka-Burps who couldn’t eat this because of his allergies. (Yes, I’m talking about you, Kim!) Their Oyster Rockefeller was definitely one of the highlights of our dinner. 🙂

I was really looking forward to trying Cafe 1771’s Salbacho Pizza (Php 450). It’s homemade thin crust pizza topped with Napolitaine sauce, salami, bacon, chorizo, mozzarella and basil.

Since Ken makes a killer thin crust pizza, I had high expectations. Well, their Salbacho Pizza didn’t disappoint. It was flavorful and had that nice crisp to it. It’s one of the winning dishes, as voted by the whole group.

Cafe 1771’s Organic Chicken in Potato Crust (Php 560) is an oxymoron at its best. It’s slowly baked then covered with cracked potato chips. I had a bite of the chicken while it was still warm, and a few minutes after when it was a li’l cold. Both times, it was juicy and very tasty.

Next up is the Orange Pork Spareribs (Php 450). It’s stewed in a long-simmered sauce made of soy sauce, orange juice, garlic and ginger. Imagine the combination of flavors of these ingredients! Salty, spicy and citrusy.

The pork spareribs were also very succulent. I’ll definitely come back to Cafe 1771 for this and let our nanay taste it. It reminded me so much of Humba from Cebu.

Aside from the Cafe 1771 dishes that were served that night, they also brought out a couple of dishes from WineBar 1771. First was the Spicy Buffalo Wings with Bleu Cheese dip (Php 380). Everyone loved them!

Comparing this with Ken’s buffalo wings, WineBar 1771’s wings were more on the sweet side. I was hoping for a bit more spiciness, but thankfully, the bleu cheese dip was there to appease me. 🙂

Okay, here’s the killer (no pun intended, promise): WineBar Burger (Php 495) made with 200g Certified Angus beef patty, brioche bun, then served with Gruyere cheese, lettuce, roasted Baguio tomato, grilled onions, homemade dill pickle, French fries and a side of bone marrow.

Yes, your eyes are not tricking you. That’s a slab of bone with marrow in it and it’s meant to be a condiment to an already guilty pleasure. 😉

I didn’t get to taste this because I was busy entertaining the group 😀 , but there were a couple of ka-Burps who said it was a bit salty. We all agreed though that since it was on WineBar 1771’s menu, it was okay since it’s meant to be paired with wine and other spirits. I swear to come back to have a taste of this. Plus, I want to try Cafe 1771’s famous Spaghetti with Sardines and Fried Capers.

By the way, we just want to commend Charles, our main server that night. He’s been with the restaurant for only 5 months, but we were amazed by how well he knows every dish. One of the TBS members is a culinary school graduate (Potchi) and he playfully asked Charles a question that he quickly answered confidently and correctly. Kudos to him and the management, of course.

 

Cafe 1771 Desserts and Pastries

Everyone was already full when we learned that desserts are coming out. Having read a couple of blogs about Cafe 1771, I knew we’re in for a treat!

First up is their Chocolate Opera Cake (Php 220). It’s made with four (4) layers of almond sponge cake soaked in coffee syrup, then layered with chocolate ganache and coffee buttercream. It’s covered with chocolate glaze and topped with pure dark chocolate. ‘Nuff said! 😀

This somehow reminds me of The Ultimate by Blue Toque. The flavors are quite different though.

The group’s top two favorite desserts include the Rose Noire (Php 250 – pictured below, left) that’s made with hazelnut meringue and cream, crispy pastry bits, dark chocolate mousse and chocolate mirror glaze. How can you go wrong with such a lovely dessert?! Sooo good!

The other favorite was the Amandelle (Php 300 – pictured on the right) – made with almond Dacquoise, milk chocolate mousse, caramelized apricot, crispy nougatine and orange creme brulee. The varying textures and flavors were almost orgasmic! 😉

The Valrhona Chocolate Caramel Mousse Cake (Php 250) was quite luscious too.

Last, but definitely not the least were these bite-sized yummy macarons (Php 40 each). I can see myself eating them like chips. 😀 They’re that good! The sweetness was just right. I only got to try three flavors, and they were equally delightful.

Cafe 1771 surely serves distinctly decadent desserts that would satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth or fondness for chocolates. I think I can even return to the resto just for the desserts alone! 🙂

They sell to-go pastries at The Whimsy, by the way. So, you can buy some as pasalubong such as cookies, their pastry bundles with macarons, etc.

Cafe 1771 also serves breakfast. Among the ones I want to try are their Eggs Benedict and Juevos Rancheros! For a more traditional breakfast spread, they also have waffles with herbed ricotta cheese (did I say traditional?!) and Scrambled Eggs with Schublig Sausage.

At night, you can head over to WineBar 1771 for a quick nightcap. They serve wines by the bottle, tap and carafe, but I see many fine wines on their by-the-bottle list. So, unless you can finish off one bottle by yourself (hey! Drink moderately! 😀 ), bring a friend or two to enjoy their tasty wine selections.

WineBar 1771 Menu: Oysters & Steaks | Burgers, Pizza & Pasta | Fish, Cheese & Fried | Nibbles

WineBar 1771 Wine Lists: Whites | Reds | Reds 2 | By the carafe, Sparkling & Rose

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The Burp Society‘s first meet-up was a success! Everyone enjoyed the food and we’re really glad to see them having fun too. Thank you so much, Cafe 1771 and Chateau Group for inviting us. It’s truly one memorable dinner. 🙂

Stay tuned for our blog post about the meet-up here and on The Burp Society’s blog.

 

Cafe 1771

• El Pueblo Real De Manila J. Vargas cor. ADB Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City
• Operating Hours: Monday to Sunday, 7am to 11pm
• Contact #: (02) 631-7340
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cafe1771
• Twitter: @Cafe1771