Love locks, as they are popularly known around the world, have been a tradition in different countries. A simple padlock has the names of people written on it, mostly names of couples. Then it is locked on a fence, railing or anything else it can be attached to.

After that, the key that is supposedly used for opening it is thrown into the sea, because most places with love locks are located near bodies of water, like in bay areas.

Undying love for one another is symbolized by the padlock without its key.

A short music video on YouTube features love locks on a bridge at Ponte Milvio in Rome. At the end of the video, the story is told of how the government ordered the removal of these love locks, which have remained untouched. Perhaps the lovers did not want a symbol of their love going to the junkyard.

Now there’s a place in the Philippines where this tradition is being observed. The Love Lock restaurant is on El Grande Avenue in BF Homes, Parañaque. It has a very refreshing ambiance and international food, and romantic ambiance.

The place is filled with love locks of different customers who have dropped by, with names of couples, friends and family written on the locks.

Another thing to love about the place is its design, with displayed pictures of different love locks from foreign countries; you could say that they want to start the trend of love locks in the Philippines, but without committing vandalism on public property.

Chill

The Love Lock restaurant was established late 2012 and opened in 2013. It is owned by the Naidas family, who invite teens and young ones in love to visit their restaurant and try out their dishes. The feel of the place is pretty chill, perfect for hanging out.

It is definitely something new, eating  in the Love Lock restaurant. One of their best dishes, the Peking Fried Chicken, is a tweaked version of Peking duck. It is comfort food.

The menu is interesting. The cuisines are varied. For example, there’s curried seafood balls, which taste better than what you would expect.

The prices are not wallet-busting, so definitely you can take your special someone here after school or when celebrating. You could try their Korean beef stew, which comes with homemade kimchi, better than the kimchi of other Korean restaurants.

It costs less than P200, which leaves you more to spend on the special Herbed Iced Tea that makes you feel like you’re drinking some kind of love potion.

Don’t want a date to leave you fat? The Love Lock also serves the Sweetheart Salad, a huge salad with more than your usual serving of greens; it is mixed with sliced tuna and salmon sashimi with some good Japanese dressing. It goes so well with their other dishes.

Now is probably a good time to visit the restaurant, while they still offer their love locks for free. That would probably save you a bit more and help you make your date a bit more memorable while you throw the key away and, in a very cheesy but unique way, profess your love and remember it by going to that restaurant.

Bring your friends, special someone or even family if you crave for international cuisine that won’t cost you as much as the multiple-starred hotels, while being conveniently located along a main road in BF Homes.

The Love Lock Restaurant is at 351 El Grande Ave., BF Homes, Parañaque; visit https://www.facebook.com/LoveLockRestaurant