This Sunny Golf Course Café Near Manila Is Worth the Drive

The Gentle Sparrow Café
Luisita Golf and Country Club, San Miguel, Tarlac City
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thegentlesparrowcafe/
Open from 6 a.m to 6:30 p.m., Wednesdays to Sundays

(SPOT.ph) Once in a while there are little gems you stumble upon while driving around. The type of space you wouldn't have thought existed so near, one capable of making you feel as if you're much farther away from the city—and your problems—than you actually are. Think roadside shops (a plus if it's a surplus), fun museums, and, of course, a restaurant that serves up good food in a setting you don't normally get to go to. Enter The Gentle Sparrow Café. The next time you're up for a drive north, this sunny spot deserves to be on the itinerary. 

This no-frills restaurant sits at the clubhouse of the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac; this storied range is part of the Cojuangco's old hold over the haciendas and is arguably the only golf course designed by renowned British-American architect Robert Trent Jones in Asia. And we use "no-frills" to describe it here because in a location like theirs, all you really need to add to the equation are a couple of strategically located chairs and tables, some shade, and a straightforward but well executed menu. 

A gentle drive through Luisita's old roads will lead you to the entrance of the Las Haciendas subdivision, which is around a two-hour trip from Manila. Head on in to get to the golf course (no, you don't need to be a member), where you'll see a grand Spanish colonial-style structure atop a slope: the clubhouse. Behind the main area, past stairs and a fountain, on a flat area overlooking the course and tucked under soft arches is The Gentle Sparrow Café, brought to us by the same folks behind Bluesmith.

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Drop by The Gentle Sparrow Café on your next road trip north

Like any golf course full of players who've spent hours under the sun, you can expect a varied menu that focuses on delivering hearty eats. You can choose from all day brunch sets with American or Filipino fare, and yes, there are different types of coffee, juice, and shakes, too; the icy drinks you're bound to appreciate more when under the Tarlac sun.

If the drive has left your stomach rumbling, we say reach for the Crispy Tadyang  (P405). This loaded plate comes with a big cup of savory garlic rice, a hefty chunk of slow-braised-then-deep-fried beef ribs—tender and crisp in all the right places, with a healthy share of soft tasty cartilage—and to complete the Pinoy meal, a dipping sauce with light vinegar perfect for keeping the dish from getting cloying. Definitely a worthy meal after a good game. Or a bad game. Or, really, no game at all. This is the type of place to just enjoy the simple things, after all. 

If you're more on the noodles side of the starch spectrum, give the Creamy Pasta Tartufo (P395) a go. A big serving of al dente pasta is slathered in a subtly earthy cream sauce, then topped with slices of crisp baguette-like bread. A surefire hit for a happy belly. 

Cool down with any of their fruit shakes: Mango, Banana, Melon, or Watermelon (P140). They all come in tall solid glasses and a thick make that'll have you wondering if you've accidentally ordered a milkshake instead, if it wasn't for that unmistakably fruity taste. 

And because this is from the same people behind Bluesmith, you can find their classics here, too. You can munch on the Bluesmith Beef Tapa (P360), a classic silog plate with tender tapa while gazing out at the course. Or even better, time your visit right and you could be sipping on a steaming cup of their signature coffee while the late afternoon sun bathes the course's greenery in golden light. Yup, a rare moment of peace. A Long Black is P140, a Cappucino is P150, and you can even get a Spanish Latte for P160.

When you've stayed too long in the city, where everything is new and modern, you can forget that places like these exist. The type of place where you can get peace, a happy belly, and even a glimpse of history. For a long time, the Luisita golf course was not a place for many—an exclusive type only for those in the know—but with the entry of The Gentle Sparrow Café, its story is finally changing. 

Photos by Mia Rodriguez. Art direction by War Espejo.