New eats: Well's Garden Cafe in Rizal offers a pleasant biker’s pit stop

Riders and bikers passing through the Manila East Road who want to grab a bite to eat in a pleasant pit spot compared to the usual streetside bulalo, pares or lugaw joints have a new option. 

Well's Garden Cafe in the town of Baras offers simple and affordable meals you can enjoy in a cozy space, with warm and friendly service to boot. 

Diners can enjoy dining al fresco meals surrounded by plants. The size and look of the place with its white umbrellas, hanging plants, and other garden-inspired details will appeal to families out on pandemic road trips, couples looking for a secluded space to dine, as well as small groups of cyclists or bikers who just want to rest and recharge before their ride home. 

The cafe, which opened towards the end of January 2021, is located along the Manila East Road right below Wells Resort, a small rest house with a private pool perched atop a hill. Riders can easily spot the rock formation along the highway and park their motorcycles right outside the resto while cyclists can take in their bikes to the space.

This February, they've set up their space for Love Month, with a large heart-shaped backdrop for photo ops, perfect for intimate lunch or dinner dates.

The cafe serves affordable home-cooked meals that will remind visitors of simple living in the province, which many folk living in Metro Manila sorely miss these days. The cafe is also a haven for plant lovers as well and offers a few plants for sale. 

Simple binalot-style meals like Chicken and Pork Adobo, Beef Steak and Breaded Pork Chop served with rice, tomato, salted egg are reasonably priced at P120 to P130 each. These are served on native basket plates lined with leaves and actual utensils instead of paper plates and disposable plastic spoons and forks that have become the norm in most restaurants.

The cafe also serves all-day Filipino (Beef Tapa, Pork Longganisa, Daing na Bangus, Tuyo) and American breakfast meals (Hungarian Sausage, Bacon, Luncheon Meat) as well as sandwiches (Clubhouse, Chicken Sandwich, Ham & Egg) for light snacks.

For those who just need a quick warm-up and energy boost before their ride home, the cafe also serves brewed coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea and other drinks. 

Diners are asked to comply with guidelines while dining-in such as wearing face masks at all times except when eating, practicing social distancing, and making use of the disinfection station at the premises. The restaurant’s staff conducts temperature checks at the entrance and asks diners to log in their details for contact tracing. 

The resto also offers WiFi and gives diners the option to pay for meals via GCash. 

Well’s Garden Cafe is located along Manila East Road, Brgy. San Jose, 1970 Baras, Rizal. They are open from Monday to Sunday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and accept both reservations and walk-in guests. They also cater events for small groups of 15 to 25 persons. 

For inquiries and reservations, call 0925-839 5854 or message them on Facebook.

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