Circuit Makati’s On Board
Located at Ayala’s latest development project Circuit Makati, On Board Cafe is an addition to the increasingly popular board game cafes such as Ludo.
What was once the Santa Ana Park will soon become a family, entertainment-lifestyle hub developed by Ayala Lands. Aside from residential (Solstice) and office towers (Stiles Enterprise Plaza), Circuit Makati will also feature the Circuit Theater, Circuit Lane, Circuit Events Ground and finally, the Circuit Mall. Also located in the area is City Kart Racing and a soccer field.
The Circuit Mall is currently under development but a number of establishments have already set-up shop. From what I remember, there was Nike, Speedo, Power Mac Center, Digital Walker, CBTL, Starbucks and a few restaurants (some of which I’ve never seen or heard of before) and a museum.
Located at the 2nd floor of Circuit Mall is the On Board Game and Gastro Pub. They are usually open from around noon until the early hours of the morning, with a longer opening time at weekends. Do note however that this is their soft opening time so I’m not sure if they’re going to make any changes soon. It’s also recommended that you contact them at +63 9228866823 to make reservations.
The interior is setup pretty well for long game hours. There’s natural lighting for those playing in the afternoon and in case it gets too bright, they do lower the curtains and open the indoor lights instead. These lights also keep the pub well-lit throughout the night. The chairs are pretty comfortable too, specially the sofa as they come with huge, hug-able pillows! The tables also have a “drawer” where you could put some of your stuff (if they fit) or for your secret stash of board games – avoid hoarding though!
They have quite a selection of board games, card games and games in general. For this day, we played Exploding Kittens and Splendor. I’ve played Exploding Kittens before but it was my first time playing Splendor. I have to admit, it turned out to be one of my new favorite board games! You should try it out as well! I also wanted to play Monopoly because they had the electronic banking version which makes keeping count of your money and performing transactions so much easier.
Before you could start playing though, each person is required to buy at least 1 food OR drink. This honestly makes a lot of sense since some people would stay for hours and hours on end and you wouldn’t want On Board to run out of business right?
For our drinks, my friends had Cookies and Cream Milkshake (P190.00) and Strawberry Milkshake (P195.00) while I had Matcha Almond Milkshake (P210.00).
For our food, I had the BBQ Chicken Baked Mac N Cheese (P260.00, left) while my friends had Aligue Calamari Rice (P235.00) and Mushroom Basil Aglio Olio (P255.00).
In case you don’t know how to play any of the games, you could ask their game curators to teach you and/or to moderate your game. Their staff is very helpful and knowledgeable and are always willing to help you out!
Our overall experience was great and I’d definitely bring more friends and stay longer next time!
