{"id":21185,"date":"2018-01-28T13:05:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-28T05:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/?p=21185"},"modified":"2024-01-24T14:06:28","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T06:06:28","slug":"bench-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/location\/philippines\/taguig\/bench-cafe\/","title":{"rendered":"(CLOSED) BENCH Cafe in BGC: Love Local with Chic Filipino Dishes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Css4T9up-R3\/?hl=en\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong><em>Updated as of July 10, 2023, Temporarily Closed<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BENCH Cafe | Philippine Primer Eats\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CZV65X0tIvM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">People have been raving about this new restaurant concept in BGC\u2014a caf\u00e9 housed within the new BENCH\/ flagship store at <strong>Bonifacio High Street<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">And it is worth all the hype.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27620\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_05.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_05.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_05-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_05-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">While the Bench group has in fact ventured in other food businesses like <a href=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/location\/manila\/japans-best-cheesecake-pablo-opens-first-branch-in-manila\/\">Pablo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/location\/makati\/greenbelt\/maisen\/\">Maisen<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/2017\/08\/17\/marugame-udon-has-opened-first-ph-branch-in-bgc\/\">Marugame Udon<\/a>, <strong>Bench Caf\u00e9<\/strong> is the first restaurant to bear the name of the iconic local brand and is specially created to faithfully embody Bench\u2019s commitment to \u201clove local.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27622\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_06.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_06.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_06-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_06-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Staying true to the Bench slogan, Bench Caf\u00e9 presents a menu that underscores Filipino heritage and diverse culinary flair. You\u2019ll find a lot of familiar Filipino dishes that you would most likely find in <em>carinderias<\/em> (local eateries).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Eric Dee of Foodee Global Concepts, the Bench group\u2019s partner in launching Bench Caf\u00e9, calls the restaurant concept as \u201cglamorized <em>turo-turo<\/em>.\u201d You get the experience of a <em>carinderia<\/em>, wherein you point (\u201c<em>turo\u201d<\/em>) the dishes you want and get them in sets or\u2014as most local eateries call it\u2014combo meals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Bench Caf\u00e9 also presents their patrons with the\u00a0<strong>BENCH\/TO,<\/strong> BENCH&#8217;s adaptation of Japan&#8217;s bento box which also features the same concept. There is six\u00a0<strong>BENCH\/TO\u00a0<\/strong>sets that you can choose from.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A highly-recommended BENCH\/TO is <strong>D3<\/strong>: <strong>Beef\u00a0<em>Pares<\/em><\/strong> (Php 289) that comes with Vegetables, Bench Salsa, Atsara and Ifugao Rice which can be upgraded into Garlic Rice (+ Php 10), Dilis Rice (+ Php 20),\u00a0<strong>Aligue Rice\u00a0<\/strong>(+ Php 20) and Bagoong Rice (+ Php 20).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27624\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_01.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_01-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_01-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><em>The Beef Pares Bench-To (Php 289) paired with Aligue Rice (+ Php 20)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Give their\u00a0<strong>Dancing Fish\u00a0<\/strong>(Php 445) a try. The fish used is a Crispy Butterfly Tilapia and is paired with the sauce of your choice. You can choose from\u00a0<strong>Escabeche, Bench Salsa\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Serwelas<\/strong> for the sauces.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27625\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_02.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_02.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_02-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_02-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\">Dancing Fish in Escabeche Sauce (Php 445)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Another classic Filipino dish that you can try at Bench Caf\u00e9 is the\u00a0<strong>Sinigang sa Santol\u00a0<\/strong>which comes in three variants. Featured here is the\u00a0<strong>Pork Belly<\/strong> (Php 355). The other variants include\u00a0<strong>Beef Tadyang<\/strong> (Php 415) and\u00a0<strong>Sugpo\u00a0<\/strong>(Php 465). It surely tastes like home and will leave you wanting more!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27626\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_04.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_04.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_04-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_04-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\">Sinigang <\/span><\/em>sa<em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"> Santol Pork Belly (Php 355)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You can also find all-day merienda, Filipino breakfast or <em>silog<\/em>, delicious desserts, and special beverages (cocktails, wine, coffee, etc.) on the menu, which are all reasonably priced and generously served.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The <strong>Sisig Lettuce Cup<\/strong>\u00a0(Php 159) puts a healthier twist on the Filipino favorite, <em>sisig<\/em>, by being served with lettuce. The crispy and meaty sisig is mixed with egg, home-made chicharon, calamansi foam, and Ajo aioli (a kind of garlic mayo sauce), which produces a medley of brilliant flavors and textures in the mouth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21190\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1356.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1356.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1356-290x193.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1356-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1356-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><em>Sisig Lettuce Cup (Php 159)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">For dessert, we highly recommend their <strong>White and Ube Halo-Halo, <\/strong>both are made with\u00a0made with shaved ice, and is reminiscent of the usual Halo-Halo that Filipinos have grown to love. It&#8217;s a chic twist to our classic Halo-Halo but it still has that same flavorful taste. It doesn\u2019t matter whether the weather\u2019s warm or chilly\u2014we want this, always!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27623\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_07.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_07.jpg 800w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_07-290x194.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/BenchCafe_07-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><em><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\">Bench Caf\u00e9&#8217;s Ube Halo-Halo (Php 109 for 12 oz\/Php 159 for 16 oz) and White Halo-Halo (Php 99 for 12 oz\/Php 145 for 16 oz)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">For people who can\u2019t live without coffee, Bench Caf\u00e9 also has an exciting set of coffee offerings. Their coffee drinks use locally-sourced gourmet Robusta from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The <strong>Luzon Double Mocha<\/strong> is so decadently thick, like a blanket that warms up its passage from the mouth sliding down to the chest to wrap around a cold and lonely heart. It is made with Barako Robusta espresso, fresh milk, and Tagalog tablea sauce.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21192\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1388.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1388.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1388-290x193.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1388-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1388-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><em>Luzon Double Mocha (Php 199)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The <strong>Pandan Latik Latte <\/strong>meanwhile is another good drink to have to relieve stress and clear one\u2019s mind. It is comfortingly fragrant because of the combination of pandan and <em>latik<\/em> (coconut syrup) salted caramel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21193\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1420.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1420.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1420-290x193.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1420-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1420-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><em>Pandan Latik Latte (Php 175)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The caf\u00e9 itself is a great place to enjoy the delectable menu offerings of Bench Caf\u00e9. Making use of light and pastel colors that are easy on the eyes, the caf\u00e9 exudes a bright and cheery vibe. With its sleek interiors, Bench Cafe will surely be a favorite spot not only of avid foodies but also of Instagram freaks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21196\" src=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1391_edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1391_edited.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1391_edited-290x193.jpg 290w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1391_edited-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/DSC_1391_edited-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If you\u2019re a Filipino (or Filipino at heart), there will undoubtedly be days when you want to veer away from big restaurant concepts and just fall back home to your <em>nanay<\/em> or <em>lola\u2019<\/em>s cooking. If home is too far away, Bench Caf\u00e9 can perfectly fill in as your vibrant home in the city.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em>Written by Rizelle &#8220;Rei&#8221; Lea\u00f1o<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Longing for the taste of home and meals cooked by your &#8220;nanay&#8221;? Bench Caf\u00e9 is your perfect home in the bustling city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,196,12,234,74,14,815,72,165,5197,2814,4104],"tags":[1686,1681,1682,1685,1683,1180,280,444,1684,1688,1597,1644,1643,1687],"class_list":["post-21185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-filipino","category-fusion","category-taguig","category-all-day-breakfast","category-bakery-and-sweets","category-bonifacio-global-city","category-bonifacio-high-street","category-cafe-resto","category-concept-dining","category-filipino-food-restaurant-guide-2020","category-new-must-try-restaurant-2018","category-pork-2019","tag-bench-boutique","tag-bench-cafe","tag-bench-clothing","tag-bench-flagship-store","tag-bench-group","tag-bonifacio-high-street","tag-cafe","tag-coffee","tag-foodee-global-concepts","tag-new-in-bgc","tag-new-restaurants-2018","tag-new-restaurants-in-bgc","tag-new-restaurants-in-metro-manila","tag-restaurants-in-bgc"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21185"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48786,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21185\/revisions\/48786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}