I can still remember the story when Cafe by the Ruins was about to close down: They announced the last day of operations, and then a lot of Manileños decided to go up to Baguio and pay tribute to the restaurant.
Ever since that time, they were touched by how much foodies love Cafe by the Ruins, and the next generation decided to continue it. As a thank you gift, they released their first cookbook entitled, “Café by the Ruins: Memories and Recipes“.
This is one of the few remaining restaurant institutions in Baguio and the only reason we would brave the traffic of the commercialized area of Session Road.
I’m glad that the boys were able to experience it, and I do hope more Filipino generations can visit it for years to come.
Here is our breakfast experience in Cafe by the Ruins…
Awesome Baguio Experience Series:
- BAGUIO’s PANAGBENGA Flower Festival
- MAMA’S TABLE: Chef Vicky Tinio Clemente’s Private Dining
- STRAWBERRY FIELDS Forever…
- BENCAB MUSEUM Experience
- CAFE SABEL @ BenCab Museum
- HILL STATION & Mt. Cloud Bookshop
- HAPPY TUMMY & Wright Park
- Hotel Elizabeth and Bliss Cafe in Baguio
- CAFE BY THE RUINS Breakfast!
- EVE’S GARDEN Organic Lunch
BAGUIO: Your Awesome Journey to Baguio Food Trip (Infographic)
I love the authenic Baguio restaurant ambiance that was created around the wall ruins (left side).
The various types of bread are baked fresh, just like in an old-neighorbood bakery with its own signature bread.
(Although, it would be nice if they could have signature cakes in the future. 🙂 )
The restaurant is also an art exhibit space, featuring local artists and their works.
Breakfast Menu (7:00am to 11.00am): Coffee Variations and Choco Combos | Teas and Infusions, Liquid Refreshments | Breads & Spreads | Breakfast Selections | Sandwiches and Comfort Food
Regular Menu: Appetizer and New Savory Pies | Strawberry Festival | Soups and Salads | Specialties of the House, Vegetarian Fare | Merienda and Desserts
A lot of Filipino families make it a point to dine in Cafe by the Ruins when they are in Baguio. For us, the best time is during breakfast. 🙂
★ Rizal’s Tsokolate-e (P140 +10% service charge) with Queso de Bola Ensaymada (P180 +10% service charge). A hero’s cup of hot carabao milk blended with chocolate. An Ilustrado’s merienda.
We love their different chocolate versions, but the best one is still Rizal’s Tsokolate-e, which is local cocoa with rich carabao’s milk, that has just the right sweetness and thickness. This is perfect with a simple pandesal or ensaymada.
The best part is dunking pieces of ensaymada in the cup (so they absorb the hot chocolate) and eating it with the salty queso de bola. It’s even better if you “fight” and eat it all at once. (Masarap kung nag-aagawan! 🙂 )
Chocolate de Aqua (P80 +10% service charge) with Brioche Cinnamon Toast (P120 +10% service charge). A mug of pure, bittersweet chocolate tablea dissolved in water, the Mexican way, with a touch of sugar.
The Chocolate de Aqua version is a diluted chocolate drink, which loses a lot of its flavor when mixed with water. The cinnamon toast really looked good but it did not deliver on taste.
★ Dark, Bittersweet Chocolate (P60 +10% service charge) with ★ Basil Bread (P120 +10% service charge). A demitasse of pure chocolate tablea, carabao milk, cream, muscovado sugar and cinnamon. Very thick, not too sweet. with Basil Bread. Flecked with green speckles, tasty, warm with only butter or olive oil.
Order the Dark, Bittersweet Chocolate version if you prefer an espresso-like serving of pure chocolate.
One of the signature breads of Cafe by the Ruins is their really soft and tasty Basil Bread, which is just perfect with butter and a bit of olive oil. Sarap!
★ Ernie’s Kamote Bread with Kesong Puti and Basil (P120 +10% service charge). This enriched bread incorporates bread flour with Cordilleran kamote, milk and honey, served with Carabao cottage cheese.
Another signature bread is the Kamote Bread served with Kesong Puti. We love the soft texture and subtle taste of the kamote. You have to try it!
Cheese Omelet (P230 +10% service charge). Fluffy egg omelet with carabao and Parmesan cheese filling.
We also ordered some main dishes like this omelet, which is always a hit with the kids.
Filipino “Lon-Si-Log” (P245 +10% service charge). Longganisang hubad (marinated pork cubes), sinangag (garlic rice), itlog (sunny side up egg).
This was also good, and the longganisa was not the sweet kind.
★ Champorado (P110 +10% service charge). Rice porridge with pure chocolate tablea, milk and sugar, and fried boneless dilis on the side.
This is probably one of the best Champorados we’e ever tasted — I can’t even remember if there’s one that could rival it in Manila. The best part is pairing it with the salty servings of crisp, boneless dilis.
This is really good, especially on a nice chilly morning or on a rainy day.
I miss it a lot, and I can’t seem to find classic champorado this good anywhere in Manila these days.
Baguio breakfast is always fun in Cafe by the Ruins. We ate here with the three boys (Aidan, Joshua and Raphael) with their cousins (Carlos and Sophia) with no yaya. Hats off to parents with 5 kids! 🙂
When you’re in the resto, check out the dap-ay, an area similar to the place where Ifugaos would meet for rituals or gatherings in their villages.
For an authentic Baguio dining experience, delicious signature breads, and thoughtful food pairing combinations, head over to Cafe by the Ruins. Don’t leave Baguio without visiting it! 🙂
Cafe by the Ruins
#23 Chuntug Street, 2600 Baguio City
Operating Hours: Monday – Sunday, 7:00 am-9:00 pm
Telephone: (074) 442-4010
Email: cafebytheruins@gmail.com
Facebook: Cafe By The Ruins
Related Blog Posts on Baguio:
BAGUIO: Your Awesome Journey to Baguio Food Trip (Infographic)
Flavors of Baguio: Discover Baguio, One Bite at a Time!
- C BOUTIQUE HOTEL ‘s Flavors of Baguio Food and Heritage Tour
- SOLIBAO: Baguio’s BEST Filipino Restaurant since 1972
- ROSE BOWL: Baguio’s Home-Grown BEST Chinese Food since 1945
- TAM-AWAN: Baguio’s Artist Village by Chanum Foundation
- HILL STATION: The BEST Restaurant in Baguio (Revisited)
Awesome Baguio Experience Series:
- BAGUIO’s PANAGBENGA Flower Festival
- MAMA’S TABLE: Chef Vicky Tinio Clemente’s Private Dining
- STRAWBERRY FIELDS Forever…
- BENCAB MUSEUM Experience
- CAFE SABEL @ BenCab Museum
- HILL STATION & Mt. Cloud Bookshop
- HAPPY TUMMY & Wright Park
- Hotel Elizabeth and Bliss Cafe in Baguio
- CAFE BY THE RUINS Breakfast!
- EVE’S GARDEN Organic Lunch
Awesome Baguio Experience Series II:
- THE CHEF’S HOME in Baguio – A Must Eat!
- OH MY GULAY @ Vocas Artspace, Session Road, Baguio
- FOREST HOUSE Bistro Cafe (Our First Time)
- O’ MAI KHAN Mongolian Barbecue & Hot Pot
- LE CHEF AT THE MANOR @ Camp John Hay, Baguio
- BAGUIO is not Complete Without CHOCO-LATE de BATIROL?
- LE MONET Breakfast Buffet – The Best in Baguio?
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Full Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We paid for our meals. We are not connected with the establishment and any organization promoting it.
P.S. It’s a bit traffic now going to Cafe by the Ruins, so we dine there in the morning, during the non-peak hours of traffic along Session Road. We don’t like Session Road that much anymore because it has become too commercialized. We only go there for Cafe by the Ruins and the market after to buy pasalubong.
I hope Cafe by the Ruins will be able to withstand the commercialized Session Road. : ( So sad to hear about this road.
On another note, I miss the Nick Joaquin sandwich there + their strawberry concoctions! I want to try their champorado!
I am surprised to read that the Chocolate de Aqua is not flavorful. For chocolate drinks of this kind, water and a bit of sugar are the only ones added to experience the full and real taste of chocolate. It is actually milk or cream that “dilutes” the flavor of chocolate as the former have their own taste while water is just a medium to liquify chocolate.
Anyway, thanks for this post. It is good to see the kids experiencing some of our younger memories of this place. I think we have to bring our baby here soon before it all disappears.
Unfortunately, my latest experience here has not been pleasant because of the bad service. Sayang because I have always made it a point to visit every time I’m in Baguio.
You’re right, you shouldn’t leave Baguio without dropping by Cafe by the Ruins. However, my past 2 most recent experience (Dec 2011 and Feb 2012)have not been very encouraging – food taste and service quality. My favorite is Kesong Puti Salad but it was not available in my last 2 visits. Sad!
I hope they would protect their reputation as a “must to go” when in Baguio. We haven’t tried their breakfast though as we like to snuggle in bed longer when in Baguio. Hopefully, it will also be a nice and pleasant experience.
you actually enjoyed this restaurant? this is one of the dying food places in baguio because it just is bland, boring and stereotypical.
and guess what. YOU, mr food blogger oh i know everything, you like it.
this is a joke. what a shameful palette you have. you should switch jobs, mr. diaz, and quit fooling people and marketing the wrong places and negatively publicizing the wrong places. i beg you.
i am not a hater, i am just disappointed in your euse à voir pallet.
oh so you can’t understand french? i thought you were SOOOO gourmand?
🙂 it means UGLY PALETTE
pricey!
A peso or two to reach Php 1000 for a breakfast is so not worth it.
The breads are ok, but i prefer BreadTalk or Toastbox over this overrated bakery.
About their cocoa tablea sort of drinks, are not that impressive compare to Jollibbee’s.
Pardon my ignorance, but the overall verdict for us, is Poor.