This review is for the Tambayan Express café, which is definitely at this address, and is definitely located on the ground floor of the John Birch Tower. That is a certainty.
The Tambayan Gastrobar, which is owned by the same people, is diagonally across the street (J. Bocobo Street), and is located in a large building, and contains a hostel, a bar and a restaurant. It is NOT at 1607 J. Bocobo Street in Malate. The Tambayan Express is at this address.
Everything in the Tambayan Express café is branded as Tambayan Gastobar (napkins, menu, glasses), but the manager assures me it is different. And she is telling the truth, it is different, with the larger place across the street offering a very large menu, live entertainment, and different hours, etc.
Why the owners chose to combine these two very different eateries at two different street addresses under a single listing is a mystery only they can resolve. (shrug)
Anyway, onwards - I had breakfast here; "Pampanga's Tocino" on the menu, which is: two eggs over easy, tocino, garlic-fried rice and slice of tomato. I had coffee, pineapple juice and a bottle of water as well. The bill was a peso or two under 500 PHP(that's less than $10 USD at current exchange rates).
The food was delicious - loved it. The coffee was burned, and pretty awful.
It's not unusual to get really bad coffee in the Philippines - it is the norm, really. Instant coffee (Nescafe, Folgers, etc.) is extremely popular here, and the reason it is so popular is because the roasted coffee you get in many places is so atrocious. So, not a showstopper that the coffee was so bad. Not good, obviously, but not wholly unexpected.
Free Wi-Fi, and it's fast enough to get caught up on the news. You will need to get the password from the manager.
I was the only patron in the place at 6:16 AM, and no one else came in before I finished and left. A nice bit of quiet time. read more