Owned and operated by former senior banker Rowena Romulo and co-Director Chris Joseph, Romulo Café garnered the most votes among nine short-listed restaurants in Kensington, a district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, hub of many of the capital’s iconic museums, embassies and the new Design Museum. Romulo Café triumphs in good company. Among the other restaurant winners were Coya for Mayfair; Dishoom for Covent Garden and The Strand, and The Ivy Chelsea Garden for Chelsea.
The award serves as a clear testament to Romulo Café’s popularity among UK-based Filipinos and local residents of Kensington, where it stays open seven days a week including holidays. Votes were also a nod to the exceptional skills of Head Chef Lorenzo Maderas and his kitchen brigade, a strong front of house and operations team and much-lauded, elegant yet homey interiors.
Since March 2016, Romulo Café has provided a showcase for fine Filipino cuisine in London, serving archly presented heirloom Filipino recipes lovingly preserved by scions of the late General Carlos P. Romulo, the Philippines’ longest serving foreign secretary, and his wife Virginia Llamas. It is the first branch of the Manila-based, eponymous family restaurant business launched by Rowena’s sister Sandie Romulo-Squillantini and husband Enzo Squillantini in 2009.
Rowena Romulo said, ‘My whole family and I are thrilled that Romulo Café has won the Time Out “Most Loved Restaurant in Kensington” award. When we first heard we were shortlisted, Chris and I and the whole team were jumping for joy, and at the awards party. We couldn’t believe a Filipino restaurant like ours could actually be in the running to win in such a competitive field.
‘I never forget we are a new restaurant in London, a world food capital. Winning this accolade is a fantastic feeling, not just for us, but also for Filipino food, which is starting to get the recognition it has long deserved as a world-class cuisine.’
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News story from Munting Nayon