Sun Café — Restaurant in Manila

From what I have seen when passing by outside and on social media, it could not compare when I got to the innermost of this cafe. The center with its 4 mirror wall, dried flower decors at each side and bespoke overhead chandelier, was just pure AESTHETIC.

Every corner even the second floor CR (that you have to go past an office to reach) was simply pretty!

But of course that is not the be all, end all. We went here for the food and drinks after all.

We ordered:

Chami - too saucy and spicy for our liking, suffice to say, we had way better elsewhere. Tempura - deep fried 3 shrimps and veggies, onion, middle of sliced potato was hard, and green sticks of I don't know what those were. The side salad was but a little amount. It would have been great if there were more salad like in the pic, and would even gladly pay higher if needed. (A full serving bowl of salad is too much for me, that is why I prefer dishes with just a side of it.) Matcha oreo - sweetness definitely overpowers any rice-yness of the matcha. Wouldn't order it again, perhaps would try their yogurts next time. Rose mocktail - first tasted like fragrant soap. But as I had more sips, the syrupy sweetness became more apparent. It turned out to be my favorite of the 4 after all!

Don't get me wrong, they were all good, pretty decent. For the price of about php 850 total, worth it.

Plant based (soy and almond milk if I remember correctly) available for additional 30.

Servers were nice and courteous. But sometimes as they were being too watchful or nakabantay, it felt pretty nakakailang or awkward. But I get it, fine dining feels, so they are just being super attentive.

There are many customers during our time of visit (some overstaying with a laptop and one coffee lol). This is no small cafe, you can sit at the front, near the cakes, or in the middle, or even the innermost, which is a bit hidden.

The downside here is, I expected they would have free WiFi as almost all cafes we have been to offers it, but sadly none when we asked.

The tissues are plain, no printed name of the cafe, but it is alright, well I just noticed! Just kinda expected that as it seems they pay attention to detail and branding.

I think they are animal friendly, as the pair seated beside us had a cat (out the box), and they they were playing with her. As an animal lover, well it felt heart warming watching that scene. So if you are an allergic Karen, better dine elsewhere than make a scene about furs, lol.

If you brought a car, well we know this street is narrow and illegal parking ain't tolerated, but I am pretty sure you can find plenty of parking in...

Visited Sun Cafe again after a year, and here are my thoughts :)

Food - it’s okay, nothing too special. Our orders: Pork sisig - yummy! Fat to lean portion is ok! Only issue is the plate wasn’t sizzling anymore and the egg on top was still raw. 4/5 Crispy palabok - way too oily, plate was too small for mixing, and sauce was not enough and not hot enough to soften the noodles. Taste-wise, not special too. If you want crispy palabok, no hate but go for Manam instead hehe. 2/5 Caesar salad - good portion but not mixed well. Sauce sank at the bottom and some leaves were full of salt and pepper. Plate was too small for mixing. 4/5

Cleanliness and Ambiance - the interiors of the cafe? Chef’s kiss super pretty. When we arrived we were seated at a cleaned table but unfortunately may mga sauce stains pa sa table. Staff wiped it off agad so no worries :)

Service - this is where I’m disappointed. Other than our table of 2, only 4 other parties were dining and mostly had their food already. Yet, we had to wait for around 35-40 minutes before our food arrived. We’d understand if they gave a heads up that food will take longer than usual but wala din sinabi. We had to follow up several times too not just for food but also for drinking water :( they were not understaffed naman so it was a bit weird having to wait that long. Staff were nice naman though and at least they were quick nung billing out haha.

Overall, it was an okay-ish experience. Maybe I will only go back for their sisig...

I am writing to express my disappointment with my recent experience at your café. Your advertised hours of operation state that the café opens at 7:30 AM. However, when we arrived, there was a sign indicating that it would open at 8:00 AM. Despite waiting and walking around Binondo, we returned at 9:30 AM only to find a "CLOSED" sign and were informed by a crew member that the café would not be opening indefinitely.

It is a weekend, and one would expect a café to anticipate a significant number of customers. Our group was not the only one waiting for the café to open.

I would like to highlight a few points:

Customer's Time Should Be Valued: It is crucial to respect the time of your customers when running a business.

Avoid False Advertising: Incorrectly advertising your hours of operation can be considered misleading and fraudulent.

Improvement in Staff Scheduling: It would be beneficial to have a strong and reliable crew schedule to prevent such issues.

I hope you take this feedback seriously and make the necessary improvements to ensure a better experience for your customers in the...