Longing for a quiet spot for a friendly reunion with old friends? Then you might want to consider bringing everyone over to Cyrano Wine Shop in Makati. The shop itself is close to Greenbelt 1 and a short walk from the Asian Institute of Management. It has a small sign outside of the building that announces the shop to the world, but remains quite elusive. The quiet wine shop is located at Palanca corner Legaspi Street in Makati.
A nice quiet place to hang out
Cyrano touts itself as the most unconventional wine shop in town. They don’t have customers, but they do have friends. And they’re actually quite right as I will try to explain in this article. So with that in mind I arrived at Cyrano one Saturday evening and was pleasantly surprised at how quiet the place was for a weekend. One assumes that a nice place as Cyrano would be packed full of people but it’s quite the opposite. The owner, Alex Sawit, explains that the regulars of the wine shop come during weekdays after work and are out during the weekends.
The Cyrano Bar
Cyrano is full of character. It’s comfortable, feels like home, it’s relaxing, and has an ambiance that just makes you want to unwind. They have a large selection of drinks coming from different countries all over the world such as Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, and Romania. Not only that, but they are quite affordable ranging from P800 for a bottle of Ortonese Malvasia Chardonnay and up to P2,850 for a bottle of Escudo Rojo. Cyrano is also a gateway to another establishment with its own merits that should be explored, and more of that will be explained in another article.
Large selection of drinks
As the night progressed I started to realize that a lot of the charm and ambiance is actually an extension of the owner’s personality. Very friendly and warm and this translates to the surrounding shop with its choice of relaxing wood furniture and choice of lighting. Even the choices of wines and liquor are an extension of the owner’s character.
Bottles of white
Drinks should always be accompanied with some type of chow and Cyrano does provide some interesting combinations. The dishes presented here are coming off the temporary menu and they’re coming out with new things soon. While drinking some wine, cognac, or whiskey, you may want to try out the Chorizo Pamplona (P250). The dish is a simple feast of a very tasty type of chorizo that goes very well with whatever drink you have. It is served with the chorizo, some cucumber, some chili powder, and a small dab of special soy sauce.
Chorizo Pamplona
You may also want to try out the Tuna Fillet in Oil (P200) which is a superb tuna expertly seasoned with a sprinkle of pepper and a leaf or two of basil. This goes great with some wine while discussing the workings of the universe with friends.
Tuna Fillet in Oil, served with bread
The next food item was a noodle dish and I asked Alex why this is included as I rarely have encountered noodle dishes paired with drinks. As per Alex, the Miso Ramen (P250) is actually an off menu item that you can have by special request only. This dish includes roast pork, egg, and some corn kernels. Apparently a hot noodle soup does wonders for a hangover. You learn something new every day.
Miso Ramen
Noodle soup for the hungry
Cyrano Wine Shop is a great place to hang out for few (or many) drinks. Pair it with some noodles and you’ll be good to go. Have a chat with Alex and get to know the finer aspects of wine and whiskey, or perhaps ask him to play some nice music while you sip your drink. The friendly environment is quite enjoyable and the patrons are always up for a good chat. But one of the most refreshing parts about experiencing this wine shop is that you enter it as a customer and leave it as a friend.
