DINING | Spätzle Euro Market Cafe: Pretty much an average dining experience

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 01
Spätzle looks pretty welcoming.

We stumbled upon Spätzle Euro Market Cafe in one of our recent trips to Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong. The place looked welcoming and the menu seemed fine, so we went in.

Interiors and ambiance
The restaurant is a very contemporary-looking one with its abundant use of the color black and then wood, the latter coming in a light varnish as seen in the walls, beams, and shelves, and in a sort of distressed fashion as applied to the tables, chairs, and crates.

Spätzle adopts an open kitchen style, so all the action from behind the counter is for all to see. There are chalkboards everywhere, which seem to only stress the place's informal dining vibe.

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 02
The interiors feel very contemporary.

The food
We ordered some soup, pasta, and chicken. The soup, which they call New Potato & Mushroom Chowder was just alright. The consistency wasn't too thick but I didn't quite get enough mushroom flavor. It's not bad but for such a small bowl, I find it a bit expensive at Php 220.

The Spätz Carbonara (Php 275 solo, Php 495 to share), on the other hand, looked promising because it was topped with a fresh egg, just like how a proper carbonara should be. They used spätzle, a type of pasta with an irregular shape that's made with fresh eggs. And yes, it's the restaurant's namesake.  It was nice and creamy, and although I found it under-seasoned, it was nothing that a dash of table salt and freshly ground pepper couldn't remedy.

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 03
New Potato & Mushroom Chowder.

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 04
Spätz Carbonara.

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 05
Ah, the name of this dish escapes me. 😕

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 06
All-Natural Citrus Cooler Soda (and Watermelon Lemonade in the background).

I forgot what the chicken dish we ordered was called. I tried looking it up in vain. Anyway, it's roasted chicken with sausage and grapes, all sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes. The chicken was not as tender and juicy as I would have it but the grapes that went into the roast definitely added a nice flavor to it. It was still fairly good overall.

For drinks we tried their All-Natural Citrus Cooler Soda (Php 145), a nice mix of citruses and mint leaves in soda, and Watermelon Lemonade (Php 145). Both were good and refreshing.

Service
There weren't many customers at the time but the waitstaff still weren't the most attentive. Waiting time for our orders to be served was also relatively long. I also didn't quite like how they arrived at our table all at the same time. I mean, starters and soup should be served ahead of the mains, right?

On a side note (and totally unrelated), they have wines, beers, and various toiletries for sale.

halfwhiteboy - Spatzle Euro Market Cafe 07
Some stuff they have for sale.

In hindsight
Simply put, my first experience at Spätzle Euro Market Cafe wasn't the best. No, it wasn't bad by any means but it just wasn't enough to make me want to go back, more so when I think about how the food and the service don't measure up to the prices they command. I don't know, maybe others have had better luck.

Spätzle Euro Market Cafe is at the 5th level (East Wing) of Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong City.

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