A burst of color painted on container vans fill the backdrop of Retro KTV. Would you believe that these giant containers have videoke rooms in them. This is a new hangout place in Marketplace East, near the Bacolod City Government Center. The commercial compound is a booming location composed of restaurants that offer some of the best in the City of Smiles.
[UPDATE 2023: The restaurant has closed and is no longer in operation in this location.]
At the foreground are bright red picnic tables and benches in an open-air space. Right along the foot path is the head of a bright red vintage 1970 Volkswagen Beetle.
Meet Barbie
That beetle has a cute name: Barbie, short for barbie-cue-han. It’s a grilling corner of the restobar and, at the same time, is an art piece and photo frame. It was restored by Cooper Built solely for the Retro KTV.
Manuel Yulo Barandiaran, the man behind the Retro KTV, had this taken from a scrapyard into his bar. It’s a funky conversation starter that doubles as a culinary equipment.
The Food
The menu has interesting names. True to its brand of being a KTV place, the food are also inspired by songs or singers. You have Mariah Curry, Black Eyed Fish, Imelda Papcorn, Apo Frying Society, Jose Mani Chan, and Bruno Marshrooms, to name a few.
We tried the Justin Beibercue or the barbeque skewers, Jessica Shrimpson or sizzling gambas, Alicia Cheese or mozzarella cheese sticks, Alalalalalong or calamares, and On the Wings of Love or chicken wings.
We also had some cocktail drinks like the Mudslide or frozen chocolate cocktail and the Mojito. There are more to try but it means we can always come back some other time for the other dishes and beverages on their menu.
The Rooms
I like the ambiance and the rooms at Retro KTV. Apart from the open air grounds, there is also a deck at the second floor. The rooms are beautifully painted with various artworks and each room has a color to represent.
Some of the rooms even have pole for pole dancing. The tables are painted to look like giant cassette tapes. Everything is really well thought of, including the high chairs and tables.
The Drinking Coach
Because of his number of years in the bar business, Manuel is now dubbed as the Drinking Coach. He had an events company in Manila and worked in a major hotel chain in Shanghai, China. I can consider him as a genius when it comes to branding and marketing, with how he has tied everything together to inject his brand in his bars and restaurants.
The Drinking Coach has also spruced up Bacolod’s already colorful nightlife with his Garaje, Bounce Mobile Bar, Botella, and the most recent is the Retro KTV. He has also other restaurants, such as Mr. Shooli and My Big Fat Shawarma.
Botella
A few walk from Retro KTV, still within the Marketplace, is Botella. It’s a bar and one can truly say it’s a place for men. The mural art is eye-catching. The tables, according to Manuel, were made to appear rustic, which is very masculine.
The bar top is filled with bottle caps while the high chairs look like giant versions of those. The lights are placed inside wine bottles while the chandelier are beer bottles. I was really amazed at how he designed everything and have connected everything to bottles.
The same can be said of Retro KTV. So, next time you’re in town and want to have a great night out with friends, head over to the Marketplace and sing your heart out at Retro KTV. Take your pick among the fancy-named food and drinks. Get into the groove and then dance the night away.
Contact details:
Retro KTV and Bar
Unit 10, The Boxes, Marketplace East, Bacolod City
+63 917 676 5531
Facebook page
I just pinned this. I am sure that this restaurant would be so busy next month or probably already busy. It looks vibrant which is great for everyone. I would like to try the ‘Alicia Cheese’. I feel like this restaurant’s designs are Instagram-worthy. Every part has a unique piece of art and painting. Would love to visit this in the future!
I’ve been to Bacolod like around twice already and would love to go back again. I’ve perpetually had an idea of trying the night life in a place during my last day in a certain place to experience another vibes. This is perfect for me as I always love to sing out my everything. I like how they come up with this idea, very an environmentally friendly, very out of the ordinary and the food seems really tempting and delicious.
LaiAriel
Let me know when you’re in town so my fellow Negros Bloggers and I can meet you up. 🙂
Beetle Barbeque??? Now, that’s something… The rooms are so my type with so much color & quirkiness in them!!!
Barbie is really cute. I think fans of the beetle would love this customization. It’s a nice things to look at! I can imagine having a similar one at home as a decoration and a functioning grilling station.
I look the view from the deck. The volkswagon grill is also such a cool idea. I hope to try this out when I visit Bacolod.
I have seen so many posts on Bacolod and it looks like a nice place to explore.
What a psychedelic colorful place! That mudslide sounds interesting to taste, but I do not like alcohol. Now, where is the video of you singing on the ktv?
I really like how people are starting to use containers a lot for designing nowadays! It’s a great way to build and recycle at the same time! This place looks so great! 😀
Total fun looks like. Philippines is a cool country with so much to do.
This place looks nice! Might be a very good spot for my gang of friends for a hangout! Because we all love food and the high chairs… hehe
The bottle cap-filled table looks really interesting. I think this looks like a place my friend will want to visit when overseas. I’m not a drinking person, so this might be too noisy for my liking.
Wow, that grill on the car is so cool! I want to go to Bacolod someday, I heard so many great things from there.
Will definitely go here nxtyr. Love it