Faustino's on Timog
Down at the south-eastern corner of Quezon City’s Timog Ave. cor. Scout Torillo is one place called Faustino’s Sizzler Bar & Grill, that came to my/our consciousness for the 1st time, ever.
Last night, as in kagabi lang.
I mean, I/we pass/ed here often, as in at least twice each month - since 1998, 'til last month.
It's a hip place anyway, amid the frenzied 'nite life' (restobars, cafes, etc.) on the Timog strip. Therefore, worth telling you fellow wanderers!
I cannot decide, for I don't really know just yet! Have they been on this corner long ago? Or, is this new?
I have to ask around. If you know, pls tell me!
We were on our way home and decided to go for a nightcap. We just came from noisy party places, so we were determined to find a more 'sober' joint – if ever we could find one in QC.
Cruising along Timog Ave. from Quezon Ave., we both thought we should have turned right on Tomas Morato, as surely there always are bars or cafes that fit our desired atmosphere.
But we were already past the rotunda. So we continued driving onwards, laughing that we could end up at Chicos - a gay bar - which is already at Timog cor. EDSA (no bars there)!
Then we saw Faustino’s. 'Primary attraction’ was: ‘available parking space’ right front of its entrance. Eh pagod na si Joana ng kaka-drive all over Manila (including Pasay)!
'Second attraction' was: outside tables under umbrella-type kiosks, well-lit corner, with big trees adorned by a ‘conglomeration’ of yellow lights inside capiz-shell balls. So we chose it!
SanMigLight (of course) plus MarlLights, and we were happily watching vehicles or humans passing by. People-watching of some sort na!
'Repertoire' was more on the "romantic jazzy" standards - on piano, guitar or sax, solo or all three instruments together. Sosyal ang arrive!
We initially thought those were recorded cuts, but when a voice came-on, greeting everyone a good evening, then started singing “Misty”, we became a little more fascinatedly hooked.
We asked a waitress what band was playing and the reply was, "they were the owner with some friends just jamming the night away". Whoa! You guessed it, enter 'us' to the main restaurant area, to listend and watch closely!
Great sound-makers. Real musicians, I mean!
Nostalgic. That was our initial description of this restaurant's interiors. A different kind of place, I must say. Probably a cut above the rest - because we do not know (yet) of anything similar in this area of Timog Ave.
Meaning? The restaurant is not jammed with tiny tables and chairs to ‘accommodate’ more than its 'ideal' maka-tao at hindi maka-sardinas na capacity. Reminiscent of 70s or 80s norm.
Ah, this is even almost a formal set-up - you’d be very afraid to bring your rowdy-when-drunk college buddies. Baka makabasag eh hehehe!
Even our table outside was glass-topped. The decorative wrought-iron outdoor table topped with glass. While inside, most tables (good for 4, square) are neatly covered by two layers of cloth. Yep, 2 layers. The common white cloth, topped by a similar fabric with flowery prints, before being topped with a thick clear glass.
Dyan kayo mag-"bang your glass on the table"!
There are "regular" lights, a lot of them actually. But to evoke a certain desired "sosyalin na ambiance", all is dimmed (aside from the spotlight to a mini-stage). Tables are candle-lit!
Not in the beerhouse style, where candles are dunked into drinking glasses that darken with soot. Candle-holders here are nice artsy thick.
Glass vases (or jars?) whatever they're called, that you can deter any trouble-maker with, if a commotion perchance ensues hehehe. Those jars even have their own individual doilies (or are they called place mats?), in the same color and material as the throw pillows. Me ganun?
Throw pillows? Bakit, me sala set ba? Ah near the piano and mini-stage, there is some kind of lounge-type sitting area, where the table is low (a glass coffee table) with 2-seater sofas made of wicker. The pillows make them chic.
Well, near the glass-door entrance is a similar set-up. There are throw pillows there too, that fits a barkada-lounge feel, for you youngsters of the 80s, while listening to jazzy favorites of your parents and/or even your grandparents!
Not to be outshone in this merry mix of "past, present and future" , the tables beside the big glass windows. Great perch for you the trying to be romantic, to see and be seen by ground level outside world of Timog cor. Sct. Torillo!
The walls are hung with paintings. Even the mini stage backdrop is a 'customized mural' painted floor to ceiling directly on the wall. I think it's a little girl, picking fruits in a garden with a tree-lined foot path. Merry mix na nga!
Christmas decor and blinking lights are still all over the place (it is only January come on). Hey, even the ceiling is not bare! I think those golden balls, twigs and branches surrounded by lots of tiny lights are part of the Christmas décor. Not minimalist, pero 'pleasing' naman.
Their menu items are not exorbitant (I think) as they are about the same price range as everything you'd get from that karaoke bar next door. Yes, me karaoke bar na kapitbahay.
I liked the Faustino's Sizzling Gambas and the Sizzling Hungarian Sausage. But the Fried Itik (its a kind of duck, I guess) was 'da bestest' for me! Maybe because it went well with SanMig Lights? Maybe. Ah, they even have rare to find beers; the bar list is quite long; not to mention juices, shakes & mocktails for non-alcoholics.
Syempre me kape rin at tsa-a!
Music was good, even if those dudes were just in a fit of friendly ‘jamming’.
Actually, we learned that misters piano, sax & guitar were/are regulars of this bar. The owner (their friend), also came for family dinner&drinks, but he's a singer too.
I saw him talk to the regular set of musicians for the night, jajamming daw sila with friends. To our (and all other guests') added delight. I was sure that band was 'more than happy' to "relinquish" their set. Eh tatanga ka lang pero paid ka. Iba ang 'nag-perform' at 'nag-effort' in your slot, ayaw mo?! Achaka owner kaya yon!
It was fun due to that "jamming session"!
I saw his wife busied herself helping out at the bar and waitstaff, although we thought she is also musically inclined. Halata ang galaw eh!
Then, there came another guest - the owners’ lovely daughter who explained those kinds of songs (musical genre) are 'not her league', yet she gamely sang songs solo or with her father.
After their jamming and antics on that stage, father and daughter went out, as the girl was to sing at a nearby popular bar, trying to place her on regular Saturday gig assignment. Woa!
Nice find. Fantastic evening. But, companion doubts this kind of place will sustain for long. I instantly agreed. Folks who love this kind of night-out had been dwindling. Iba na ang uso!
Ako, I could keep coming back to this place. I can also imagine, my parents would've loved this place, kung buhay pa sana sila! Ah, where do you hear Spain and Better Days played live twice in a set - instrumental & vocal versions.
Okay, set the mood. "What A Wonderful World" playing live on Tenor Sax, as I was saying this:
My final analysis: "kahit nga tayo, parking lang naman hinanap natin kaya tayo napadpad dito!
Oh well... our changing preferences...
Last night, as in kagabi lang.
I mean, I/we pass/ed here often, as in at least twice each month - since 1998, 'til last month.
It's a hip place anyway, amid the frenzied 'nite life' (restobars, cafes, etc.) on the Timog strip. Therefore, worth telling you fellow wanderers!
Late Find or New Find?
I have to ask around. If you know, pls tell me!
How I/We Found It
A friend and I happened-by, one late Saturday evening (kagabi yon), after roaming @Manila.We were on our way home and decided to go for a nightcap. We just came from noisy party places, so we were determined to find a more 'sober' joint – if ever we could find one in QC.
Cruising along Timog Ave. from Quezon Ave., we both thought we should have turned right on Tomas Morato, as surely there always are bars or cafes that fit our desired atmosphere.
But we were already past the rotunda. So we continued driving onwards, laughing that we could end up at Chicos - a gay bar - which is already at Timog cor. EDSA (no bars there)!
Why this?
'Second attraction' was: outside tables under umbrella-type kiosks, well-lit corner, with big trees adorned by a ‘conglomeration’ of yellow lights inside capiz-shell balls. So we chose it!
SanMigLight (of course) plus MarlLights, and we were happily watching vehicles or humans passing by. People-watching of some sort na!
The Ambulance (Ambiance ba)!
Nice cozy music (from inside the bar) that we could enjoy outside, since they fitted the area with speakers. Quality sound system, no less.'Repertoire' was more on the "romantic jazzy" standards - on piano, guitar or sax, solo or all three instruments together. Sosyal ang arrive!
We initially thought those were recorded cuts, but when a voice came-on, greeting everyone a good evening, then started singing “Misty”, we became a little more fascinatedly hooked.
We asked a waitress what band was playing and the reply was, "they were the owner with some friends just jamming the night away". Whoa! You guessed it, enter 'us' to the main restaurant area, to listend and watch closely!
Great sound-makers. Real musicians, I mean!
Meaning? The restaurant is not jammed with tiny tables and chairs to ‘accommodate’ more than its 'ideal' maka-tao at hindi maka-sardinas na capacity. Reminiscent of 70s or 80s norm.
Ah, this is even almost a formal set-up - you’d be very afraid to bring your rowdy-when-drunk college buddies. Baka makabasag eh hehehe!
Even our table outside was glass-topped. The decorative wrought-iron outdoor table topped with glass. While inside, most tables (good for 4, square) are neatly covered by two layers of cloth. Yep, 2 layers. The common white cloth, topped by a similar fabric with flowery prints, before being topped with a thick clear glass.
Dyan kayo mag-"bang your glass on the table"!
Not in the beerhouse style, where candles are dunked into drinking glasses that darken with soot. Candle-holders here are nice artsy thick.
Glass vases (or jars?) whatever they're called, that you can deter any trouble-maker with, if a commotion perchance ensues hehehe. Those jars even have their own individual doilies (or are they called place mats?), in the same color and material as the throw pillows. Me ganun?
Throw pillows? Bakit, me sala set ba? Ah near the piano and mini-stage, there is some kind of lounge-type sitting area, where the table is low (a glass coffee table) with 2-seater sofas made of wicker. The pillows make them chic.
Well, near the glass-door entrance is a similar set-up. There are throw pillows there too, that fits a barkada-lounge feel, for you youngsters of the 80s, while listening to jazzy favorites of your parents and/or even your grandparents!
Not to be outshone in this merry mix of "past, present and future" , the tables beside the big glass windows. Great perch for you the trying to be romantic, to see and be seen by ground level outside world of Timog cor. Sct. Torillo!
The walls are hung with paintings. Even the mini stage backdrop is a 'customized mural' painted floor to ceiling directly on the wall. I think it's a little girl, picking fruits in a garden with a tree-lined foot path. Merry mix na nga!
Christmas decor and blinking lights are still all over the place (it is only January come on). Hey, even the ceiling is not bare! I think those golden balls, twigs and branches surrounded by lots of tiny lights are part of the Christmas décor. Not minimalist, pero 'pleasing' naman.
Gastronomics!
I liked the Faustino's Sizzling Gambas and the Sizzling Hungarian Sausage. But the Fried Itik (its a kind of duck, I guess) was 'da bestest' for me! Maybe because it went well with SanMig Lights? Maybe. Ah, they even have rare to find beers; the bar list is quite long; not to mention juices, shakes & mocktails for non-alcoholics.
Syempre me kape rin at tsa-a!
Entertainment!
Actually, we learned that misters piano, sax & guitar were/are regulars of this bar. The owner (their friend), also came for family dinner&drinks, but he's a singer too.
I saw him talk to the regular set of musicians for the night, jajamming daw sila with friends. To our (and all other guests') added delight. I was sure that band was 'more than happy' to "relinquish" their set. Eh tatanga ka lang pero paid ka. Iba ang 'nag-perform' at 'nag-effort' in your slot, ayaw mo?! Achaka owner kaya yon!
It was fun due to that "jamming session"!
I saw his wife busied herself helping out at the bar and waitstaff, although we thought she is also musically inclined. Halata ang galaw eh!
Then, there came another guest - the owners’ lovely daughter who explained those kinds of songs (musical genre) are 'not her league', yet she gamely sang songs solo or with her father.
After their jamming and antics on that stage, father and daughter went out, as the girl was to sing at a nearby popular bar, trying to place her on regular Saturday gig assignment. Woa!
Nice find. Fantastic evening. But, companion doubts this kind of place will sustain for long. I instantly agreed. Folks who love this kind of night-out had been dwindling. Iba na ang uso!
Ako, I could keep coming back to this place. I can also imagine, my parents would've loved this place, kung buhay pa sana sila! Ah, where do you hear Spain and Better Days played live twice in a set - instrumental & vocal versions.
Okay, set the mood. "What A Wonderful World" playing live on Tenor Sax, as I was saying this:
My final analysis: "kahit nga tayo, parking lang naman hinanap natin kaya tayo napadpad dito!
Oh well... our changing preferences...
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