Siena's Gathering Hall is one of few places in Antipolo City that offers catering services and events place. It has been in the business for ten years now and from that staying power and success sprung forth Café Siena, a little restaurant that serves downright delicious comfort food.
I am always on the lookout for homegrown restaurant here in Antipolo City to fuel my Antipolo Food Trip Blog Series. Yet, such endeavor is not a walk in the park because my knowledge is limited by the fact that I have been away from my hometown for more than a decade.
Thankfully I was introduced to Café Siena via a friend's invite, otherwise, I am certainly missing something awesome. This little nook certainly bagged the top spot on my Best Restaurants in Antipolo list by far.
I figured there is nothing surprising about it, really. Because in hindsight, they have been in the catering business for quite a while no, and a successful one at that. Needless to say, when it comes to food, Café Siena has a strong grip of what it is doing.
It was a Saturday afternoon when we visited Café Siena. People come and go but there was never a time that the place is empty with customers that I had a hard time capturing photo of the place without distracting its diners. I worked the hell out of an angle in order to capture the photo above, I tell you.
The place is decent enough to house big groups hankering for good comfort food known for Café Siena. It is peppered with quirky decors and some amazing Vespa which I was told was part of the owner's collection.
The menu is rather extensive with focus on the items which is popular on their catering menu. Plenty of which I really wanted to try, but I could only accommodate so much. Which gives me good reason to revisit.
There are set meals which are best bet for those who wants a viand and rice plus drinks in one go. There are also group meals which can be a perfect options for group of diners who wants to feast on perfect combinations of dishes available. For this particular visit, we opted on ala carte meal so as to play on variety.
First on the table was the Bagnet Pakbet (Php120/solo, Php275/ala carte) the best dish I have tried at Café Siena thus far. The savory vegetable dish is generously mixed with bagoong that lends a savory-sweet note to the dish. The vegetables were cooked perfectly - nothing is mushy, everything got some snap to the bite.
The crowning glory of this dish however was the generous chunks of bagnet sitting on top of the dish. Perfectly fried, it provides bliss in every bite.
In my eight years of blogging, there are only two restaurants which Pakbet dish I adore to the core. One is at Salo in BGC and the other one is here at Café Siena.
Famous in their catering services, I never wonder why the Roast Beef with Mushroom Gravy (Php165/solo. Php310/ala carte) made it to Café Siena's menu. The roast beef is tender it tears at the slightest flick of the fork. The gravy sauce adds deeper dimension in flavor.
There are two options for Kare-Kare (Php325); one is with bagnet and the other one is with beef. Since I rarely encounter bagnet incorporated in such dish, we opted for it and no single trace of regret ensued.
The meat is placed on top of the dish so as to avoid the possibility of losing its crisp texture. I am not sure if the same treatment is practiced if beef is the chosen meat. The flavor of the sauce leans on the sweeter side of the flavor profile but the nutty component wasn't overshadowed.
The mere mention of Peppered Fish Fillet (Php135/solo, Php260/ala carte) did not excite me at all but being one of their best sellers, I let my guard down and decided to dive in. Thankfully so, since this dish is by far one of the best fish dish I have ever tried.
It is basically a dory fish fillet laden with downright delicious cream sauce dusted with pepper corn. The vegetable shavings on top may be regarded for aesthetic but the truth it, it helps in countering the creamy component of the dish and contributed to its texture.
As if chicken wings aren't fabulous enough, Café Siena stepped up its game and gave its diners Buffalo Wings with Potato Wedges (Php145). Yes, they throw in some well-loved potato wedges in there for a good measure to make the experience all the more satisfying.
There are variety of pizza that begs to be had at Café Siena and one of them is the Five Cheese Pizza (Php345). A 14-inch thin crust pizza that boasts of five kinds of cheese namely cheese sauce, cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, and kesong puti.
I did had a grand time munching on it because everything that got loads of cheese on it is a sure winner for me. but I could imagine this variant to be equally famous among kids diners. They got the Bagnet Pakbet Pizza which I am setting my eyes on for my next visit.
For dessert we had the Fried Ice Cream (Php110) which is essentially vanilla ice cream covered with batter and then fried to golden hue. It can be easily mistaken as a big ass bread but once you slice it open, you will be greeted with ice cream ready to provide a respite from a rather humid day.
It is not surprising that Suman and Manggo with Salted Caramel or Latik Sauce (Php80) on the menu since we are in Antipolo after all. It is a classic combination and clearly I only have good words for it.
The Lemonade Cucumber I had was a good option for refreshing drink, so was the Iced Tea both priced for only Php25. Although named as Café Siena, this place does not really focus on serving coffee because their main focus is being a cafeteria. however they do have simple brewed coffee and the Mint Chocolate (Php70/small. Php90/big) which according to my companion was good enough.
Needless to say I can only sing praises for Café Siena because they serve god comforting food that satisfy my palate. I could understand why it has been popular as a catering service in the area because their food options are really excellent.
So if you happen to be in Antipolo, I strongly suggest that you visit Café Siena - my best bet for one of the best restaurants in Antipolo City and enjoy their good food without burning a hole in your pocket. And yes, they also deliver.
Café Siena
Siena's Gathering Hall
Buliran Road
Brgy. San Isidro
Antipolo City
Contact Nos: 475-5404 / 695-1852 / 212-0370 / 245-6247
Website: sienasgatheringhall.com
Facebook: /cafesiena
Instagram: @cafesiena_
