Whenever my friends and I wanna hang out, it's always at Town (Alabang Town Center). There, we'd usually meet for lunch and debate over where to eat. After say five minutes of talking, we'd end up either at the food court or a mid-range resto.
Eating lunch at the Cafe Mediterranean has always been on our minds. We'd pass by it all the time since it's on the way from where we'd meet up (open grounds near BreadTalk, Italiannis, and Powerbooks) to the food court. From the outside, it looks like a quaint place--not so crowded despite having lots of seating and a steady stream of customers. To be honest, it gives off a bit of a "tito and tita" vibe since most of the time, I'd notice a bunch of older-aged ladies and gents eating there. I guess it also has something to do with the cuisine. Mediterranean food doesn't really scream kid-friendly, don't you agree?
Anyway, when my friend and I decided to meet up for lunch one Saturday afternoon, we decided to give the Cafe Mediterranean a try. Trust me when I say that the decision to eat there was one of the best food-related decisions I've ever made.
We made our way into the restaurant asked for a table for two. Funny enough, we were led to a 6-top table instead. Don't ask me why. But hey, at least my friend and I had more space for our bags!
We decided to get an appetizer and two main courses for ourselves. Hummus seemed to be an obvious starter, so my friend and I agreed to get one order of that. My friend decided to get the Grilled Lamb Gyro (think shawarma but fancier), while I set myself up for a Shish Taouk (essentially a plate of Turkish-style grilled chicken with rice and a side of beans and eggplant). Once we made up our minds as to what to order, we called on the waiter.
The waiter who served us (gosh, I never got his name) was insanely accomodating. He poured us water even if we hadn't asked of it. Plus, he even told my friend and I to make room for dessert! We politely declined since we had plans for dessert st a other place, but we really appreciate the offer. Kudos to you, Sir!
Our hummus appetizer came to our table probably around 20 minutes after we ordered it. It was a bit of a wait (or maybe it just seemed longer since my friend and I were hungry), but damn was it worth it. The hummus was so thick and smooth. You can tell they don't skimp on the chickpeas. Plus, the bowl was packed with a good amount of garlic flavor. Our bowl also had a generous drizzle of olive oil on top, making it almost decadent and rich. Oh yeah, the pita bread it came with was pillowy-soft. My friend and I failed to ask if they made it in-house or outsourced it. Here's to hoping it's the former, yeah? Only downside to the hummus is there's too little of it in one serving! Wish they served an amount of hummus proportional to the size of the pita bread!
Roughly 10 minutes after we were served our appetizer, the waiter came back with our main courses. While I didn't get to try my friend's Lamb Gyro, I was assured that it was good. I was told that the meat was soft, and the whole thing paired well with the garlicky white and burning-hot sauce that came in bottles on the table.
As for my Shish Taouk, it was delicious! The chicken was grilled to perfection and fork-tender. You have the option of ordering it with a side of pita bread or rice. As a full-blooded Filipino, I opted for the rice--buttered rice to be exact. Even that was super delicious! The rice was fluffy, and would smell the butter every time I took a spoonful of the stuff. It came with two side, namely, a small serving of eggplant salad and some chickpeas. There was even a half and a quarter of a grilled green pepper and white onion on my plate, respectively. All in all, the sides were okay. I especially liked the onion though. Having a bit of slightly raw onion with every bite of rice and grilled meat was absolute heaven.
I would like to take a moment and talk about the huge bottle of white sauce and spicy sauce that was on our table. Fellas, if you're going to eat here, make sure to get something in the menu that you can slather these sauces with. Word of caution on the spicy sauce though. It packs heat, so tread lightly before consuming. That white sauce though? Yeah, you're gonna wanna take that bottle home. It's that good!
What about its serving size, you ask? Well, to put it simply, the Shish Taouk. was under the "Large Plates" section of their menu, and it didn't dissapoint.
Overall, I loved my experience in the Cafe Mediterranean. The food, service, and ambiance were so great that I've made my friends swear we'd come back the next time we're at Town. Keep up the good work, Cafe Mediterranean!
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