Cafe by the Ruins is located along Shuntug Road, in the middle of Baguio City. It is tucked between the larger establishments around the area. At first, you'd barely notice it if it were not for the small sign hanging from their gates.
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| Café by the Ruins |
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Looking at the cafe from the outside, it looks meek and humble--no sign whatsoever of their expensive menu.
I've first heard of Cafe by the Ruins from googling best restaurants to visit in Baguio. Many times, this cafe turned up on my searches. Many bloggers and foodies gave this restaurant glowing reviews. Although I've seen some saying less than positive reviews about the place, I still decided we should give it a try. And so we did.
When we arrived at the place, the servers--all dressed in clean refined uniforms greeted us. Although that should have served as warning already of the prices on their menu, I was too preoccupied with the environment. Tables and chairs were made of hard and probably expensive wood. There were a lot of platforms here and there separating a couple of tables. Evidently seen by its name, it was built on ruins. The place was clean, elegantly designed with "nature" as the theme and overall lovely.
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| Cafe by the Ruins' interior |
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| Cafe by the Ruins' interior |
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| Cafe by the Ruins' interior |
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| Cafe by the Ruins' counter |
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After the server gave us the menu, I eagerly browsed it looking for their breakfast selections and boy, they don't come cheap! Even Borgy agreed.
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| Cafe by the Ruins Menu |
We ended up ordering the Filipino Lonsilog priced at P340 each. The meal consists of their longganisang hubad (homemade marinated pork cubes), fried rice, and egg. All their breakfast selections include a fruit cup and a choice of Arabica Coffee or Black Tea.
The first to be served were the fruit cups. For our meal, a fruit cup consists of slices of watermelon, ripe mango, banana, avocado, papaya, and pineapple. All fruits were perfectly ripe and sweet, a good way to start breakfast.
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| Cafe by the Ruins Fruit Cup |
Next to be served were our coffee and tea. The tea was served with honey and a slice of lime. Borgy liked it because it has a certain zing to it and also, because he can control the sweetness.
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| Tea with Honey and Lime |
The Arabica coffee was served with milk and
"latik" as replacement for the sugar. It was nothing very special but the "latik" replacement was interesting to taste.
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| Arabica Coffee |
When our order arrived, I can't help but feel hopeful seeing the plating and presentation of the food. It looked so good! The dish includes fried rice, egg, and their special homemade marinated pork cubes.
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| Filipino Lonsilog |
When I tasted it, I can't help but feel disappointed. There was nothing really special about the dish. The pork cubes were bland; there was nothing special about the fried rice and; the egg could be better. I honestly wanted to like the dish because of the hefty price. Sadly, it did not have enough "oomph!" to justify it.
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| Extra Egg priced at P25 |
The cafe also sells pastries like pandesal, muffins, croissants, etc. You can order them to-go at the entrance of their cafe.
I honestly cannot say more about Cafe by the Ruins. Maybe it's because of wrong choice of food we've ordered, but I was terribly disappointed with the place.
The cafe really needs to up the ante when it comes to food and lower the prices. Maybe I'd go back someday; maybe not, if prices are still too high.
Cafe by the Ruins
Shuntug Road,
Baguio City, Philippines
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