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Cafe Med – Flavors of the Sun

Posted on 26 December 2008 by Blogie in Restaurant  |  1875 views, 4 today

It had been several times that I’d passed by this restaurant by myself, so I’d never walked in before now — I loathe dining alone because, for me, eating out is a social activity. So on Christmas Day, I resolved to finally give it a try and brought along two blogger friends to The Cafe Mediterranean for dinner. I had heard about Cafe Med from friends in Manila, and they were unanimous in their praise.

As I’ve mentioned several times on this blog, I absolutely love Mediterranean cuisine in all its manifestations (Greek, Persian, Indian, Turkish…). Cafe Med is decidedly Greek, judging by the items on their menu and their predominantly cobalt-hued décor. Still, they do have kebabs, which I think are of a more Persian persuasion.

Ria, who’s been there several times already, had Lamb Stew (₱150+), while Winston ordered the Pollo Rosmarino (₱196). Ever a fan of Greek aubergine dishes, my large plate was Cafe Med’s well-known Moussaka with Couscous (₱240+). If couscous doesn’t suit your palate (but it sure does mine!), you can have buttered rice instead.

Couscous (or kuskus), hummus, garlic sauce — these are the Mediterranean staples that I crave! Happily, Cafe Med has them in abundance and in good quality. Their couscous is subtle in taste and the grains don’t stick together, but aren’t too dry either. It’s going to keep me coming back for sure.

The Moussaka lived up to expectation as well. I forgot to ask which meat they use for this dish, beef or lamb, but the overall taste of the ground meat, eggplant and white cream was heavenly. Of course, I spiced it alternately with Cafe Med’s generous garlic sauce and with red hot über-spicy chilli sauce. But even without either condiment, the Moussaka was a winner.

Too bad, though, that the vegetable siding was string beans, or was it Baguio beans? I don’t like those. But personal preferences aside, the veggies were prepared just fine. Winston’s plate had cucumbers… wish I had those instead.

Ria’s lamb was so-so. The flavor’s OK, but the consistency of the meat left something more to be desired. At least it wasn’t gamey. The potatoes, however, were overcooked to the point that they crumbled and became oddly sandy in the mouth.

I didn’t try Winston’s chicken dish, but he said it was good.

More pluses for Cafe Med: They provide excellent garlic sauce and chilli sauce on the house (but you can also buy them for take out). The service was good and the people there were courteous and prompt. I’d heard from someone on a mailing list that the staff of Cafe Med in Davao were not well-trained, but that didn’t appear to be so when we were there last 25 December. The place, while small, is well-kept and the table settings are comfortable.

Cafe Med has several branches (the one in Davao is the newest so far):

• Concourse Level, PowerPlant Mall, Rockwell [(2)756-5010; 898-1301]
• 2nd Level, The Podium, Ortigas Center [(2)631-7297]
• G/F Entertainment Center, Mall of Asia [(2)556-0650]
• 4th Level, Movieworld, Robinson’s Galleria [(2)914-1303]
• G/F Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center [(2)894-4032]
• 2/F Corte de las Palmas, Alabang Town Center [(2)850-1690]
• Boracay Beach Club, Station 1 [(36)288-6770]

In Davao City, The Cafe Mediterranean is located at the Chimes complex, Gov. Sales St. Tel.: 225-0975. They’re open daily from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Possibly related posts:

1. Matt on cooking tsatziki
2. Café Andessa — home-cooked goodness!
3. Banana Leaf Asian Café
4. Claude’s Le Café de Ville
5. Turquoise Turkish Restaurant

Tags: Greek, hummus, Mediterranean, moussaka