I had paid Caviar Restaurant & Champagne Bar a visit a month ago, enjoying a marvelous dinner and giving the chef a big hug in sheer joy of finding my new favorite fine dining restaurant in Alabang, I promised myself that I'd be back soon to try their Executive Lunch and Sunday Brunch. The Sunday Brunch was a bit tough, being that it's usually just me and good ol' Jericho going out and the brunch requires at least four people to enjoy the family style meal.
Nevertheless, somebody must've heard my pleas as our Bellevue staycation included a special Sunday brunch with the rest of my foodie fambam at Caviar. So yeah, I was all giddy Saturday night, dreaming of all the good food we'd be in for the next day. Yey!
Caviar's wine cellar that separates the lounge area from the rest of the restaurant never ceases to astound me. Bastiaan, one of the owners and the general manager, is also a sommelier, and each bottle of wine needs to pass his high standards before being served to customers.
Walking into the restaurant, I was greeted by a smiling Bastiaan and a welcome Mimosa - sparkling wine with orange juice. Cheers to a beautiful start to our Sunday!
Meet our very accommodating hosts - Bastiaan and Frank van der Walle. Instead of preparing the usual Sunday brunch (P790 per person, minimum of 4 guests), they put together something special for everyone, which we were all excited to try.
Brunch started with a bread basket of phyllo flatbread, a nice sourdough, and brown bread rolls, and rich, creamy butter.
While we were tucking into all the bread, our waitstaff was busy preparing our next dish, tableside. Well, kind of tableside. We were surrounding the table they were making it on. Haha! My foodie fambam and I took up half of the restaurant that morning.
We each had Granola in Martinis with Fresh Fruit made with rolled oats and a lovely, tart Greek yogurt, with the sweet fruit and marmalade cutting through the sharp flavor.
Bastiaan brought out their newly imported lobster from Nova Scotia, still wiggling and trying to snap its claws at us. They import these crustaceans fresh every now and then, but I hear they go fast, so better to call up Caviar and reserve one in advance if you have a special dinner planned.
The restaurant may look really formal, and you do need to dress up even just a little bit for when you have dinner here, but that doesn't mean the brothers can't sprinkle a bit of their humor about where they do business. Aside from the cattle crossing sign outside, I had a good chuckle at their wet floor sign, too.
After the granola came plates of Caviar House Salad with smoked tomatoes, double-smoked bacon, three kinds of Italian sausages, and a poached egg with Hollandaise sauce. This was simple, fresh, and rustic, using the most basic ingredients that had been put together with a lot of care and a lot of love. The portions were just right, with just enough room for dessert and a coffee, or so I thought.
Imagine my surprise when a Charcuterie Board came out! All kinds of smoked goodies were on display, as well as vegetable sticks with a bleu cheese dip. This was definitely my favorite part of brunch!
For dessert, Frank whipped up Bread Pudding and Dutch Crepe with Cherry Sauce and their housemade vanilla ice cream, with a choice of Italian coffee or French tea. Everything had a perfect balance of sweet and slightly sour from the cherries, and was such a colorful way way to finish off our meal. Not to mention, everything was pretty dang good, too. Pity there was no chocolate involved, but that's just me.
I don't usually post our class pictures, but this was such a fun morning, I figured, what the hell. Check out The Pickiest Eater, Richie Zamora,, sliding onto Bastiaan's lap. The kids had a blast, and Bastiaan even whipped out the chocolate shakes for them. Who would've thought Caviar could be so kid-friendly on Sundays?
When mucking around Alabang, plan a Sunday brunch with the family at Caviar! The place and the prices aren't as intimidating as the place looks, and for P790 per person (minimum of four people), it's bang for your buck and a nice bonding experience to think back on after a while. As for me, I promised myself to go back to try Caviar's Executive Lunch, and maybe even that plump Nova Scotian crustacean. I see lots and lots of lemon butter and garlic in that lobster's future.
Just mucking around Manila,
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Caviar Restaurant & Champagne Bar
+63 2 552 7930
+633 917 868 3080
Unit A-206, Westgate Centre,
Alabang, Muntinlupa
Open Daily: 9am - 2pm; 5pm - 10pm
