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What you’ll be reading on towards the end of this story will probably turn you into a green-eyed monster. Haha. Kidding. We do not want you to be green with envy because of another awesome food trip we had. We’re sharing all these because we want you to try it for yourselves!
At alam naming hindi kami mapapahiya sa pag-recommend nito. 😉
We were on our way to Alitagtag when we saw this huge tarpaulin of a newly-opened restaurant along the highway of Cuenca – Florenel Café and Restaurant. The restaurant does not seem to belong in the area as you might think you only get to see such establishment in the middle of the town proper or somewhere in the busy streets of the city.
But in the course of getting to know more about the restaurant, we realized what a blessing it is for travelers passing by Cuenca. And as we try to enumerate the many good reasons why you should visit Florenel Café and Restaurant, we know you’d call on your family or your friends and you’d set a date the soonest. Now, go!
The little story behind Florenel
Florenel is the combination of the names of the two owners of the restaurant – Florence and Nelly. Florence previously worked in the hotel and restaurant industry that served as her training ground. After working for a few years in Manila then in Lipa City’s Cafe de Lipa, Florence met Nelly who share with her a common goal of helping the women in their barangay to have another source of income.
The goal still lingers along the plan while they were trying to pursue something greater and that is to put up a café and restaurant. Florence, in respect of the company that contributed to her growth in the industry, let the owners of Cafe de Lipa learn about her plans of putting up her own business in Cuenca. Thank heavens for the goodness of their hearts, Florence even got more than their nods.
After some studies and concept-building, Florence and Nelly began the work and in December 15, 2012, Florenel Café and Restaurant opened its door to the public.
The place, the food, the music, and everything nice
Florenel is a two-storey building where the first floor is the café and restaurant and the second floor is the function room. Due to frequent requests of some customers, in February, they opened a bar which is the extension of the building located at the back of the resto.
Dining in at Florenel makes you feel like you’re eating at the comfort of your own home. All the furniture were custom-built by a local furniture-maker. Trivia: most of the hardwood tables and chairs at the bar are for sale. Yes, if you want them, you can have them at the price indicated. The bar serves as gallery for the works of the local furniture-maker that Florenel is patronizing.
It has that homey vibe that would automatically make you feel welcome, at ease… and hungry. Yes, the place is a combination of all things bright, beautiful, and yummy!
Now we go to the best part – the FOOD! We consumed more than we expected. Haha. Why? Because we had their current best-sellers and there are several of them! We had Crispy Pata, Bagnet, Grilled Salmon, Baby Back Ribs, Pancit Lang-lang, Turon de Saba in Mango Salsa, and a few of their milkshakes, fruit shakes, and ice blended beverages.
Grabe, alam mo yung grabe? Laughs. Truly one of the best dining experiences we had as a team. Sarap ng lahat ng nakain namin. Lalo na ang Pancit Lang-lang, ang pancit na hindi mo pwedeng lang-langin!
Their menu has the flexibility of adding or removing some dishes according to their customers’ feedback. If you rate the goodness of a dish based on its taste and how it is presented, you might give each dish an A. That’s because the chef and the rest of the staff have been in the hotel and restaurant industry for years now.
Another plus in dining in at Florenel is their playlist! Random music that makes the food experience light, fun, no qualms, and really appetizing. Eto yun tipong habang kumakain ka, mapapaindak ka sa sarap. Haha.
Events at Florenel
Other nice things about Florenel Café and Restaurant? You can rent their function room for only P800/hour. Additional fee for renting the sound system but at a very low rate. The function room has its own comfort room and kitchen, and can accommodate 70 to 100 persons.
They don’t have corkage fee if in case you’ll be bringing in your own food and drinks for your event. But in case you will be needing plates and other utensils, plus drinking water and venue set-up, that will be P50/head.
They accept reservations for intimate gatherings as wedding, baptismal, corporate meeting, etc. And by the way, they have gift certificates worth P100 and P500 valid for this month especially for our graduating students. Give them a call on how to avail one.
“Simple lang tong place namin pero kumportable yung pupunta,” Ms. Florence shared. This is not just a place where you can dine. This is where you can relax, catch up with the recent stories of your favorite people while enjoying the food, celebrate events, create moments.
Florenel Café and Restaurant will give you a satisfying restaurant experience. Travelers may consider this as the best stop-over along Cuenca. One more feature that customers adore here? The comfort room. It’s yours to find out why. 😉
They have a growing market which is randomly composed of students, families, government officials, barkadas, and road-trippers from other towns in Batangas, from Manila, and even from other neighboring provinces.
Their viands are good for sharing (we were 5 in the group when we went there and one dish is just enough for our number), price ranges from P150 to P280. They also have cakes and pastries, sandwiches, pastas, and grilled seafood!
Another plus are their family set meals ranging from P600 (good for 4 persons) to P2000 (good for 8 to 10 persons). We were told that most of their regular customers are families so they come up with these set meals. Florenel is often jampacked at night so if you want to reserve a table, give them a call.
Florenel Cafe and Restaurant is located at San Felipe, Cuenca, Batangas. You may contact them at (043) 706-1248 or (043) 706-0057.
