Bintana, a hidden coffee and food hangout

In the heart of the busy city but hidden from plainsight, just across the Aboitiz property in Elizabeth Pond St. is a coffee and food hangout residents and students nearby may want to try  -- the Bintana.

Bintana is not your usual coffee shop. It's like you are having coffee or eating meals comfortably at home. It is a homey coffee shop which is said to offer various kinds of coffee like Kalinga, Costa Rica and Colombia. Instead of cakes and pastries, they mainly offer palabok, which is said to be one of their bestsellers, as well as set meals like Mechado with rice and cucumber (pipino) and chicken or meat dishes (like Fried Chicken, Sweet and Fried Porkchop, Pork Bistek and Paksiw Pata).

The menu is written in the blackboard above me.

They offer coffee and their bestsellers, Bintana Burger and Pancit Palabok

Like I mentioned, the atmosphere is homey as it looks to me that it used to be a house with many windows (bintana). The walls are adorned with paintings and cool music feels the venue. The place can be perfect for celebrating private occasions with a small intimate group of family and close friends. Or it could be a good study area for students living nearby. Or it could be an ideal place for casual talk among friends or even an informal date. The space outside has lamps and tables if people wish to reserve the entire place for a celebration.

With regards to the food, what we tried as of now is the Burger and the Mechado.

The Bintana Burger is juicy and the size is just enough for one to have his fill. It has tomato, pipino, pickles, cheese and mayonnaise if I remember right. It's worth the price of 80 pesos.

The Mechado is pork-based. It is soft and cooked just right. Too bad, I think my photo of it was inadvertently erased. The Mechado (Tagalog-style) comes with pipino in vinegar and black pepper. The tomato sauce is quite rich and the serving generous as it can feed two persons actually.

I haven't tried yet the palabok but the owner recommends it. Since Bintana is just new, the choices are not that many but the owner promises to add more items as time passes.

Being a student once I think Bintana gives for students a study area feel.

And also I think they are sometimes having an acoustic night in the near future.

It could be a hidden gem, a potential casual hangout for friends and students having a friendly meal together or coffee in the midst of the "jungles" of Elizabeth Pond Street.

You may visit Bintana Cebu Coffee Shop's Facebook page first.