Cerchio

Vicky was busy out of town on a scheduled planning conference in Batangas, so Monique and I took time off for some father and daughter bonding.  We decided to have an early dinner at Cerchio restaurant, which is located along Scout Limbaga St., very near the corner of Tomas Morato St.  We were the first to arrive and the first customers for the night (or early evening, as daylight was still evident).  I understand that Cerchio means "circle" in Italian, which is why you can find lots of circles adorning the interiors of the place.  However, as I entered, my mental focus was not on the circles, but on the black and white color scheme, which was evident on the first and on the second floors.

The restaurant is run by the same people that operate the Romulo Cafe, and the food is a fusion of Asian and Mediterranean cuisines.  The second floor has lounging chairs and a function room for private parties.

We had Vietnamese spring rolls, which were served on ceramic spoons--okay, but not exciting.  The tenderloin steak was tasty, but wasn't served scorching hot, straight off the pan (or the grill), which is the way steak should be presented on the table.  Monique liked the squid ink pasta though, and we both showed off our ink-stained teeth to each other.  We spent some P500 per head, without drinks.

The "in" joke for the night was that being the only black & white dish, the squid ink pasta was redeeming dish that we had for the night.  If you notice below, the restaurant's logo is much like the round ceiling lighting fixture at the stairway.  A bit of a let-down for me, considering my previous experience dining at the Romulo Cafe with Erika & family was a pleasant one.