Kilo Restaurant

stayed in the hotel right next door, so naturally we walked into kilo one day for a munch before we set out.
décor shows a fun yet relaxing side of the café. the street side has an large open window that brings a lot of outside in, including natural light. there are a casual mix of cushioned chairs and wooden chairs which may seem chaotic to some, but its casualness appealed to me. (although i did want to sit at a table w/​the cushioned chairs near the opened windows, but the table wasn’t cleaned up.) there also are a couple pairs of large one-​person sofa placed opposite one another at an angle, giving it a starbucks-​like coffee shop touch. toward the back there is also a bar table w/​tall stools to cater to a slightly different clientèle.
service was good; waitress was friendly and polite and waiter was attentive. it was 1:30pm on a weekday in a university neighborhood, but the restaurant was not busy at all. (it was not bustling but there were people patronizing.) it was the best situation for us to visit at this time of day, since the place was not noisy and crowded and customers get to sit as long as they want w/​o pressure, yet we all received adequate attention and service.
food and drinks were tasty, and came promptly. i ordered a «croque de ciel» (a restaurant recommended item), which is chicken with tomato and mozzarella cheese melted and toasted on a 6-​inch french baguette. it sounded simple but it was so good; much better than i had expected, not being a fan of french baguette to begin with. the bread was not hard that it scraped my mouth at each bite, instead it was soft inside yet crunchy outside. the cheese was full of aroma and flavor, definitely the soul of the dish. and the order came with some greens w/​dressing (just the right punch; not overpowering nor bland), and nacho chips (guacamole is available for extra $).
bf ordered a chicken sandwich on their special russian bread that’s made of rye and two other grains (forgot), with fresh lettuce and tomatoes and dressing inside, and the same side salad and chips. his is clean and fresh; bread wasn’t too dry or hard, meat was juicy. just that i liked my croque better.
i had an iced mocha and bf ordered a 500 ml bottle of «marco», which tasted like some sort of soda with the taste of pine. he liked it but i’m not that much of a fan. the whipped cream on my coffee was good though, i kept going back to it even after i scooped it out of my glass out of habit.
the next evening we went back to get some cakes for our late night snacks/​desserts (i think they close at 11:30pm sun-​thurs and 1:30am on fri & sat). got the marble cheesecake and a «bombe poivre william» mousse cake (two layers of choco & pear mousse, with pear meat inside). the cheesecake was ok but nothing spectacular; ate it the night after and found it a bit on the drier side too (not very dry, but drier than i like). however the bombe poivre william was great. the mousse was moist and soft it melted right in my mouth, and it was not overly sweet. the pear meat added a clean, fresh contrast to the richness of chocolate, rendering this a great combination of flavors. highly recommended for those who can’t make up their mind (like we couldn’t) standing in front of the cake fridge showcasing their 15+ different kinds of daily offerings.
didn’t know this is a «chain» and kilo actually specializes in cakes (
), but was glad there was one jammed right into our hotel building so we got to taste some of their good food and desserts!