There is a new coffee shop in Marfori that further cements this area as one of Davao City’s top food districts.
Twistea Room Cafe, located at the second floor of a new commercial building near Kopi Factory, offers its diners comfort food and healthy meals that will surely satisfy their taste buds.
THE PLACE
Twistea occupies the whole second floor of the commercial building. Thus, it has a really big dining area as compared to some of the coffeshops in Davao City.
The cafe offers a variety of seating options for its diners. They have sofas, bar stools and tables, and the regular tables and chairs. The tables are arranged to cater mostly for those dining as a group. Though there are also those that are great for solo diners and couples.
I also liked how homey the place is with its open kitchen at the center. Whatever they are cooking in the kitchen, you can already smell how good the food is.
However, the place has a tendency to get smoky at times. Also, the place is quite warm for most of the times I visited it.
THE FOOD
I have tried a couple of their dishes here in my previous visits but I will just highlight the dishes that really stood out for me.
The price of their food here ranges around P100 to P400++. I find their servings to be quite generous. I think it is good for two persons.
So far my favorite food here are Anthony’s Hot Wings (P210), Bangkok Sweet Chili Wings (P210), Carribean Chicken and Mango coconut Salsa (P300), Country Fried Chicken (P325), and Baked Mac-n-Cheese with Bacon (P250).
For the desserts, I enjoyed the Peach Cobbler (P160), Dulce de Leche Cake, and Maple Carrot Cake. I was not able to get the price of the cakes but on they menu, it ranges between P180 to P200.
I enjoyed the buffalo wings I ordered here — Anthony’s Hot Wings and Bangkok Sweet Chili.
The Anthony’s Hot Wings was garlicky, buttery, and sweet while the Bangkok Sweet Chili was sweet, spicy, salty, and elevated with Thai fish sauce and lemongrass. YUMMY!
The Caribbean Chicken and Mango Coconut Salsa was my favorite of the main courses they have on the menu. The dish as a whole was simply delicious. I love that spicy rub on the chicken as it was flavorful. The salsa complemented the chicken. I like how the sweetness and freshness from the mango and tomatoes balanced the spiciness and saltiness from the chicken.
Meanwhile, the Country Fried Chicken was crispy and juicy. I find their gravy to be flavorful.
Their main course is also served with mashed potatoes or rice and beer bread. I went for the mashed potatoes, which I find to be really good as it was seasoned properly. The beer bread was also really good.
The Baked Mac-n-Cheese with Bacon was very cheesy. I also enjoyed this pasta dish.
The desserts here were all good. All were a contender for my Favorite Desserts List for 2018.
At the top of the list is the Peach Cobbler, which was served fresh from the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream. I just love the play between hot and cold with this dessert. Surprisingly, it is not very sweet. The dessert was also moist.
The Dulce de Leche Cake is by far one of the best cakes I have had for the year. It was moist, not to sweet, and simply delicious.
The Maple Carrot Cake was a nice take on the classic carrot cake. I never had carrot cake like this before. The maple and carrot worked well together.
THE SERVICE
While the food is good, the service needs a lot of improvement. I think the dining staff could have smiled more. I wish they could have been more attentive. We had to repeatedly call them to fill up our glasses with water. I think it would be nice if they have a water dispenser or a pitcher of water near the counter or some part of cafe. They could also place a bottle or pitcher of water on the table.
I also hoped that the dining staff could improve the way they communicate with the diners. They have a tendency to mumble when they talk to us. There are times when they speak too softly that I cannot hear what they are saying. They are also not familiar with some of the dishes on the menu.
Their dishes are served between 15 to 20 minutes after placing your order. Fortunately, they stayed within that time frame during our visits.
The cafe does not have WiFi but I don’t think it is an issue.
BOTTOM LINE
Despite some needed improvements on the service side, Twistea Room Cafe offers pretty good food.
I find the place to be great for friends and families who would want to spend their time together. No WiFi means more time to talk with one another. It is also a good location for those who want to study as there are no distractions from the internet.
LOCATION and OTHER DETAILS
Location: Corner Coral-Ruby Street, Marfori Heights; second floor of a new commercial building near Kopi Factory.
Business Hours: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM, Monday to Saturdays
Facebook: TwisTea Room