Lihim Cafe — Restaurant in Santo Tomas

Restaurant and Service

Overstaffed. Staff don't seem to have a lot of experience. The service doesn't match the vibe that the place gives off. Honestly the place seems pretentious. They don't serve the food altogether and put their fingers inside the bowls of the food that they serve. They also didn't serve the plates and utensils before serving the food.

Food

I don't think they cook the food fresh either, serving time is too fast for the food that they prepared. Either they microwave the food or use a heater since the serving bowls and plates are also hot along with the food.

Carbonara was okay 3/5, not bad but it's not a completely traditional Carbonara as in the menu. Not sure if they even used Guanciale for the meat, looks like really salty bacon, they also used cream for sure and not just egg and cheese. Overall they got the basic taste though. The garlic bread was not toasted and was really soft, basically like wheat gardenia with butter feels.

Calamares was good 4/5, the batter was really good but if they prepared and served it fresh the squid would be softer.

Iced Dark Mocha Hazelnut 2/5, too sweet! Idk what chocolate they used but they should change it.

Gyudon 3/5 - didn't have onion, used button mushrooms instead of shitake mushrooms, tastes okay but could be better. The onions and mushrooms make the difference!

USDA Ribeye 3/5 - good steak but the price is too much for the flavor and quality of how they cooked it.

Pizza 2/5 - seems like a sheet of crispy pita bread with a bit of tomato sauce and a dash of decent cheese.

Atmosphere

a very chill place and very good for taking pictures and chilling. A lot of space outside and a playground for the kids.

Overall, I think the restaurant/cafe is too small, they should consider expanding to accommodate the customers. More customer-centric training for the staff would help, the manager seems to know what she's doing, could be cascaded to the rest of the staff. Focus on quality of the food since that's what will make customers come back, right now it's just the uniqueness of the place the makes the...

LIHIM CAFE (inside Gunita Villas and Pavilion, just a few minutes away from Padre Pio National Shrine)

Safety: 🏨🏨🏨 (3/3) Service: 👌👌👌(3/3) Cleanliness: ✨✨✨(3/3) Food: 🤤🤤🤤 (3/3) Price: 💸💸(justifiable) Serving Size: 🙋🙋🙋🙋 (1-2 pax normal appetite)

PRO TIPS: Best to visit at 5pm onwards. They have an Al Fresco Dining for those who wanted to experience the cool Batangas breeze, otherwise dining indoors (air-conditioned) is also a good option. Inside, it's cozy and relaxing walled with glass panels. Outside, it's surrounded by (real) ornamental plants matched with the sounds of nature. Payment via QR, credit card and cash is accepted. Parking space is not a worry! Be warned, queue might be long if you arrive just right after opening hours...

WORTH IT BA BALIKAN? YES! Food, ambience and the sense of being in a "lihim" (secret) place, are pop!

Try their variety of menu options from hot and cold drinks, starters, main course, and desserts. They offer salad, soups, pizza, pasta, cakes, western meals and rice set as well. We tried their starters fish & chips matched with garlic mayo, crispy-fried enoki mushroom, then their coffee and chocolate drinks. (Their creamy) Salted egg and scampi carbonara pasta (is a personal favorite).

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE: If you love concept cafés that are not too rowdy where you can have a good chat with your friends, take a quick IG-worthy groupie, in the presence of good food and hot/iced coffee or chocolate drink, you'll appreciate this place.

Kudos to Victor, Kenneth & Elgin for a great service...

#LihimCafe #Lihim #LihimStoTomas #PadrePio #santotomascafe...

I went with my family to treat my son for his graduation. Upon arriving there was already a long queue, my wife went inside to ask where we can get a number or where to enlist for the queue. The staff member with no name tag ignored my wife at first and when my wife tried to politely ask for her attention to ask where we can line up she just pointed outside without taking her name or enlisting our party. We sat outside for a few minutes and a couple of new customers arrived and their names were taken for the queue! We let that past and finally had our party queued and when it was finally our table to be called (after waiting for almost an hour) I saw the same girl that ignored my wife and wanted to asked if we can be seated because I saw a couple of tables ready and we were next in queue, guess what, this girl also ignored me and that was the last straw. I tapped her shoulder to get her attention because we also have our toddler with us and we just want to be seated and be comfortable inside. Kudos Victor the manager who was very kind and accommodating and to Marvin who waited our table, which is why I am raising the service review to 3 stars. Apparently this rude staff member was the “cashier” but that should not be an excuse for her attitude, if she didn’t want to deal with customers she shouldn’t have went outside her station. There should always be a staff member manning the gates to accommodate incoming guests. We noticed that the new customers who came after us were also not greeted most of the time and they needed to look for someone to assist them...