New budget-friendly Mediterranean café opens in QC
The space reads immediately as Mediterranean, with warm off-whites, clay and terracotta tones softened by sage and olive greens that recall Southern Europeparticularly coastal Italy.
Daily TribuneThe space reads immediately as Mediterranean, with warm off-whites, clay and terracotta tones softened by sage and olive greens that recall Southern Europeparticularly coastal Italy.
THYME and Again, a small, newly opened restaurant designed to feel deliberately removed from the street. The space reads immediately as Mediterranean, with warm off-whites, clay and terracotta tones softened by sage and olive greens that recall Southern Europe, particularly coastal Italy.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF STEPHANIE MAYO
FRITO Misto Platte
CROCANTE Pork Belly
HONEY Citron Semifreddo
Along Congressional Avenue in Quezon City, on the second floor of a commercial building called Barrington Place, is Thyme and Again, a small, newly opened restaurant designed to feel deliberately removed from the street below.
The space reads immediately as Mediterranean, with warm off-whites, clay and terracotta tones softened by sage and olive greens that recall Southern Europe, particularly coastal Italy. Large windows filtered through white shutter-style panels line one side of the room, while woven pendant lamps cast a subdued, early-evening glow.
Lemon trees in textured pots line the entrance, reminiscent of Amalfi or Sicily. Hanging ferns and trailing plants fill the upper space, while curved wooden arches divide the room without enclosing it.
The seating reinforces the atmosphere. Sage-green banquettes with vertical channeling line the walls, paired with wooden chairs featuring curved backs and neutral fabric seats. White marble tables add another familiar Southern European element, cool in tone but balanced by surrounding wood and tile. The overall effect is contemporary — a modern interpretation of a Mediterranean café translated into a city setting.
The inspiration
The budget-friendly menu works best for lunch breaks, particularly for nearby office workers and families with young children, with pastas and pizzas among the options.
“Actually, the base of our menu is mostly Italian. When Filipinos hear ‘Mediterranean,’ they usually think Greek — hummus, pita, things like that,” said owner Desiree Benipayo, who runs Thyme and Again with her two daughters, Dana and Audrey. “But when you really talk about Mediterranean cuisine, Italy is at the forefront. It’s very encompassing. We have Beef Bourguignon, and many Italian and Italian-inspired dishes.”
Benipayo added that they plan to introduce house-made hummus soon to “complete the Mediterranean spectrum.”
The conversation took place during a recent intimate media lunch in late January, where fewer than a dozen press and content creators were invited and served a selection from the restaurant’s soft-opening menu.
“This is actually our first original restaurant brand,” Benipayo said. “I also own Takashi, the Japanese restaurant. So technically, this is our fourth restaurant, but the first three were franchises. This is the first one that is truly our own concept.” She added that RJ Ungco serves as chef consultant.
According to Benipayo, the menu draws from both travel and family habits. “Whenever we travel, we usually end up eating Italian. That’s always what the kids ask for — pasta, pizza,” she said. “So it’s really a mix of travel experiences and family preferences. We really love pasta, and that shows in the menu.”
She also pointed to the space itself. “There are so many greens — you forget about the traffic below. It doesn’t feel frantic, unlike mall dining, where people are always waiting for tables and eating quickly,” she said.
The food
The dishes served were selected from the soft-opening menu. Benipayo said around 10 additional items will be introduced for the grand opening in late February or early March. This was structured as a media tasting, with each dish served in a single, one-person portion and shared among our table of six media personnel.
The tasting started with the Truffle Mushroom Cappuccino Soup (P295), a continental-style soup made from mixed mushrooms cooked down with cream, finished with truffle, milk foam and truffle crumbs.
Next came the Fritto Misto Platter (P695), based on the Italian classic, with fried shrimp, squid, tripe, mackerel and mixed vegetables, served with tomato aioli, tzatziki and pesto vinegar, and meant for sharing.
From there, we moved on to the mains. The Tableside Alfredo (P950 family-style / P395 single portion) was served with freshly-cooked pasta tossed in a creamy Alfredo sauce and finished with roasted mushrooms, grated Grana Padano, rendered bacon and cracked mixed peppercorns.
That was followed by the Skillet Bourguignon (P650), a take on the French classic, using slow-cooked beef belly served in a skillet with a cheese-based fondue sauce and roasted vegetables, with a choice of sides.
The Crocante Pork Belly (P580) came next, featuring crispy pork belly with green apple slaw and peach glaze, also served with a choice of sides.
Desserts came at the end. The Honey Citron Semifreddo (P295) was served first, an eggless semifreddo made with white chocolate, honey citron jam and whipped cream on a Biscoff crumble base, finished with candied citron peels and fresh orange segments.
The tasting wrapped up with the Cherry Torte (P295). One order was divided at the table, leaving each of us with a single forkful.
Drinks were ordered individually. I ordered a regular Coca-Cola, and as the media were allowed to choose drinks freely, I also ordered the Affogato Con Olio (P225), a variation on the Italian affogato made with vanilla ice cream, espresso, extra virgin olive oil and nuts.
Dana said the menu was developed with intention. “We really just wanted to give people that same experience. We wanted to share that joy with other people. That’s why we took so long developing the menu — we were very meticulous about how everything looked and tasted.”
Benipayo summed up their approach simply: They wanted the menu to feel like comfort food — familiar, and something people would return to, “time and thyme and again.”
