Xi by Cafe Guilt Offers Fine Dining in the Heart of Quezon City
Good news for those living in the northern side of Metro Manila. There’s a new fine dining hotspot in Quezon City that offers a great alternative instead of traveling all the way to Makati or Bonifacio Global City for your dates. Xi by Cafe Guilt opened its doors just a few months ago and it is already becoming a much talked-about venue for casual lunch gatherings and romantic dinner dates.
You can find Xi by Cafe Guilt at the corner of Scout Rallos and Scout Torillo streets in Quezon City. This area is filled with many other casual dining establishments and cafes, but Xi offers something much better - a fine dining restaurant that feels like you are in BGC instead. With the holiday traffic going back to its pre-pandemic levels, it’s refreshing to have this neighborhood restaurant on this side of the city.
Xi by Cafe Guilt comes with a spacious dining area that can accommodate intimate gatherings and small business lunch meetings as well. The interiors are adorned with plush sofas and highlighted by a gorgeous jungle mural. It is open from 11:00am to 9:00pm every day. The bar sits right at the center, inviting guests to partake of their tempting offerings.
It didn’t take much to convince me to try their Xi Craft Cocktails like the Smoky Tamarind Sour (P495). This is an Asian twist to the traditional Whiskey Sour or Amaretto Sour cocktail. The tamarind works with its sweet, fruity, and sour elements to make this an outstanding beverage.
Look at their cute Xi ice cube! They also have other interesting cocktails on the bar menu like the Native Old Fashioned, Mango Toasted Horchata, Clarified Limoncello Spritz, and more.
For those who want a healthier alternative, Xi by Cafe Guilt has some healthy smoothies like the Green Green Grass (P315) which comes with a combination of spinach, spirulina, celery, green apple, and coconut water. It was cool and refreshing, a great drink to have on a lazy afternoon.
They also have this new holiday drink made with Lotus Biscoff. I tried this beverage as well and it does give off that sweet and crunchy holiday vibe.
Xi prides itself with reinventing classic dishes and presenting them in a contemporary way. Aside from these, we also had some dishes from the Cafe Guilt menu, their original and more casual cafe located just a few blocks away.
We started with some warm French Onion Soup (P300). This cozy and comforting broth is prepared with beef stock and caramelized onions then served with a small baguette.
Salad lovers will enjoy Xi by Cafe Guilt’s pretty lineup. The Tomato and Beet Salad with Burrata (P998) comes with fresh thinly sliced tomato and beets with pesto then topped with fresh arugula and Burrata cheese.
There’s also Xi’s Deconstructed Black Garlic Caesar Salad (P910). This version has Romaine lettuce, lolo roso, and maple glazed bacon bits topped with sous vide poached eggs and parmesan foam. It’s a different and more exciting way of presenting the classic Caesar salad.
I loved their platter of Oyster Rockyfeller (P850) which comes with half a dozen pieces of oven baked Aklan oysters prepared with mozzarella and cream cheese. These were huge oysters and I really liked how generous they were with the cheese.
The Cafe Guilt menu has a lot of pizza offerings to choose from. These include the Quatro Formaggio (P445), Seafood Pizza, Truffle Mushroom Pizza, Mrs. Margherita, Sunny Bacon Pesto Pizza, and more. These are also available here at Xi.
Here come the pastas. Some of the pasta flavors on the menu are the Foie Gras Pasta, Takoyaki Spaghetti, Bolognese, Uni Carbonara, and Seafood Marinara.
They also have a Chicken Parmigiana if you want a heavier pasta dish that comes with a baked breaded chicken fillet.
This Wagyu Cheeseburger is one dish you can have any time of the day. It comes with a thick and juicy beef patty topped with cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, and a sunny side up egg. Potato chips are also served on the side.
For dinner, these two main dishes are what you should get to impress your date. The Grilled Tomahawk Berkshire (P2450) comes with 400 grams of tomahawk cut rare breed English black hog. These can be shared by two persons but I don’t mind having this all to myself.
Then there’s the Angus Ribeye Steak (P2500) which everyone will love. This has 350 grams of flavorful ribeye steak cooked medium to perfection. It is served with veggies and mashed potato for a complete set.
For the holiday season, Xi by Cafe Guilt has prepared a couple of delightful desserts to welcome the Christmas spirit. They presented this Puto Bumbong dessert cocktail which is a deconstructed version of the classic puto bumbong rice cake complete with bamboo tubes.
Here you can drink your dessert as well as eat it. Take a sip of the puto bumbong cocktail mix then heve a bite of the grated coconut and cheese.
They also have this Bibingka dessert cocktail that works the same way. The banana leaves are torched to give it a pleasant aroma while drinking and eating your dessert. It can’t get any more Christmas-y than that!
Other desserts you can try include the Turon de Banana, a dehydrated banana and banana mousse in filo pastry, or the Deconstructed Vanilla Truffle Ice cream served on a plate and speckled with 24K gold flakes. Xi by Cafe Guilt offers Quezon City residents its own fine dining establishment that can match any of the upscale restaurants at our central business districts. Now, you don’t have to brave the holiday traffic rush for an exciting and flavorful dining experience.
