Pura Vida Wine Bar and Gourmet Bacolod

Pura Vida Wine Bar and Gourmet Bacolod is one of the newest and classiest bars in Bacolod City.  This bar is located at the second floor of Stonehill suites hotel.

Pura Vida has an eye-catching display of various cheeses and deli meats right by the entrance.

 

They have Gouda, Pecorino, Parma ham, Prosciutto crudo and many more – If you’re interested to try – Pura Vida has cheese platters and charcuterie boards where you can sample these treats while enjoying some wine.

Some of the deli meat come in their original packaging – ready to take home or give as gifts to friends.

This picnic basket is so adorable.

If you’re not into wines or drinking there are also imported non alcoholic drinks such as ginger ale and colas.

Time to order food!  Pura Vida had posted a lunch menu on their facebook page so we had already decided what to order even before we entered.

We chose the Central American Dipping tray, Pura Vida empanadas, Pura Vida Steak, and Pura Vida Lomo Saltado.

We were extremely excited to try the Central American dipping platter.  We had seen the menu posted on Pura vida’s Facebook and saw that they had hummus.

Wow! Hummus!!!  We love hummus so much – it was one of our main reasons for visiting Pura Vida. However the platter arrived without hummus. Instead it had vinegar and garlic mayo.

When pressed further about the missing hummus the waitress said that the owners had taken the hummus out of the menu and that the menu posted on Pura Vida’s Facebook is not current (despite it being posted just 2 days ago.)

Well, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – we just chalked up the experience to restaurant growing pains  – the restaurant is pretty new so it’s understandable some snafus occur.

We chose to try the dish anyway (we had paid for everything in advance) and make the most out of it.  The crudites (fried bananas) and chips were very good at least.

 

The chicken skewers came with coleslaw and a peanut sauce that went very well with the chicken and the rice.  The sauce wasn’t super sweet – which was very nice.

Peruvian Lomo Saltado is a traditional dish of stir fried beef with onions, tomatoes, french fries and other ingredients.   Pura Vida uses beef tenderloin so the meat is super soft.

Pura Vida empanadas  – this appetizer is something familiar to Filipinos as this is a Spanish influenced dish.  This is stuffed with chicken pork adobo and it was served with a side of chili vinegar sauce.

Pura Vida Steak –  Made with beef tenderloin – This is the best thing on the menu.  We ordered the steak medium rare and it came out perfect.  The mint and lemon placed on the meat enhanced the flavor.  The beef tenderloin was super soft and cooked just right.

Pura Vida is a good place to have a glass of wine or beer and a meal.  The wide selection of drinks, snacks and cheeses will appeal to everybody.

The meals are good in general but slow in coming out of the kitchen. The wait is a little worth it though so pull up a chair and enjoy a glass of wine while waiting for your meal.  Hopefully the kinks will be ironed out soon.

Pura Vida Wine Bar and Gourmet Bacolod is located at 18th street, Corner San Agustin Drive, Second floor Stonehill Suites Bacolod City

 

The Bacolod Food hunters did not receive or accept any freebies, money or incentives for this review.  All meals were paid for out of pocket.