Patis Tito Garden Cafe (Formerly Kusina Salud)

Patis Tito Garden Cafe is formerly known as Kusina Salud. Being a part of Viaje del Sol and having good reviews online, I have always wanted to go to and eat in Kusina Salud. Last December when we went there, we found out it was temporarily closed for renovations. Finally, it reopened last April and gave way for a bigger and better Kusina Salud – Patis Tito Garden Cafe.

First, you will be amazed with the restaurant’s view and ambiance. It gives you the feel/vibe of visiting your old grandma’s house for lunch. With its unique, simple and rustic architectural design, it would bring you to the traditional vintage Philippine houses. Add the capiz walls, wooden floors and old tables and chairs to accentuate the classic Filipino interior design. Moreover, its open walls, the trees around, warm shade and cool breeze and even the sound of birds give you a very relaxing ambiance as you enjoy your food.

Patis Tito’s menu gives twists to the usual Filipino foods by adding special herbs and spices to bring-up the unique flavor in every dish. For our lunch, Ate got us all the bestsellers – Classic Bulalo, Combo Appetizer Plate, Inasal Diablo, Kare-kare Seafood and Crispy Tilapia. The Classic Bulalo tastes a little bland for me and there was no bone marrow which I usually looked for in a bulalo. The Combo Appetizer plate was really yummy. It is a platter of vegetable lumpia, lumpiang shanghai with cheese and beef meat balls that come with three special sauces. I discovered putting cheese would make lumpiang shanghai even tastier. Next  is the Inasal Diablo. Don’t worry, it wasn’t as chilly as the name suggest. Actually, the spices, taste of ginger and lemongrass blend well to give that unique flavor to the chicken. We also Crispy Tilapia which was really my favorite. The crispy fried tilapia was combined with coconut milk as its sauce. It was really good! Lastly, we also had the Kare-kareng seafood which was totally new for me as pork pata or beef oxtail is usually the main ingredient for kare-kare. Instead, they have mussels, squid, shrimp and clams as its ingredients. Yum! For my drink, I had the lemongrass iced tea. The taste of the lemongrass was very distinct, making it a very soothing drink.

Classic Bulalo, Combo Appetizer Plate, Inasal Diablo, Kare-kare Seafood and Crispy Tilapia

Patis Tito Garden Cafe invites everyone to stroll around and explore the area.  First, we went around their garden.  There was also a mini-aviary where there are local and unique bird species.

There is also a gallery featuring the works of other artists, the owner’s doll and textile collection and other antique pieces that are for sale. The owner told us of even adding more stuff to the gallery in the future. Cant wait to see that on our next visit.

Patis Tito Garden Cafe is owned by a renowned Filipino designer, Patis Tesoro. She is well-known for her classic and elegant Filipino costumes (Filipiniana, Barong Tagalog, Baro’t-Saya) which are made from all Philippine materials. The whole time we were there, she was very nice and welcoming. She would stroll us around, tell us stories and even let us see the entire place.  She even asked one of the caretakers to bring us to their house which was the Kusina Salud restaurant back then. And we were really amazed with all her antique collections.

The old Kusina Salud restaurant

More than the food, one would definitely fall in love with the ambiance, experience and warm welcome Patis Tito Garden Cafe offers! Definitely, a restaurant worth going back to. Kudos Patis Tito!

Patis Tito Garden Cafe (Formerly Kusina Salud) is located along Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Putol, San Pablo City. Take the San Pablo, Maharlika National Highway. Just a few minutes away from Meralco Powerplant. Take a left turn as soon as you see the Phoenix Gas Station on your right.