Taberna Ocho has celebrated its first year anniversary this week. We thank everyone especially our frequent visitors and friends who have continued to patronize T8.

Here’s to another exciting year ahead!

—T8 owners

p.s. (we will be posting some new articles, features, photos soon).

Eric, Bong, Angel Aquino (middle), Beng and some guy at Ocho.

By Alicia John Mayer

Model and award-winning actress Angel Aquino decided to drop by Taberna Ocho one Saturday evening.

Unknown to many, Angel is a graduate of UP College Baguio, the same school were yours truly and Joel (utol na may bigote) studied. Don’t ask but suffice it to say that we entered College when the Eraserheads were quite popular. Nuff said.

Even though she is now basking in the limelight, Angel remains down-to-earth. Thanks to Dr. Bong Soriano’s (another fellow UP Baguio grad) stories about his experiences in Jolo as a military physician, Angel almost cried (more on Bong later). But it was sort of a reunion for her. We reminisced about life in Baguio and how far have we’ve gone. I still remember her words: “I miss these conversations.”

We hope to see you again here at Ocho, Angel. Thanks for dropping by and resting your wings at our place, even for short while.

SOFIE Garrucho, Number 45 in FHM’s 100 sexiest in 2006, tries Ocho’s GranMa Slammer.

By Alicia John Mayer

Guess who decided to drop by during the double birthday bash of Joel and Don Herana? The Girl Next Door! No, we’re not talking about the pretty girls from next door at Ocho (but you’re also welcome to drop by anytime).

Her name is Sofie Garrucho. If you happen to possess the November 2005 issue of FHM, then you’re one of the lucky SOBs who saw her for the first time in FHM! Yes, boys and gals, Sofie is a certified hottie. She’s FHM’s Girl Next Door winner in 2005. She also landed in FHM’s 100 sexiest in 2006 (ranked 45th).

So what was Sofie doing at Ocho on a Saturday evening with two of our dashing celebrators? Well, she wanted to take photos of our menu, heh! No, really. She took out her camera once she saw food brought to the table. We thought she wanted to take photos of the handsome bar owners, but she had her sights on the food! She also enjoyed the GranMa Slammer, which she willingly swallowed with much gusto.

Don’t get us wrong. Sofie is not, we repeat, NOT obsessed with food. But she did sample most of the food on the menu, including the Ocho Pulgada (Ocho’s eight-inch, man-sized hotdog)! So she’s really not your everyday Girl Next Door. In fact, she can whoop your butt in a game of DOTA! Yes, Sofie is a certified gamer who also endorses a social networking website called Groovenet Philippines. Just check out her profile, and you’ll thank us for pointing you in the right virtual direction.

Sofie was also kind enough to allow the Ocho patrons and the birthday celebrators to pose with her. Thanks for dropping by, Sofie! We hope to see more of you at Ocho.

(Ney, Rye and Bobby of 6cyclemind at Taberna Ocho’s soft launch, along with Andrew and Datch Smith and their friends).

By the G-Meister
This is it, guys. We’ve finally soft launched the bar on February 7, 2007. We invited some friends over and the party was a blast.

Members of the band 6cyclemind also came over, namely Ney Dimaculangan (vocals), Rye Sarmiento (guitar) and Bobby Canamo (bass). Andrew and Datch Smith invited them over along with their friend Jeff Torga and his friends from the US.

Noel Nieva, one of the owners of Gweilo’s and executive of Perceptions came over with his team. So did the Strategic Edge group and Dominguez Marketing. Doy Roque and Paulo Yanga of Cris Cahilig were there as well.

Initial feedback from the guests indicate that the following four items on the menu were appreciated: Sashimi ni Leo (tuna in Leo’s secret sauce), Pigar-Pigar ni Alex (Alex’s beef in oyster sauce), Brian’s Angels (spicy chicken wings) and Ampait ni Jay (Jay’s own papaitan).

Thanks to Jerry Liao, Joey and Ellen Alarilla, Melvin Calimag, Jing Garcia, Pam Galisim, Rese Jamir-Carbonell, Rio Encarnado, Lawrence Casiraya and RJ Panis who also joined the celebration. Rio and Paolo even danced on Maginhawa Street at 2 a.m.! Good thing no tricycles were drag racing that night. And of course our sisters Bam Barrameda and Jen Alconis were always there to help. Bam even washed the dishes!

UPIS alumni Dino Cabrera of Brothers’ Bar and Patrick Aquino were also there. Thanks so much for everything, Dino.

I know I’m making a big mistake here by trying to list down the names of everyone who came over because I’m bound to forget to mention several of our good friends who came that night. Suffice it to say that your help and presence were very much appreciated and won’t be forgotten…by someone else among the Taberna Ocho staff because obviously my inebriated state last night gave me memory lapses.

Finally, I salute the Ocho staff for a job well done, namely GM Edil, Ronil and Francis. Kayo’y mga bayani, at nararapat lamang na ang hubog ng inyong mga mukha ay mailapat sa diyes sentimo na barya. Si Edil pwede na sa beinte singko sentimo.

I hope to see all of you again at Taberna Ocho.

+++

Joey Alarilla also featured Taberna Ocho’s soft launch on INQUIRER.net TV, which is hosted on YouTube. Featured in this video clip are interviews with three of the eight bar owners Edil, Bri, and Jay. Excerpt:

 

MANILA, Philippines–INQUIRER.net interviewed three of the eight co-owners of Taberna Ocho, a new bar and restaurant at 162 Maginhawa St. in Sikatuna Village, Quezon City, which had its soft launch on Feb. 7, 2007.

Taberna Ocho offers a unique ambience with its cool blue lighting, eight specialty dishes named after the co-owners, and a concoction known as GranMa Slam — two shotglasses of Gran Matador brandy followed by a shotglass of soda or a different chaser.

Customers with iPods or other MP3 players are encouraged to play their own tunes.

Video interviews conducted by INQUIRER.net editor Joey Alarilla.

Five things you’ll love about Taberna Ocho:

• The ambiance. Taberna Ocho is not your typical chic gimmick place. You won’t find a fancy façade, or stylish interiors. What you will see is a simple watering hole where you can drink, listen to good music, and chat the night away with friends and loved ones.
• The food. Taberna Ocho won’t promise fine dining dishes, or over the top gourmet masterpieces. However, we put in extra effort to make sure our line up of pulutan perfectly matches that ice-cold beer, or that favorite cocktail drink, in your hand.
• The music. Each person has his or her own taste and preference when it comes to music. At Taberna Ocho, you are invited to share your music. Please feel free to plug in your MP3 player, sit back and listen to your favorite tunes, with our special in-house audio system.
• The service. We will try our very best to make you feel at home at Taberna Ocho. It will be our pleasure to serve you and to make sure your drink is always cold. Relax, unwind, and let our friendly staff take care of the rest.
• The company. Our staff, particularly the owners, who, most of the time will be hanging out at Taberna Ocho, are not exactly professional counselors, but will always be there ready to listen to your rants and rave.

We invite you to be there and enjoy the Taberna Ocho experience. (JP)

Welcome to Ocho.