Romulo Café named ‘Most Loved Restaurant in Kensington’

A  “fantastic” feeling, not just for the owners of Romulo Cafe, but also for Filipino food.

That’s how senior banker Rowena Romulo, owner and director of Romulo Cafe, describes the taste of victory.

Romulo Café was named the “Most Loved Restaurant in Kensington” at the third annual Time Out Love London Awards held recently at The Bloomsbury Ballroom in London.

The 70-seater restaurant, which opened its doors early last year in Kensington High Street, edged out competition from other, more established haunts in the neighborhood, carrying off an award designed to recognize London’s best restaurants, shops, bars and cultural venues as voted by the public.

Owned and operated by former senior banker Rowena Romulo and co-director Chris Joseph, Romulo Café garnered the most votes among nine short-listed restaurants in Kensington, a district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, hub of many of the capital’s iconic museums, embassies and the new Design Museum. Romulo Café triumphs in good company. Among the other restaurant winners were Coya for Mayfair; Dishoom for Covent Garden and The Strand, and The Ivy Chelsea Garden for Chelsea.

The award serves as a clear testament to Romulo Café’s popularity among UK-based Filipinos and local residents of Kensington, where it stays open seven days a week including holidays. Among its regular customers are diplomats from the Philippine embassy, businessmen and professionals including bankers, teachers, nurses, families with children, students, visiting Filipino tourists and generally anyone longing for or wishing to discover Filipino food. Votes were also a nod to the exceptional skills of head chef Lorenzo Maderas and his kitchen brigade, a strong front of house and operations team and much-lauded, elegant yet homey interiors.

Since March 2016, Romulo Café has provided a showcase for fine Filipino cuisine in London, serving archly presented heirloom Filipino recipes lovingly preserved by scions of the late General Carlos P. Romulo, the Philippines’ longest serving foreign secretary, and his wife Virginia Llamas. It is the first branch of the Manila-based, eponymous family restaurant business launched by Rowena’s sister Sandie Romulo-Squillantini and husband Enzo Squillantini in 2009.

“It tastes so much like home,” says Mons Romulo, second cousin of Rowena (Mons’ father former Foreign Affairs Secretary Bert Romulo and Rowena’s father Dick are first cousins). During Mons’ visits to London and she feels like having comfort food like no other, she goes to Romulo’s for its hot pandesal or its authentic halo-halo.

“My family and I also loved the kare-kare, lumpia and kaldereta,” adds Mons, who was in London late last year with her mom Lovely Tecson Romulo, brother former Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo and his wife Shalani; and her children Simon and Cheskie Tantoco.

***

Rowena Romulo says, “My whole family and I are thrilled that Romulo Café has won the Time Out ‘Most Loved Restaurant in Kensington’ award. When we first heard we were shortlisted, Chris and I and the whole team were jumping for joy, and at the awards party, we couldn’t believe a Filipino restaurant like ours could actually be in the running to win in such a competitive field.

“I never forget we are a new restaurant in London, a world food capital,” says Rowena, daughter of prominent lawyer and Makati Business Club stalwart Dick Romulo. “Winning this accolade is a fantastic feeling, not just for us, but also for Filipino food, which is starting to get the recognition it has long deserved as a world-class cuisine. I am truly grateful to our loyal customers and supporters who come here regularly and who voted, as well as chef Lorenzo Maderas, and all my staff whose energy and commitment keep me going.”

Chris Joseph affirms, “In London, Romulo Café has become a little patch of the Philippines and we are amazed at the sheer variety of customers we have been able to attract, from walk-ins off the street to corporate groups to visiting and London-based dignitaries and celebrities. Rowena and her family have always said that Romulo Café is a restaurant for everyone and definitely for our fellow Filipinos. This award proves that it is.”

The Kensington area is where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, as well as Prince Harry, reside.

With the world-class standards Filipino cuisine is hitting, who knows who else are going to give Romulo’s the royal nod?

Romulo Café in London is located at 343 Kensington High Street W8 6NW. It is open seven days a week, from Monday to Sunday, serving lunch, merienda and dinner. The restaurant recently partnered with the Philippine Department of Tourism in the UK to cater for the Philippine Pavilion at the World Travel Market 2016 (WTM London) in Excel London.

(Visit www.romulocafe.co.uk and www.facebook.com/RomuloCafeLondon.)

Design Harmony

In the Year of the Fire Rooster, design your space to attract luck.

LRI Design Plaza hosts “Design Harmony” in the Year of the Fire Rooster. Princess Lim Fernandez, who runs the Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony in New World Makati Hotel, will initially give her predictions of what will happen during the Chinese Lunar Year of the Fire Rooster during her talk tomorrow.

Fernandez, a Feng Shui expert, will center her talk on the law of Feng Shui and geomancy’s applications to locations, interior design and furniture to attract luck.  Architects, interior designers, homemakers and those interested on these topics are invited to attend. 

Registration is free but seats are limited. For pre-registration, call Sally Septimo at 0923-8122184 and 895-7949.

Registration is at 1 p.m. at The Art Pavilion, 2F LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air II, Makati City. The talk starts at 1:30 p.m. Snacks will be served. * (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)