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Romulo Café: Filipino Food Elevated to a Sophisticated Dining Experience

Last Updated: January 21, 2023

Date Published: October 5, 2020
Learn more about Romulo Café, a restaurant that elevates Pinoy lutong bahay to a sophisticated dining experience
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When we talk about Filipino food, we can all argue that there’s no place like home. Some of us take comfort in the delicious kare-kare our parents cook, or that tasty bagnet.

But, when you take that and put a historical and elegant twist to it, you’ve got Romulo Café. Romulo Café elevates Pinoy lutong bahay to a sophisticated dining experience.

Romulo Café: A History

Romulo Café is a tribute to Carlos P. Romulo, who was a Filipino soldier, journalist, and a diplomat who served 8 Philippine Presidents.

He was also a co-founder of the Boy Scout of the Philippines and the first President of the UN General Assembly. The Carlos P. Romulo heritage restaurant concept is refreshing and unique.

It is the brainchild of one of Carlos P. Romulo’s granddaughter, Sandie Romulo Squillantini. 

Keeping to its historical roots, they pull out all the stops to make guests feel at home, but with a touch of grandeur, showing a glimpse of Philippine history through its museum-style interiors.

The elegant, black and white interiors balance the contemporary fixtures and accents, with dozens of framed photos around. Romulo Café serves Filipino food like Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare.

There are a lot of name dropping in the menu to acknowledge the source of the recipe. Further, most of the Filipino dishes are familiar, but are served with a pleasant twist. 

Despite its name, Romulo Café is also a tribute to the General’s wife, Lola Virginia Llamas Romulo, whose legacy lives on through her timeless, delicious recipes. Old-fashioned and traditional are how the owners would describe their dishes; each one made out of passion and love. 

Romulo Cafe Menu

Romulo Café offers traditional Filipino food from heirloom recipes. Romulo Café serves Filipino food like Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare. There are a lot of name dropping in the menu to acknowledge the source of the recipe. Further, most of the Filipino dishes are familiar, but are served with a pleasant twist. 

Appetizers

Chicharon

Organic Chicharon

Pinoy Nachos

Kamote and taro chips drizzled with melting kesong puti

Beef Salpicao

Marinated beef sauteed with olive oil and garlic

Meatless Tortang Talong

Eggplant omelet cooked with minced tofu and onions

Crispy Crablets

Tiny crablets fried until golden brown and served with pinakurat vinegar

Fish and Squid Balls

Filipino street food with sweet dipping sauce or vinegar dip

Camaron Rebosado

Deep-fried buttered shrimp with chili–mayo dip

Chorizo Empanaditas

Empanaditas stuffed with Romulo Café’s homemade chorizo

Relleno Empanaditas

Empanaditas with our famous relleno stuffing

Crispy Squid

Deep-fried crispy squid with a chili-honey-garlic sauce

Lechon Sisig Wrap

Crispy lechon kawali bits in tortilla wrapper and served with hoisin and lechon sauce

Lechon Kawali Sisig

Chopped lechon kawali cooked as sisig with quail eggs

Bangus Sisig

Chopped bangus (milkfish) belly cooked and seasoned with salt, pepper, chili, and other spices and served with chicharon bits

Gambas

Baby shrimps sautéed in roasted garlic

Cheese and Vigan Longganisa Dumplings

Vigan longganisa and cheese in a lumpia wrapper

Tinapa Rolls

Shredded tinapa with red eggs and tomatoes in a lumpia wrapper

Chicharon Bulaklak

Served with spicy vinegar

Soup

Monggo Soup
Served with chicharon, dried hibi, malunggay, and ampalaya leaves

Molo Soup
Shrimp dumplings in a savory chicken broth

Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso
Salmon belly cooked in tamarind broth with fermented soybean paste, served with mustard greens

Sinigang na Liempo
Twice-cooked pork in tamarind broth

Sinigang na Sugpo
Fresh prawns cooked in tamarind broth

Beef Bulalo
Beef bone marrow, boiled until tender and served with corn

Sinigang na Bangus Belly in Ripe Guava
Fatty milkfish belly cooked in sour guava broth

Chicken

Lola Virginia’s Chicken Relleno (Half Chicken)
Roasted half chicken stuffed with ground pork, raisins, chorizo, and peas

The General’s Chicken (Whole Chicken)
Baked whole chicken rubbed with special herbs and garlic

Chicken-Pork Adobo Romulo-Style
Twice-cooked chicken and pork, with adobo sauce on the side

Adobong Manok sa Gata
Boneless chicken cooked adobo style with coconut milk

Bacolod Chicken
Grilled chicken with the Chef’s special inasal sauce

Chicken Inasal Sisig
Chicken sisig topped with deep-fried chicken skin

Pork

Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan
Deboned crispy pata served with eggplant-tomato bagoong sauce

Honey-Garlic Spareribs
Pork ribs marinated in our secret honey-garlic sauce

Mixed Bicol Express
Pork, squid, and shrimp cooked in coconut milk

Lechon Kawali
Crispy deep-fried roasted pork served with liver sauce

Crispy Pork Binagoongan
Crispy deep-fried pork cooked with tomatoes and bagoong

Beef

Beef Kaldereta with Keso de Bola
Chunks of beef sautéed in olive oil, garlic, onions, carrots, and potatoes, then slow-cooked in tomato sauce and sprinkled with keso de bola

Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare
Oxtail and tripe stew in a peanut-based sauce, served with steamed vegetables and our house bagoong

Bistek Tagalog
Sliced beef cooked with soy sauce and kalamansi, and served with caramelized onions

Lengua
Stewed ox tongue served with a special dipping sauce

Crispy Tadyang
Twice-cooked beef ribs served with a special dipping sauce

Seafood

Baby Pusit in Garlic
Baby squid sautéed in olive oil and garlic

Bangus Belly in Banana Leaves
Pan-fried bangus belly served with our special sisig sauce

Grilled Boneless Bangus
1 kg Bonuan Boneless Bangus grilled to perfection served with green mango relish & signature relish (20 mins. serving time)

Ginataang Hipon sa Kamias
Shrimp cooked in coconut milk and topped with kamias and latik

Flying Tilapia
Deep-fried tilapia with three sauces: chili-garlic, honey-bagoong, and soy vinegar

Seafood Kare-Kare
Crab, shrimp, squid, and mussels cooked in a peanut-based sauce, served with vegetables and house bagoong

Bangus Al Ajillo
Bangus belly with garlic sauce

Pinaputok na Tilapia
Baked tilapia stuffed with tomatoes and onions

Crispy Hito
Deep-fried catfish served with burong dalag

Grilled Squid
Squid stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and onions, served with squid-ink rice

Vegetables

Ensaladang Pilipino
Okra, singkamas, talong, kangkong, kamatis, and manggang hilaw served with our house bagoong

Pakbet
Mixed vegetables sautéed in bagoong, topped with lechong kawali

Ginataang Sigarillas with Tinapa
Winged beans cooked in coconut milk and topped with smoked tinapa

Laing with Adobo Flakes
Taro leaves cooked in coconut milk and topped with adobo flakes

Lumpia Hubad
Steamed vegetables with two sauces (peanut sauce and garlic sauce)

Ginataang Kalabasa and Sitaw with Crablets
Pumpkin and string beans cooked in coconut milk and topped with crispy crablets

Gising-Gising
Baguio beans and ground pork in coconut milk

Fried Lumpiang Ubod
Fried heart-of-palm served with pinakurat vinegar

Noodles & Rice

Sotanghon Guisado
Glass noodles sautéed in annatto oil and topped with chicken bits, mushrooms, and shrimps

Pancit Puti
Bihon noodles cooked in olive oil and garlic chips, topped with shrimp, chicken, green onions, and hard-boiled eggs

Penne Carbonara with Vigan Longganisa
Rich creamy sauce with parmesan cheese, sprinkled with Vigan longganisa

Lola Felisa’s Crispy All-Vegetable Canton
Crispy canton topped with sautéed vegetables

Pandan Rice

Garlic Rice

Sisig Rice

Bagoong Rice

Adobo Rice

Vigan Longganisa Rice

Spicy-Tuyo Rice

Beverages 

Softdrinks
Coke, Coke Light, Coke Zero, Sprite

Iced Tea

Cool as Cucumber
Fresh lime, fresh cucumber, and mint leaves

Sunshine Lemonade
Fresh lemonade and strawberry syrup

Stellina
Old Passion or Pink Lemonade

Sola Iced Tea
Apple, Raspberry, or Peach

Bottled Water

Perrier (330ml)

San Pellegrino

Calamansi

Dalandan

Lemonade

Orange

Cafe Americano

Cappuccino

Decaf

Single Espresso

Double Espresso

Latte

Tea

Desserts

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Chocolate Dome Cake

Chocnut Ice Cream

Halo-Halo

Leche Flan

Mango Tango

Mantecado Ice Cream

Mini Sansrival Cake

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Strawberry Cheese Cake

Suman sa Latik

Turon with Mantecado Ice Cream

Romulo Cafe Function Room Rates

Looking for a venue for a birthday party, wedding reception, corporate party, or some other event? 

Romulo Café is also one of the best places for your events! They provide private function rooms (both indoor and outdoor) in their Romulo Café Tomas Morato and Romulo Café Jupiter branches. They have function rooms that can accommodate intimate gatherings of 10 to a big celebration for as many as 100 people. 

RoomsCapacityCost
Kapayapaan10Php 5,000
Kaligayahan10Php 5,000
Kasiyahan20Php 12,000
Annex A20Php 12,000
Annex B20Php 12,000
Main40Php 30, 000
Annex50Php 37,500
Trinex80Php 60,000

*Good for 4 hours. Additional 10% service charge. 50% downpayment upon confirmation.

Buffet Menus

SET A
P750 per head+

Appetizer
Chicharon and Tinapa Rolls

(Choose 1 dish for each section below)

Soup
Molo or Monggo Soup

Noodles
Pancit Puti or Sotanghon Guisado

Beef
Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare or Beef Kaldereta with Keso de Bola

Chicken
Lola Virgina’s Chicken Relleno or General’s Chicken or Bacolod Chicken

Fish
Bangus Al Ajillo, Guinataan Hipon sa Kamias or Crispy Catfish

Vegetables
Bagnet Pakbet, Guinataan Sigarillas, Laing with Adobo Flakes or Gising-Gising

Pork
Lechon Kawali, Honey Garlic Spareribs or Crispy Pork Binagoongan

Dessert
Suman sa Latik

SET B

P850 per head+

Appetizer (Choose 3)
Pinoy Nachos, Cheese & Vigan Longanisa Dumplings, Crispy Crablets, Tinapa Rolls, Chicharon, Smoked Bangus Paté

(Choose 1 dish for each section below)

Soup
Molo Soup, Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso, Sinigang na Liempo or Beef Bulalo

Noodles
Pancit Puti, Sotanghon Guisado, Penne Carbonara with Vigan Longanisa, Linguini Puttanesca with Tuyo or Pasta Filipino

Beef
Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare, Beef Kaldereta with Keso de Bola, Mechado or Lengua

Chicken
Lola Virgina’s Chicken Relleno, General’s Chicken or Bacolod Chicken

Fish
Flying Tilapia, Bangus Al Ajillo, Guinataan Hipon sa Kamias or Crispy Catfish

Vegetables
Bagnet Pakbet, Guinataan Sigarillas, Laing with Adobo Flakes or Gising-Gising

Pork
Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan, Lechon Kawali, Honey Garlic Spareribs or Crispy Pork Binagoongan

Dessert
Suman sa Latik or Assorted Mini Cakes

Also Available

Cebu Lechon (small: P8,000, medium: P9,000, large: P10,000)

Lechon Roll (3 kg: P2,800+, 6 kg: P5,600+)*

*Please allow for three days’ preparation.

Inclusions

  • Good for 4 hours
  • Simple sound system
  • Wireless microphone
  • Projector screen

Corkage Fee

  • Lechon, P1,000
  • Wines, P300/bottle
  • Hard drinks, P1,000/bottle
  • Photo booth, P1,000/electricity charge
  • Big sound system, P1,000/electricity charge

Romulo Café Branches

You can find Romulo Café at:

Romulo Café Quezon City
32 Dr. Scout Lazcano cor. Scout Tuazon Tomas Morato
8332.7273
(0927) 391.1938

Romulo Café Makati
148 Jupiter St.
Bel-Air Village
8478.6406
8691.9069
(0915) 561.1888

Romulo Café Alabang
Azumi Hotel
2205 Market St.
Muntinlupa
8556.1443
(0917) 182.6226

Romulo Café London
343 Kensington 
High Street
London, W8 6NW
(020) 3141.6390

The Bottom Line

If you love traditional Filipino food, you should definitely check out Romulo Café! Romulo Café elevates Pinoy lutong bahay to a sophisticated dining experience. 

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