The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's "26th Bistro" at BGC

Anyone who's anyone knows Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf by heart. If you're in the metro, you probably have one near your place or maybe frequent one in malls. I have one outside my office so it's a given I go there most of the time. I thought it would always look like a coffee shop but I experienced something new a few days ago. Or if I could put it into one word, something that can ultimately make EVERYDAYEXTRAORDINARY!

At the corner of 26th street in Bonifacio Global City lies this huge, one of a kind Bistro that CBTL had put up; looking quite differently from the usual coffee and tea shop they have if I may say. It's seating capacity could probably go more or less 100; but states a sit down a la carte menu unbeholden with other branches. It's a breather, it's quite special and the promise of an extra ordinary experience everyday at the store is quite attractive. I bet people have been trying it out these past few days and I've personally suggested it with a few friends. They totally agree with me and say thanks that I've posted some of these products on Instagram. Last comment i got was about the pasta, saying it was divine!

One of my regular must order items is this frozen Pure Double Chocolate. I'm not much of a caffeine freak so I order the non or less caffeinated drinks off the menu. It's intense chocolate flavor really hits the spot. You can opt not to have the whipped cream, but really who doesn't love that?

Comforting as comfort food comes, this bowl of Wild Mushroom Soup came along. Probably made of roasted Portabello mushrooms, its got a very deep, earthy, gritty feel and flavor to it. The dob of cream made it thick and creamy just the way we liked it. They say Mushrooms help combat hormonal aging, which is a good thing. They prolly dropped a few extra virgin olive oil on top to make it even richer, fuller and finished shiny. The garlic bread stick provides a crunchy break from all that earthy goodness. 

 This is CBTL's Salmom Fishcake and Greens. I'm a picky eater and I don't really eat that much greens but this combination was like a marriage. The sweet tangy vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil was so good on peppery leaves. The shards of cheese was a welcome addition too. This salmon fishcake was soft and moist, it's not to greasy either. Everyone else on the table was raving about the Aioli sauce that came with it; people were wiping it off the plate. This is such a nice date food if you want to bring your special someone along.

Think about thick white sauce on linguine topped with a huge prawn, seafood, mushroom and shards of parmesan cheese. This is CBTL's own Tiger Prawn with Shitake Mushroom Linguine. It's creamy sauce was a dead giveaway that this is good. For shrimp lovers, the tiger prawn was not overcooked, it was sweet and succulent probably because it was cooked separately. I love white sauce on pasta so this is indeed one of my favorites. I even splurged on shrimp even if I was allergic because I couldn't let this pass! Delish!

For the main course, we had this! I'm a self confessed carnivore so this was my weakness. It's CBTL's Hanging Tender Steak with Potato Gratin and Marsala. The steak was perfectly cooked! It was laid on a bed of potato gratin and smothered with a gravy of marsala sauce. I loved every bit of it. The gratin was something to rave about too because it was good. The Asparagus spears were not overcooked either so it was worth it! I'd like to have more of these on my next visit. Medium for me please! :)

Then when it was time for dessert, we had two! This one's the CBTL Apple Crumble a la Mode. It's was almost room temperature apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. You already know this was good just by looking at it. It was not too sweet which is a plus on my books; and the apples kinda give away a tangy-fruity taste which goes well with the melted vanilla ice cream. Have a cup of coffee with this and it's a done deal!

We died. We went to heaven... and back to CBTL's 26th Street Bistro again for this sinful Chocolate Lava a la Mode. This is chocolate goodness on a ramekin. I loved this one too. It had that oozing chocolate center when you slice into it. Imagine that with the melted vanilla ice cream on top and you'll probably end up swearing a lot in that joint. I wanted more but I had to share haha. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf really has amped up it's offerings on this new approach with their coffee shops. It's a full bistro-restaurant now and this is one awesome way of celebrating their 50th year in the business!

I totally agree in making #EVERYDAYEXTRAORDINARY and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's bistro should be your next destination when having brunch, lunch or dinner when in the Fort Bonifacio area. This probably won't be the last one I hope. Congratulations to this brand who has been giving us the best coffee, tea and food choices since 1963! Thank you Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf! You really made my day extra ordinary! Now it's time for YOU to try it out and see why they can make your day way better!

For more information

Like them on Facebook!

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (Philippines)

Follow them on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/cbtlph


Or visit the Bistro!

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf  26th Street Bistro 
BGC Net Lima Building, 5th Avenue corner 26th Street
BGC, Taguig