More than just words that comprise one of Bench’s ubiquitous social media hashtags, “live life with flavor” is a call to action that has guided the philosophy of the Philippines’ leading clothing and lifestyle brand. From its origins as a small department store brand selling basic t-shirts, Bench has grown into a retail powerhouse that’s constantly introducing new products and brands to the market, all geared toward forming, maintaining, and improving the lifestyles of Filipinos the world over. This year, in line with its ongoing celebration of its 30th birthday in the biz, the lifestyle brand introduces yet another of its innovations and redefines what it means to live life with flavor with its first ever Bench Café.

For this new milestone, Suyen Corporation, headed by its chairman Ben Chan, its president Virgilio Lim, and its vice president for business development Bryan Lim, brought the café  vision to life by partnering with FoodeeGlobal Concepts, one of Manila’s largest multi-brand food groups. Run by the father and son tandem of Rikki and Eric Dee, the Foodee Group now has over three decades of experience under its belt, with both its homegrown and international brands successfully catering to its sophisticated clientele. Now, the new café brings in traditions from all over the islands to create a character that is bold, distinct, and above all, uniquely Filipino. Through its food, this café tells stories of the past, present, and future by making local traditions accessible to more Filipinos and Filipinos at heart.

This new Bench concept updates your favorite dishes by fusing Filipino with Filipino—that is, by marrying elements of traditional and modern Pinoy cooking—for the ultimate local dining experience. Whereas fusion cuisine combines culinary tastes and traditions from different cultures, Bench Café uses local ingredients to elevate the Filipino dishes we’ve all come to love. Standout examples of this include the sisig lettuce cups with calamansi foam, the crispy lumpia cones with tinapa mousse and salsa, the tsoknut ice cream sandwich (toasted ensaymada filled with tsoknut ice cream), and the  (leche flan with macapuno).

The Bench Café menu also features Bench/To. Inspired by the bento meals of Japan, Bench/To recreates the warmth of large Pinoy gatherings through individually portioned set meals that are perfect for every diner’s palette. Some of the must-try combos include the B6 (dancing fish, kaldereta, crispy dilis, Bench salsa, plain rice), the B8 (lechon kawali, laing, atsara, Bench Salsa, plain rice), and the B12 (Pork BBQ, gising-gising, green mango salad, Bench Salsa, plain rice). The café also features other Pinoy dining table staples such as street food, rice, silog, merienda, halo-halo, and kapeng barako.

With all of the ingredients being sourced locally, Bench Café leaves you with a fresh but altogether familiar taste in your mouth, the kind that reminds you that home will always be just one bite away.

Bench Café is located at the second floor of the newly opened Bench flagship store at 9th Ave. cor. Lane O, Bonifacio High Street, BGC. Follow Bench Café on Facebook and @benchcafeph on Instagram.