Bistro Coron

In Coron, you only need one place to enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This restaurant is called...

In BISTRO CORON, the food is differently delicioso, sumptuously surprising on most cases, gourmet-like plated food choices which are not available widely. Bottom-line, something that you don’t see and eat in Manila everyday, ever month, every week (unless you live in Forbes). Even if you order an ordinary bolognese spaghetti, there is still a twist. Here are some examples: 

[yummy, big hotdog schnitzel]. 

this bolognese has a deliciously strong herb taste. 

(this pizza has raw egg put on the center. crust is also a bit soft in the center; different from restaurants in manila)

(even this pinoy fare has a delicious twist with the herb and soupy concoction added)  

A peek at the kitchen (from the small window) shows a full range of cooking armaments, giving the guests a clue of the serious food conjuring that happens inside.

(see also the full-fledged automatic fryer a la the chickenjoy machine in jollibee)

The menu is a tackily laminated print-out of a deskjet, which will probably mislead some on the “seriousness” of the meal. Bistro Coron will not serve you a plated carinderia or fast-food food. 

The menu also shows a prices a bit on the high side, but look into the other table the moment you arrive.When you see that the servings are easily good for two (e.g. the smallest pizza at 190 PhP serve 3 males), you will believe the price is well worth it.  

Another plus: you wont be able to sample everything even if you stay one week in Coron. There's just so many in the menu. We wonder how this small bistro keeps stock of all the raw materials needed everyday to have all these selections ready (although we see some note in the menu that some items need to be ordered a day ahead). 

The place is owned by Bruno, a retired anthropologist. You can see him having drinks at the bar after cooking some of the meals--probably some in the menu that still interests him, or a fare that he wants to keep consistent quality and plating of. We werent able to shake the hands of the chef because he is busy chatting with [perhaps] personal guests. 

Ah, some caveats: the pizza takes time to prepare, and the place gets full during meal hours, so be in early especially if you want pizza.

Bottomline, we'll sum it this way: To have these cuisines in Manila will cost you easily 5-fold than the price here. So each dinner or lunch is like profiting 4-fold in experience and taste. A visit to Coron is not complete without a meal in the town's famous 'Bistro.' That's for sure.