Resturant Rave: Cafe by the Ruins

Baguio is one of those places that you never want to change. You want to go there and feel the familiar cold, pine-scented breeze, see the horses in Wright and Mine’s View Parks, buy ube and strawberry jam at Good Sheperd Convent and buy strawberries, blankets and walis at the Public Market. Although there have been many changes and new establishments popping up every where in the mountain city, a few restaurants are still must-visits every time I am up there.

Cafe by the Ruins is one such restaurant I can visit over and over. A few years ago, it got a face lift, but the food has remained predictably good. I have yet to have a disappointing meal from here (knock on wood!)

Don’t be afraid of carbs-start with one of the yummy freshly-baked breads, you won’t regret it. My personal favorite is the Kamote bread, which you can get with butter and jam or cheese- or both :)

I usually order the fish roe pasta (Abdul ordered it this time around) but I was pigging out the entire day and couldn’t decide what I wanted. I ended up picking the Vegetable Tempura with Mountain Rice. The tempura included mushrooms, zucchini flowers and sweet potato. It was good but I didn’t finish it because I was seriously still so stuffed from the previous afternoon’s food fest.


There is this other thing I ALWAYS order, but I can’t for the life of me remember exactly what it’s called. I’ve tried googling the Cafe by the Ruins menu to no avail. Let’s just call them Bangus Spring Rolls. They are little bite sized pieces of yum. It comes with this strong vinegar ( I don’t like vinegar) but I eat mine plain.


Don’t forget to grab some more bread and pastries on your way out—-basil bread, croissants, chocolate croissants and biscuits all get my vote! Enjoy!