swingby ph
Google
honestly always love bar flora’s vibe. went here last year for the first and just had drinks with friends and vibed and that time last year was a much better atmosphere. even had a bespoke drink and the hummingbird if i remember correctly. always like the place with the glass partition and the effect of the plants on the other side. also love their menu and branding overall, where it’s a very fairytale-y themed that makes it so magical.
this year, wanted to try an afternoon tea set with a friend and it’s both our first time. the afternoon tea is really just enough for 2 and serves as a light snack. we really didn’t expect it to fill us, but it did after the whole ordeal.
with the afternoon tea set, you get 3 pcs of ea variants as follows:
•pompano curry croquettes — this was filling in a way probably with a mix of mashed potatoes i guess with a hint of curry
•pineapple salsa cups — we both didn’t expect to like this as we were like… ah, ensalada. we do normally like ensalada, but for me i often do specially when it has eggplant in it. but for this one, pineapple was the star and it had a bit of punch in it. this actually turned out our favorite hahahah
•mushroom uni tarlet — this was alright and did have a fish taste to it, with minced mushrooms
•banana (?) brownies — not sure if this had banana exactly, but i’m pretty sure it was t just a regular cacao-centric one
•lemon bars — i liked this better than the brownies and they’re both petite bites
•your choice of tea — from their wide range of available teas: oolong, black tea, pu’er you name it and they probably they got it maybe save for the really rare ones. i’d like to try for my next one if they have da hong pao as i didn’t get to ask. but we got a pu’er with an umami to it, it’s essentially fermented tea with origins from china.
the service does take quite long, maybe we waited for 30 minutes for the whole thing upon seating. we also did a reservation for 4pm, but was seated next to a bridal shower celebration. the overall atmosphere that day was a bit overwhelming and would appreciate the heads up if an event is taking place or a portion of the restaurant is being used for an occasion. there was so much going on, as beside us there were also a couple people doing a matcha workshop if i’m not mistaken, which was fine. there were only approximately 3 tables similar to us doing the afternoon tea set.
the service ends quite quick though you can pace yourself accordingly. afternoon tea starts at 4pm and if you do want to get ala carte orders after if that didn’t fill you up, you can only get served by 6pm for your additional orders. the staff were attentive enough, but only if they were passing through and serving other tables. would appreciate a designated staff near the diners, so visitors could get served promptly.
but overall, would always come back to bar flora as i don’t think i’ve experienced its full potential as there’s always something new to try. even if the bridal shower that took place alongside us bothered us a bit, now ive gotten an idea for a reservation in the place. for events such as that, maybe it would actually be better to rent the whole place or at least place walk-ins and reserved visitors in a different area or partition them from the occasion as it does get overstimulating.
