Café Enye: Spanish haven in Eastwood, Quezon City [review]

Café Enye is the latest restaurant in Eastwood City, openings its cozy yet undeniably artistic dining area to the public on January 2016.

The name “Café Enye” comes from the letter Ñ, an accentuated version of the letter N that introduced into the Spanish language in the eighteenth century.

Getting to Café Enye is easy – just look for Security Bank or Excelsior Condominium on Waze or Google Maps and it will take you right into the restaurant’s doorstep.

From outside, the restaurant blends into the cold, white walls of Excelsior Condominium in Eastwood City, but step inside and you will immediately be transported into a different world.

Art pieces by Alexis Ventura and Akane Watanabe accentuate its brick-and-wood interiors. Comfortable couches invite the weary to relax, while the sight of its open kitchen tempts the hungry to experience whatever magic the cooks have to offer.

The wizards behind Café Enye’s various creations? Chef RJ Ungco and Chef Cris Dyutco, who takes a modern yet undeniably local twist on the best of Spanish cuisine from all over the world – Morocco, Argentina, Central America, and the Philippines.

You do not have to visit those places to experience their best dishes though. Thankfully, you need not go beyond Eastwood, Libis, Quezon City to try something familiar yet excitingly new.

An average meal at Café Enye will set you back by around Php 350, not including drinks. The main dishes come sides, usually rice, french fries, or mashed potatoes.

They are supposed to be good for one person, but the portions are good enough for sharing, so we suggest you bring a friend along!

If it’s your first time and you want a safe order, we highly recommend the following:

• Appetizer: Enye Callos Buns (Php 135)
• Main dish: Enye Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables (Php 490)
• Dessert: Creme Catalan (Php 185)

Let’s talk about these dishes a little more in detail.

Appetizer: Enye Callos Buns

This dish reminds us of toasted Chinese pork buns – the sweet outer layer is toasted to perfection while the inside remains soft and chewy. The filling is made up of Enye’s slow cooked beef callos (more on this later).

If there’s one thing that you absolutely must try at Café Enye it is this.

Main Dish: Enye Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables

Café Enye’s roasted chicken is marinated for 24 hours in garlic, herbs, and orange, then slow roasted to perfection.

This was the last dish that we tried, so by that time we were already full and not to keen on trying another dish – a roasted chicken dish at that.

Roast chicken is sold almost everywhere in the country, so what could possibly be different with this one?

Of course, we just had to try everything, you know, for the sake of doing a proper review and the future of our human race.

So we dug in boy were we pleasantly surprised. We hope you feel the same, too.

If chicken is not your thing though, we found the Lechon Carbonara to be almost equally impressive.

Again, this is another familiar dish – a dash of your classic carbonara cooked to perfect, except they added home made Mojo Chicharrones – or roast pork to the English speakers among us.

If you are craving for beef you can try the Callos Ala Casa – stewed tripe slow-cooked for six hours, served with potatoes, olives, and chorizo topped with Mojo Chicharrones (yes, the same stuff they used in the carbonara).

Snack: Burgerrizo

For snack, we got to try the Burgerizzo, which is 200 grams of beef and chorizo patty with cheese, Lawin slaw (coleslaw), and topped with friend egg, sunny side up.

The menu lists the Burgerizzo as crowd favorite, and we can appreciate why. It is an interesting combo and a very filling snack.

Drinks: Ice-blended Calamansi-Cucumber

For a refreshing drink that’s a little different from the norm, try the ice-blended calamansi-cucumber. Very refreshing!

Dessert: Creme Catalan

Café Enye’s Creme Catalan is your classic vanilla custard done really well. The top is glazed with caramelized sugar and paired with a shot of artisan espresso.

Going through the Creme Catalan is an experience in itself.

You scoop a small portion of the custard, playing with its smooth, velvety sweetness in your mouth before finally washing it down with espresso.

Ahhhh, so good.

My parents are from Zamboanga. There we have this expression in Chavacano that perfectly describes the food at Café Enye: Sabroso!

Café Enye Eastwood, Libis Quezon City Photo Gallery

Café Enye interview with Chef RJ Ungco