Hidden Gem of the South: Southbank Cafe + Lounge

Overall Experience: 8 out of 10

Gladly, small business started to open after the Enhanced Community Quarantine. And in Westgate Center, the Southbank Cafe + Lounge joined the list of establishments that finally opened their doors to their customers.

For starters, I loved their ambiance – elegant industrial design. A brilliant combination of concrete, wood and dark colors. Like the Curator's in Legaspi Village, it also hosted a lounge with a magnificent bar for cocktails. Much of the dine-in either takes place outside or upstairs which looked cool and neat perfect to unwind, to chill, to talk or to catch up with friends.

They also have an excellent customer service. They took care of their customer and really showed enthusiasm by willingly doing more beyond expectations.

Since dinning in was only allowed recently, supplies have not yet been fully replenish during the last time I went so they only serve limited number of dishes and beverages for the meantime. So I tried a cup of Cappuccino (Php 170) and their Mortadella Sandwich (Php 340).

Their cappuccino is one of the best I ever tasted. A sip in the cup brought life to the mouth. Forget a nice latte art, its quality more than compensated. It had a superb balance of espresso, steamed milk, and foam then a unique sprinkle of what I thought was chocolate powder. It had a nice cloudy foam that provided an introduction to the rest of the cappuccino. Its espresso retained distinct powerful bitterness with notes of dried fruits. Its acidity also lingered in the back of the tongue but not as powerful thanks to the perfect blend of steamed milk. A magnificent caffeine fix in the morning.

Their Mortadella Sandwich did not lagged behind the cappuccino in quality. Built with slices of focaccia, tomato, mozzarella, and mortadella, it gave a pizza on a sandwich experience especially with similarities in ingredients. Its focaccia nicely toasted and charred became crunchy in the outside while still being soft in the inside. The focaccia’s buttery and oily taste mixed well with juices of the mortadella and tomatoes moistening the bread and with mozzarella delivering an artisan pizza sandwich experience that is worth for its price.

Southbank + Lounge is a hidden gem with many beauties. With numerous competition in Alabang, it has its own uniqueness in ambiance and certainly has superb quality of food and coffee that is among the best in south. I certainly would come back and I pray for the safety and well being of its staff so they may continue with their mission of providing excellence to their customers.