1. Menu
2. Food Review
3. Restaurant Rating
4. Recommendations
5. Information

Davao has been taken by storm with the banana pudding craze, and there is one restaurant that stands tall among them all. It is a new player in the market and one that has quietly taken the interest of the people, especially the Northies. Located in Azuela Cove, Butter by Mombakes is a new destination for foodies of Davao and its neighboring cities. If you’re familiar with Mombakes in SK Complex, then you can expect the same level of A-tier deliciousness when it comes to their pastries.

Butter by Mombakes leans toward Bistro-style dishes with more European and Western influences, fused with Asian flavors. They are still on their soft opening and have just opened their doors around late August 2025.

They serve all-day breakfast options so you can add them to the roster of brunch places in Davao. They offer a selection of iced and hot coffee, which is perfect for joggers wanting to get their morning fix after an hour’s worth of sweat, or just casual diners who want to try out something new and are in the area.

They aren’t called Butter for nothing. They serve different types of Butterboard. Alas, they also offer a wide selection of cakes and their popular tubs of butter pudding that come in all different flavors, including the trending banana pudding.

Menu

Food Review

I was surprised when I heard that a new restaurant is opening in Azuela Cove, and it’s from the same team behind one of my favorite new restaurants for 2025 – Mombakes. When we visited, I brought along people visiting from Gensan and had them try and rate Butter by Mombakes with me for the first time.

Of course, after a week, I came back and had to ensure I tried all their Butter Pudding, but failed as I missed out on the last flavor, Strawberry Banana Pudding. Here is a full review of all the dishes, along with the butter puddings I’ve tried, and I averaged the dish rating and comments.

Chorizo Shakshuka– 6.8/10 (7,7,6.5)
The Chorizo Shakshuka has its upsides and downsides, depending on how you prefer your Shakshuka. Personally, I like the Shakshuka prepared in the Middle Eastern style, where it’s heavy in spices with fresh tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and simmered in tomato sauce and topped with poached eggs and chopped cilantro and parsley. Their version is quite different from the traditional one, as it has its Filipino influences and maybe Spanish with the Chorizo.

If you are looking for a meal that is satisfying and full of protein, or want something that can be shared with two or more people over rice, then their Shakshuka is a good choice. The taste is also familiar, think Giniling na baboy, but with a sweeter sauce. Their shakshuka is topped with two beautifully poached eggs and paired with toasted garlic bread.

While this dish is not up to my preference, I can see this would appeal to more customers due to its familiar flavor profile and its generous serving, especially if you are counting your macros and short of your protein goal for the day.

Onion Chili Oil Pasta – 7/10 (8,7,6)
This pasta is a new flavor to me. It has a very strong aroma and has a kick to it. It’s warm but is tolerable for those who are not big fans of spicy dishes. The onion flavor is dominant for this pasta dish, while the chili oil brings the warmth. The cream or milk then tempers down the heat and adds some balance to the flavor. The closest dish I can associate it with is the creamy Korean spicy noodles, the ones in a pink wrap. It’s a dish you’ll eventually adapt to and enjoy once your palate adjusts. If you are a spicy lover, this might definitely appeal to your taste.

This dish, however, lacks texture. This dish would do well if they added some bite to it, like bacon bits or slices of chicken. The flavor gets overwhelming the more you have of it. It can be shared by two people with its dining size.

House Hamburger – 5.8/10 (6,6.5,5)
I’m very particular about burgers. First, the bread. The bread they used for their burger is dry, and it got easily mushy and soaked. Second, their patty. Their patty is very big and thick, around half an inch in size. Fried into medium-well, which had a nice sear and coloration. Tender and juicy. However, it has a gamey taste. They loaded the burger with their savory homemade ham, which was nice and made the burger really filling. Lastly, their sauce. Their sauce was on the sweeter side, which most of us did not enjoy that much, and the ketchup was too sour, so there was an imbalance of flavor.

We loved their fries as it was crispy, not limp, and not soggy. Overall, with some slight adjustments to the bread they use, adding more spice to eradicate the gamey aftertaste, and ensuring a balanced flavor between their sauces, their burger has good potential.

Garlic Butter Shrimp – 6.3/10 (5,7,6,7)
Their Garlic Butter Shrimp is a shared or group meal that can be shared by 3-4 people. It’s not your typical Garlic butter shrimp that Filipinos are used to. For Filipinos, garlic butter shrimp is a dish with lots of garlic and simmered along with blocks of unsalted or salted butter, and seasoned with a variety of seasonings like black pepper, salt, garlic powder, MSG, and, when feeling fancy, some cayenne and smoked paprika. Their version of Garlic Butter shrimp strays away from the usual Filipino palate as it has a more Italian or European influence to it. It has a strong herby taste that I cannot determine, but it does seem like an herb usually found on Italian dishes. Perhaps oregano or cilantro? The garlic isn’t the flavor dominating the taste, but the herb. It’s soupy as well. It is full of slices of smoked sausages. The shrimps were very plump and tasty, but the herbed butter used may not appeal to the traditional Filipino palate.

Beef and Mushroom – 8.5
Despite its name – beef and mushroom, mushrooms were nowhere in sight, but where mushrooms are scarce, mashed potatoes were certainly not in short supply. This meal was not short of its beef as well. The chopped tender beef cuts were bedded on a hot surface of mashed potatoes bathed in their sweet and savory gravy. Again, similar to their other dishes, their flavor profile is more European than Filipino. The gravy has a tinge of herby aftertaste and is sweeter than savory. The mashed potatoes have a smooth and buttery consistency that is enjoyable, but I lean towards textured food, so there was a lack of bite to it.

House Breakfast – 7.7/10 (7,8,8)
Their house breakfast is made out of two fried eggs, one chorizo, four sausages, and slices of luncheon meat, and fried rice. The portion size looks small, but when you start eating it, it is a hearty meal that can fill you up easily. I do enjoy their luncheon meat as it isn’t too salty. Their chorizo was okay, on the sweeter side. It was burnt, which changed the flavor and made the outer layer taste like char. I did enjoy their sausage. We tried it on a second time, and it seems they changed it. The first sausage on our first time had a herby flavor, and the second time was much more appealing to the Filipino palate. I liked both, but I find it is better to stick with the Filipino one with a sweet and savory undertone.

The dish, though, lacked some acid to cut the fattiness. Perhaps adding some pickled vegetables or offering their own homemade vinegar would be a nice touch.

Butter Pudding and Coffee

Matcha Cookies n Cream – 7 (7,7,7,7)
The Matcha Cookies n Cream is my least favorite, despite liking almost everything matcha. The butter pudding overall has a light sweetness, which was nice because you can pair it well with their dark coffee. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet. There is only a subtle essence of matcha flavor, and it’s the matcha powder that has a grassy and minty note to it. It also lacks cookies.
Pistachio Crunch – 9.5 (10,10,9,9)
The Pistachio Crunch was an absolute favorite. I didn’t expect I would like it much better than the other puddings. It has a very strong nutty taste with some hints of banana extract, which is actually a nice flavor contrast. It is similar to a good-tasting pistachio ice cream. However, per the name, pistachio crunch – it lacked some crunch to it. Maybe adding more pistachio bits or vanilla biscuits would make this an absolute 10/10.

Chocolate Brownie Fudge – 7.5 (8,7)
The chocolate brownie fudge also highlights a subtle sweetness, but is filled with chocolate flavor. It is also swirled with bits of brownie that add a level of texture. The brownie bits and vanilla biscuits have a much better ratio than the matcha or pistachio crunch. It also has more banana and is not overripe or slimy.

Classic Banana Pudding – 7 (8,6)
Their classic banana pudding is much sweeter and has a more vanilla fragrance than the other puddings. It is filled with more biscuits and bananas. It would have earned a high rating if it weren’t for the banana. It was overripe, wet, and slimy. Perhaps it was the batch provided, but it would have scored higher and shot up to an 8 if it weren’t for its banana. You can easily devour this one, though, because its flavor is clean and light.

For my top picks in order, they would be Pistachio Crunch, Chocolate Brownie Fudge, Classic Banana Pudding, and last is Matcha Cookies and Cream.

Admittedly, I am not a coffee connoisseur and really don’t have that much knowledge on coffee drinks. This is only per overall preference. Their coffee is an 8 with a much darker roast than the other restaurants I’ve been to. It’s more on the aromatic and astringent coffees. I prefer the nutty and bold coffees. Tried their cappuccino and mocha latte.

Restaurant Rating

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