Last week, I received an invitation to check out Exile on Main Street in Katipunan. It has only been open for 6 months, and is the second Exile branch.
Doing a bit of checking before going, I found out that Exile has become something of an artist haven. I also checked their menu online and saw that they kept their prices student-friendly, too. I loved how they named their dishes.
EXILE ON MAIN ST
Exile on Main St is located in Katipunan, near the big Jollibee. It is between National Bookstore and HSBC, tucked behind the Army Navy out front. There is limited parking space in front, but it's free.
Exile on Main St was started by college friends who wanted a place where they could hang out. They envisioned it as an offbeat place hidden from the hustle and bustle of the city, perfect for "exiles". The name was also inspired by The Rolling Stones album.
They make their food from scratch - they make their own sauces, dips, crusts, salsa, sausages, desserts, pies, and even churn their own ice cream. Nobody has a "food" degree, but one of the owners loves to cook and most of the recipes are developed by him.
The decor is homey art - you'll immediately feel at ease knowing that there's nothing fancy you need to be careful about, and the place is lovingly decorated by creative hands. Art adorns the walls, the chairs, etc... to be honest, it made me think of Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter's Tea Party, haha (see pics).
THE FOOD
My favorite dish was the Tinapesto (P145) - I've already made up my mind to order this when we go back. Exile on Main St makes their own pesto from scratch with fresh basil leaves, garlic, parmesan, etc... and the tinapa just takes it up a notch. I love smoked fish and adding it to pesto, wow, it's definitely a good pairing.
I also loved their Monggo Tinapa Mo! (P95) - served with rice, this is the classic monggo but paired with tinapa (smoked fish) and malunggay. I've always had monggo with pork, but using tinapa makes it er... healthier? Haha, but it is definitely more delicious than just plain pork! The tinapa just provides more depth of flavor than plain pork. Sorry, missed taking a picture of this.
Another pasta dish that I liked was The White Stripes (P155) - pasta with Exile's own fennel sausages in a basil cream sauce.
For the appetizers, we had Gimme Shitake (P135) - breaded and fried sliced shitake mushrooms with a garlic wasabi mayo dip. This is nice, it's different and doesn't make me feel guilty eating a lot of it, though I liked the dip more than the fried mushrooms. For me, I think the mushrooms should be fried a little bit less, not too brown. But it was a nice, unique appetizer.
We finished the whole plate of Longganisa con Sinta (P125), our hands just kept on grabbing one, hahaha. The filling was delicious, although, again, I prefer it to be fried not so brown. A light, golden brown would be perfect.
We also had some Nature Boy Nachos (P100) - I like using the nachos to grab some of the Torn & Frayed pulled pork. The Torn & Frayed pulled pork dip on the side was delicious.
For dessert, hands down the most recommended is the Y Tu Mama Brownie (P85, +P50 or P+65 to add a single scoop of Exile's own ice cream). I am picky about brownies and this brownie is legit. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. The vanilla ice cream is my favorite from all of Exile's ice creams I was able to try. It is soft, like a soft serve ice cream, but creamy. Love, love, love! This is a must order!
ICE CREAM
Exile on Main St makes their own ice cream - they source their milk from a local dairy farm and churn their own ice cream. At the moment, their ice creams are still not available for take-out, but they hope to have this available for take-out soon.
Their ice creams are not too sweet. Just try them and see the difference versus commercial ice creams! Aside from the vanilla, I also liked the Roasted Butter Pecan and the one with Earl Grey and Lemon Pound Cake.
SUMMARY
If you're looking for a place that's different, budget-friendly, yet serves good food, check out Exile on Main St Katipunan. All their food is made in-house, from their dips, to brownies, to ice cream! The place is cool and air-conditioned, quirky, and a stay there is like a mini-trip to Wonderland (as in Alice in Wonderland). I don't know why, it just feels that way to me.
I also highly recommend their Y Tu Mama Brownie and their ice creams. read more