Still woozy after a 4-hour sleep and Lia’s persistent cries during the night, the little one and I set out for Sunday breakfast with me mum, sister and niece. Our feet brought us to Best Western Hotel’s Cafe Arquiza in Malate, for which I had Metrodeal vouchers stashed in Lia’s diaper bag.
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| Still and calm during early morning bus ride. This tot loves traveling like that. |
It was already 9:15 when we arrived, but still the small cafe was packed. We waited five minutes at the hotel lobby before the cafe personnel ushered us in. With only 45 minutes left before the buffet table closes, we tried to get as much food as we can.
But you could only imagine our disappointment to find most of the chafing dishes nearly empty. Replenishment was a bit slow, with only two waiters catering to so many filled tables.
The selection was quite limited too, although except for the soup, the restaurant did as promised on the Metrodeal voucher. There were 2 deli choices (ham and frankfurters); 4 kinds of bread (wheaten, croissant, white bread and pan de sal. The deal said 5, but no biggie, really); 3 cereals (Koko Krunch, Honey Stars and Kellogg’s cornflakes); scrambled eggs; 3 fresh fruit variants (banana, papaya and watermelon, though the watermelon was brought out at almost 10am); 2 fruit juices (pineapple and orange). Milkina yogurt was also available (yummy!).
I guess I just didn’t expect that the hot main dish stated on the deal would turn out to be corned beef (Purefoods is my best bet). But I wouldn’t put it all on Best Western as Metrodeal has always been (in)famous for overselling partner merchants.
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| Egg tasted like soft boiled egg. |
On the up side, waiters, though limited, are quick to respond. And two words: high chair. Now I don’t know about you, but since I became a mom, this is one thing I’ve learned to appreciate in restaurants, although Lia doesn’t really use one half the time.
For a fill of coffee, hot choco or tea, you’d have to order from the servers. The same goes for the soup. There’s none on the buffet table (though it was part of the deal). We were served hot lomi when we asked about the soup.
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| Lomi. Average, IMO. |
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| Lia loves the croissant! |
The food was just okay, just enough to get your day started. If I’ve to pick one that’s above average, I’d go for the crunchy, airy croissant; perhaps the sauteed vegetables, too, which resembled a crunchy and spicy Thai dish I once tasted.
For P250/ head, I bet you can easily whip up all those dishes and more at home.
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| I’ve never seen this food practice before, but they put the fried delis on top of wheat bread. To absorb the oil perhaps? |
I’m also a bit dubious if buying this particular deal on Metrodeal really equates to savings, because we did see a poster outside the cafe that says their breakfast buffet is actually P250, not P500 as advertised on the group buying site. Although when we inquired, the waiters said the P250 rate for walk-ins is only a promo. That is however not stated on the poster.
Accessible location, attentive waiters and friendly concierge, but not really something I’ll crave or go back to.
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| Lovely hotel lobby. Heard good reviews about Best Western Hotel Manila when it comes to accommodations too. |
Additional notes you’d like to keep in mind:
– Very limited parking slot. The cafe faces the busy M.H. Del Pilar Street too.
– They wipe the buffet table out at 10am on the dot, regardless if the guests are still eating. So if you do want to maximize your stay, come early. The cafe serves breakfast form 6:30am onwards.
– No reservations required during lean season (Voucher tells you otherwise, but we called twice, and both times we were told reservations are not necessary).
– They have a charming patio just outside the lobby where you can smoke. They’ve also got a nice collection of indigenous merchandise at the lobby at reasonable prices. Got myself a tarsier figurine and a It’s More Fun in the Philippines fridge magnet for P70 each.
