A Trip to Fantasy Land at Fantasia Café

It’s easy to get attracted to Fantasia Cafe, a Mediterranean French masquerade-themed café in Ayala Fairview Terraces. Why not? It’s like reliving a childhood dream of being in a masquerade ball right out of a fairy tale. As such, we readily chose Fantasia Café in one of our weekend meet-ups with our friends.

Now, I think there are three elements in Fantasia Café that are feedback-worthy: interior design, service, and food.

There is no doubt that the interiors of this restaurant are stylishly-designed and very attractive. The Mediterranean-style windows, the French masks that adorn the walls, the oversized seats with whimsical designs, and elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceilings – all pieces are picked well and combined beautifully to create a charming ambiance and relaxing vibe.

The tables are of different sizes – there is a long table in the middle, mid-sized ones for families, small round tables for intimate dining and low tables for those who prefer the unconventional. This was a clever move; aside from the obvious practicality, the disparity added to the relaxing atmosphere of the place.

There are also masks and headdresses spread out on a table that are free for guests to try on and photograph themselves in. Perfect for those creative selfies for Facebook or Instagram.

My wife and I only ordered dessert, choco lava cake, and coffee – iced mocha and café latte. The choco

lava cake was really good. It was a warm chocolate cake filled with oozing chocolate. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that balanced the taste of the sweet and slightly bitter cake. We enjoyed this dessert tremendously.

Our friend ordered Chicken Teriyaki which she said was just fine; nothing ordinary or noteworthy but, nonetheless, filling. She loved her crepe though because the generous mango slices were fresh and sweet.

Food was served on big odd-shaped plates that added a bit of fun to our dining experience.

This is one area that severely needs improvement as the servers all seemed uninitiated and dazed. For one we had to repeat our orders several times before our server was able to finally get it right. And then we had to wait long for our choco lave cake. When we asked about it, we were told that they were still preparing it but it was close to thirty minutes before our dessert arrived. 

Lastly, when one of our friends called a waiter to request for water, the server replied, ”Sir, ibang waiter na lang po at nagseserve pa ako.” (Sir, please ask another waiter as I am serving a customer).

These are three different instances in a single visit with three different personnel involved. Fantasia Café definitely needs to up its customer service.

To round up, Fantasia Café is a restaurant that fares strongly in creativity and design. Food is average to above average. Price is also at par with other cafés and coffee shops: P150++ for a medium-sized blended coffee drink, P125 for a cup of latte, and P200 for the choco lave cake. I think the choco lava cake is a bit pricey considering its serving size but it was excellent. It will leave you wanting more. As mentioned earlier, service definitely needs to improve greatly and quickly.

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