Claire M.
Yelp
Ate here three times in two months, and the interiors and the food never fail to amaze me. Stepping into Cafe Juanita is like going inside a big yet cozy house of a well-traveled person who has brought home colorful knickknacks from different parts of the Philippines and the world, with bright lamps draped in colorful cloth (especially beautiful at night!), large decorations that will catch your attention like a golden Buddha with parasols, and different and unique details on each table. Each table feels like a different trip, and the traveler in me couldn't resist looking at all tables, even from a distance. Which is why I was happy that on the three times I ate at Cafe Juanita, I was able to sit behind different tables.
The food is consistently good. While I tried something new on every visit, I ate the ratatouille every time, and I love their Asian version - I never thought wansoy and our country's very own tuyo would go so well with this French dish. After tasting their kare-kare, my friends and I understand why it is a bestseller - for me, it is the richness of the peanut sauce balanced well with other flavors. For the sinigang, I like how a tasting sample was sent over to our table so that they can make the level of sourness according to our taste. It looks like this is a common practice, as they did this the two occasions we tried different sinigang dishes.
Cafe Juanita is perfect for dates, get-togethers with family and friends, and just about every occasion. My first time I went with a friend, my second time we surprised a friend on his birthday here (and he loved the place!), and my third time we - a group of over 15 - had dinner with a balikbayan friend.
You can talk with your meal companions with the relaxing grand piano music on the background; you can even request a particular song, as my friend and I did.
Considering the ambiance and the quality of the food, the prices are very reasonable. The ratatouille good for sharing (I would say good for three, because my friend and I could not finish it!) is at P200+, for example. Other meals good for sharing that we tried are P300+. It is the bestselling kare-kare which is a bit steep at just a little over P600, but it is also good for sharing, also for three people.