Cinephiles and foodies no longer need to fret because the iconic Cinema ’76 Café is back and better than before.
The movie-themed café will be having its grand launch on March 18, Saturday in its new home in Tomas Morato, Quezon City’s famous food hub.
The micro-cinema hangout previously opened in Anonas in June 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It closed more than a year later and has promised to return in a “much-improved home” in Tomas Morato.
Fast forward to 2023, the beloved café is now back to satisfy movie lovers and food enthusiasts’ cravings with its upgraded menu. It also got a revamped look.
The cafe offers an elevated casual dining experience where visitors can feast on a curated menu of progressive Filipino dishes.
Offerings include comfort food, all-time favorite snacks, a selection of handcrafted beverages like blended coffee drinks, and classic cocktails for nightcaps.
Here’s a glimpse of what Filipinos can enjoy at the Cinema ’76 Café:
Snack Bar
- Popcorn (Truffle Caramel, Butter, Blue Cheese, Smoked Ribs, Cheddar)
- Nacho Grande
- Nachos and Dips
- Truffle Potato Wedges
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Kilig Fried Pickles
Soup and Salad
- Margherita Soup (grilled-cheese baguette)
- Chopped Caesar Salad
Starters
- Classic Chicken Buffalo Wings
- Chicken Thai Glazed Wings
- Liempo Q
Pastas
- TBA Studios Box-Office Pasta
- Real Tomato Pasta
- Gambas-Ziti
Rice Meals (Pinoy ‘Bibimbap’)
- Carson’s Bagnet
- Pork BBQ
Desserts
- Caramel Crunch Cake
- Panna Cotta
Beverages
- Hot Tea (English Breakfast, Chamomile, Earl Grey, Green Tea)
- Iced Tea
- Iced Lemonade
- Bottled Water
- Coke
- Coke Zero
- Sprite
- Royal
- Sarsi
- Schweppes Soda
- Schweppes Tonic
Cold Coffee Creations
- Iced Americano
- Iced Latte
- Iced Vanilla Latte
- Iced Caramel Latte
- Iced Mocha
- Iced Cappuccino
- Producer’s Iced Café
- Cinema ’76 Iced Cappuccino
Hot Coffee Creations
- Lungo
- Cortado
- Americano
- Cappuccino
- Mocha
- Cafe Latte
- Vanilla Latte
- Caramel Latte
- Cinema ’76 Hot Latte
Frappe
- Mocha
- Matinee (milk chocolate and peanut frappe)
- Fresh Lemon Creme Frappe
Shakes
- Ripe Mango
- Green Mango
- Strawberry Slush
Cocktails
- Amaretto Sour
- Tequila Sunrise
- Cosmopolitan
- Strawberry Margarita
- Classic Margarita
- Martini
- Gin Tonic
- Rhum Coke
- Jack Coke
- Vodka Sprite
- Vodka Cranberry
Special Cocktails
- Time Check
- Frozen Lychee Margarita
- Love Team (Ripe and green mango daiquiris in one glass)
- Leading Man
- Leading Lady
- Kontrabida (The Villainess Negroni – A Tribute to Cherie Gil)
Alcoholic Beverages
- Smirnoff Mule
- Red Horse
- Pale Pilsen
- San Miguel Light
- San Miguel Apple / Lemon
- San Miguel Super Dry
- San Miguel Cerveza Negra
- Lemon-Dou
- San Miguel Zero
Shot / Bottle
- Jack Daniels Whiskey
- Jameson Whiskey
- Tanqueray
- Bombay Sapphire
- Absolut Vodka
- Smirnoff Red Vodka
- Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila
- Patron Silver Tequila
- Red Wine
- White Wine
- Pink Wine (Rosé)
The menu was designed by renowned chefs Gene and Gino Gonzalez from the prestigious Center for Asian Culinary Studies.
According to Chef Gene, the menu’s direction is very intentional and “always keeping in mind the cinema and theater attitude.”
For instance, one of the top considerations was the moviegoers at the adjacent Cinema ’76 Film Society, the popular micro-cinema.
The chefs made sure that a good portion of the menu could be taken inside and enjoyed in the theater.
Apart from mouth-watering snacks, Chef Gene recommended the filling sandwich selection inspired by some of the TBA Studios‘ beloved historical films.
These are the Luna sandwich (chicken tocino with salted egg relish and tomatoes), Del Pilar sandwich (adobo flakes, cream cheese with pickled onion), and Quezon sandwich (chicken inasal, tomatoes with creamy béchamel sauce).
Chef Gino described the cafe’s offerings as “a good mix of new and familiar flavors.”
“We have favorite bistro dishes that are not necessarily Filipino but are very agreeable to the Filipino taste. We have American, Italian, and a bit of Asian too so everyone will have more reasons to go here,” he said in a release.
TBA Studios president and COO Daphne Chiu said that they wanted the new café to “reflect the needs” of their growing customer base.
“We made sure to incorporate dining options for them, which we couldn’t implement in our former branch. With our spacious dining area and a customizable menu, we can do so much more and be an ideal venue for different types of events,” she said.
The Cinema ’76 Café is located on the second floor of the Terraces Building in Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Borromeo in Quezon City.
It is open to the public on Sunday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight and Friday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
Patrons can follow the café’s Facebook and Instagram pages for more updates.