Exile on Main St. Katipunan Review – Art + Food

Last week, I received an invitation to check out Exile on Main Street in Katipunan. It has only been open for 6 months, and is the second Exile branch.

Doing a bit of checking before going, I found out that Exile has become something of an artist haven. I also checked their menu online and saw that they kept their prices student-friendly, too. I loved how they named their dishes. I mean, the fanciful name Y Tu Mama Brownie just sears into your mind, doesn’t it? And nope, I haven’t seen the movie. 

So, J and I went to Exile on Main St in Katipunan last Sunday, and were very happy with the food. They also started making their own ice cream, which is actually quite good. J and I were very satisfied with the food and the ice cream that we plan to go back to Exile soon, even if it’s all the way in Katipunan. 

EXILE ON MAIN ST

Exile on Main St is located in Katipunan, near the big Jollibee. It is between National Bookstore and HSBC, tucked behind the Army Navy out front. There is limited parking space in front, but it’s free.

Exile on Main St was started by college friends who wanted a place where they could hang out. They envisioned it as an offbeat place hidden from the hustle and bustle of the city, perfect for “exiles”. The name was also inspired by The Rolling Stones album.

They make their food from scratch – they make their own sauces, dips, crusts, salsa, sausages, desserts, pies, and even churn their own ice cream. Nobody has a “food” degree, but one of the owners loves to cook and most of the recipes are developed by him.

When their first branch started, it literally was just the owners doing all the work themselves and doing all the roles themselves – head chef, cashier, waitress. It’s nice to see these students’ hard work developing into something now.

The decor is homey art – you’ll immediately feel at ease knowing that there’s nothing fancy you need to be careful about, and the place is lovingly decorated by creative hands. Art adorns the walls, the chairs, etc… to be honest, it made me think of Alice in Wonderland’s Mad Hatter’s Tea Party 

Check out those shoes on the ceiling!

THE FOOD

My favorite dish was the Tinapesto (P145) – I’ve already made up my mind to order this when we go back. Exile on Main St makes their own pesto from scratch with fresh basil leaves, garlic, parmesan, etc… and the tinapa just takes it up a notch. I love smoked fish and adding it to pesto, wow, it’s definitely a good pairing.

I also loved their Monggo Tinapa Mo! (P95) – served with rice, this is the classic monggo but paired with tinapa (smoked fish) and malunggay. I’ve always had monggo with pork, but using tinapa makes it er… healthier?  Haha, but it is definitely more delicious than just plain pork! The tinapa just provides more depth of flavor than plain pork. Sorry, missed taking a picture of this.

Another pasta dish that I liked was The White Stripes (P155) – pasta with Exile’s own fennel sausages in a basil cream sauce.

For the appetizers, we had Gimme Shitake (P135) – breaded and fried sliced shitake mushrooms with a garlic wasabi mayo dip. This is nice, it’s different and doesn’t make me feel guilty eating a lot of it, though I liked the dip more than the fried mushrooms. For me, I think the mushrooms should be fried a little bit less, not too brown. But it was a nice, unique appetizer.

We finished the whole plate of Longganisa con Sinta (P125), our hands just kept on grabbing one, hahaha. The filling was delicious, although, again, I prefer it to be fried not so brown. A light, golden brown would be perfect.

We also had some Nature Boy Nachos (P100) – I like using the nachos to grab some of the Torn & Frayed pulled pork. The Torn & Frayed pulled pork dip on the side was delicious.

For dessert, hands down the most recommended is the Y Tu Mama Brownie (P85, +P50 or P+65 to add a single scoop of Exile’s own ice cream). I am picky about brownies and this brownie is legit. It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. The vanilla ice cream is my favorite from all of Exile’s ice creams I was able to try. It is soft, like a soft serve ice cream, but creamy. Love, love, love! This is a must order!

This is the No-Eggs-Were-Harmed Choco Banana Cake W/Fudge (P45, +P50 or P+65 to add a single scoop of Exile’s own ice cream).

ICE CREAM

Exile on Main St makes their own ice cream – they source their milk from a local dairy farm and churn their own ice cream. At the moment, their ice creams are still not available for take-out, but they hope to have this available for take-out soon.

Their ice creams are not too sweet. Just try them and see the difference versus commercial ice creams! Aside from the vanilla, I also liked the Roasted Butter Pecan and the one with Earl Grey and Lemon Pound Cake.

This is their Maja Blanca flavor:

Ice Cream Prices:

• Single Scoop – P65
• Double Scoop – P120
• Triple Scoop – P175

Loving Cup (Vanilla) stays at P50 per cup.

SUMMARY

If you’re looking for a place that’s different, budget-friendly, yet serves good food, check out Exile on Main St Katipunan. All their food is made in-house, from their dips, to brownies, to ice cream! The place is cool and air-conditioned, quirky, and a stay there is like a mini-trip to Wonderland (as in Alice in Wonderland). I don’t know why, it just feels that way to me. 

I also highly recommend their Y Tu Mama Brownie and their ice creams.

Exile on Main St Katipunan
Unit H, 299 Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Contact #: +632 962 1843  Globe: +63 906 255 5670
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExileOnMainStRestaurant
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exileonmainst_resto/
Email: [email protected]
Hours: Monday – Saturday, 11 AM – 11 PM