EPICURE | Reunions Over Smoking Cocktails at The Yard

It's been ages since I've posted about my food adventures in the city so I thought I'd start bringing them back this year. Here's hoping I won't be as lazy as I was with my food posts in the past. Haha! For today's post, I'm going to be blogging about my visit to The Yard at Xavierville in Quezon City. The Katipunan area is so far from where I live but I really enjoy coming here every once in a while to hang out with my friends. There are just so many interesting spots to check out in terms of food and a whole cluster of cool food to try just opened up in one spot which is this place! It's quite near the train station so it isn't a bother to visit even if you commute. (Super walkable!) Went here with my high school classmates for one of our many reunions.

We visited during Halloween so there was a bunch of spooky-themed decor. The Yard opens around 3PM but some of the stalls open an hour later. Even though it seems late for people who don't like staying out too long like me, I immediately understood that this is the only way to enjoy The Yard; towards sunset so it won't be hot at all. Perfect place to chill - and that's coming from someone who hates being outdoors! Another thing to note is that The Yard is notorious for being crowded all the time so it's good to come early to save you and your company the trouble for struggling for decent seats. We arrived before 4PM so we had our pick. We were actually there until 7PM and got to see so many people just subtly staring at us at the sides and waiting for us to leave LOL

The number of restaurants in this small space is crazy. It'd take you about ten visits to try every single one of them.

But the reason I really wanted to visit was to try out Epicure! It's a stall that sells different types of alcoholic drinks but they're quite famous on Instagram for their smoking Mockpails which are cocktails in 1 or 2.5 Liter servings. So great for a hangout with friends. I imagine it'd also be a great thing to take home and have a chill evening by yourself. Haha!

However, it is important to take note that they only start taking orders at 5PM because it's the law.

If I lived in the area, I'd make it a point to try something new here every week! I really wanted to order the Trippy Tamarind Mockpail because I love the tang of tamarind drinks however, my friends were not feeling it at all. Haha! We ended up getting their bestsellers which were the Cherry Mojito and the Watermelon Lychee. I'm not sure if I would ever try the Shots but they seem like a lot of fun!

Looking at this now, I desperately wish I had tried the Wine Slushies since I'm a huge fan of Sangria. I love how the simple menu art is cute but is also surprisingly appetizing.

And so the drinks came in all their smoking glory! It was bubbling and all sorts of exciting. You just know you were in for a treat. So here are my opinions:

Cherry Mojito - The #1 bestseller earned its name for a reason.  It had mint leaves, slices of lime, and maraschino cherries. It's a classic mojito with no overwhelming liquor flavors. It's a refreshing drink with a subtle kick that's perfect for the outdoors and would be a major crowd-pleaser.

Watermelon Lychee - The liquor is more prominent in this one. I'm constantly reminded of children's cough syrup in this one, but in a good way. It truly pales (pun not intended lol) in comparison to how refreshing the Cherry Mojito was. For first-time drinkers, I wouldn't really recommend it. Oddly, the lychee's sweetness was hard to detect. Instead, it just sort of added to the semi-bitter scents of liquor and gave it an even stronger alcohol aftertaste. Most of my classmates didn't like it so much that my friend, Mariah, and I ended up drinking almost 80% of this mockpail. It was an OK drink but I think that with all the cool choices available (I bet the Trippy Tamarind is great), I doubt I'd order this again.

Personally, I would absolutely love to come back to Epicure again to try everything! I would also just love to try the different stuff this food park has to offer!

Would you try Epicure? Tell me in the comments! :)