Tagaytay, a mountain resort city an hour-and-a-half by car south of Manila, continues to charm people seeking to de-stress from the daily city grind.
Perched at more than 650 meters above sea level, this town on a mountain ridge offers breath-taking views of Taal Lake that surrounds Taal Volcano. From its highest point, one can get a glimpse of several provinces in Southern Luzon: Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon.
The weather in this mountaintop haven offers a splendid clime to many dining hangouts and tourist havens. The place is also synonymous to fabulous food, spiritual retreat or communing with nature. Urbanites also drive up to Tagaytay to simply buy locally grown fruits, honey, flowers, vegetables, plants and handicrafts.
A trip to Tagaytay and its neighboring areas is not complete without sampling its many specialty restaurants. Here are some:
Sonya’s Garden
Just off the road to Nasugbu-Lemery, Sonya’s Garden is a restaurant inside what is virtually a greenhouse.
The dining area, wrapped in a mix of plastic, galvanized iron sheet and fish net, lies next to a flower garden. The smell of fragrant flower wafts in the air as one walks into the hall.
The set menu includes home-made pasta with a choice of two sauces (white sauce with chicken and a sprinkling of mango and a red sauce with sun dried tomatoes). Bottomless “dalandan” (a local citrus with a cross between an orange and lime) is served along with a generous bowl of salad and a choice of dressings.
Shrimp (or chicken), mushrooms, nuts and other ingredients you can put on your pasta or munch separately are thrown in, plus a small bowl of jackfruit.
Sonya’s people grow some of the vegetables and ingredients in the menu. The dessert–grilled sweet potatoes soaked in caramel sauce–is quite a delight to the palate.
Getting there: From Tagaytay, drive towards Royal Tagaytay Country Club (to your right). Before the Nasugbu-Lemery junction, watch out for Sonya’s Garden signage. Set amidst the rolling hills of Alfonso, Cavite, it is about 1 km off the main highway (watch out for a sign that says Buck Estates, then turn right on an asphalt dirt road).
For reservations, call (0917)532-9097.
Bag of Beans Café
Bag of Beans, a few meters past Mendez Market, is one of Tagaytay’s garden-themed cafés. This cozy place, owned by a couple named Eric (an Englishman) and Chat, sells pies and cookies they themselves bake and are served with locally brewed coffee. It’s actually a coffee shop, bakery and a garden restaurant all rolled into one.
The café has become a popular stopover for those on the lookout for an authentic English menu. Home-made pies, its specialty, come in different flavors–Shepherd’s Pie, Steak Pie, Apple Pie–and are fairly priced. Pies can also be ordered on a 24-hour notice.
Also on the menu are Pies ‘n’ Mash, Bangers and roast beef. A huge helping of Fish and Chips, an authentic British recipe, comes alongside a variety of omelettes and sausages.
Freshly baked bread comes with different flavors–raisins, wheat and white bread–and makes for an alternative “pasalubong” from Tagaytay, instead of the usual buko pie or pineapples.
Bag of Beans’ coffee, grown from Amadeo town in Cavite, is a legend. A bottomless cup comes for about P40. Packed coffee beans are ready to be taken home too. This garden café has an element of wildlife thrown in with a pet monkey playfully pulling off tricks while rabbits roam around in an enclosure. Beans also offers a place for those looking for overnight accommodation.
Address: 3650 Aguinaldo Highway, Mendez Crossing West, Tagaytay City. For reservations, call (046)413-2724.
Gourmet’s Café
For many, a trip to Tagaytay is not complete without a visit to Gourmet’s Café, one of the first garden-themed cafes in the area (which is still actually part of Silang). This getaway is known for being the first to offer its famed salad bar.
Visitors who explore the Gourmet Farm, in the same compound as the café, get the idea where the food they eat are harvested from. This they-grow-what-they-serve uniqueness has been transplanted to Manila to reach out to Gourmet Café’s fans who are too busy to drive all the way to Silang, Cavite (near Tagaytay).
Gourmet’s menu today has been jazzed up to include pizzas and pastas and soups and sandwiches. The pizza with fresh Arugula and shrimp dishes are a must-try for first-time visitors.
Getting there: Take the Aguinaldo Highway towards Tagaytay. When you reach Silang town in Cavite, it’s to your left. For reservations, call (046)414-0209 and (0918)860-1583 or email info@gourmet.com.ph.
Josephine’s
One of Tagaytay’s more popular gourmand haunts is Josephine’s, a glitzy restaurant overlooking Taal Lake. Its reputation goes a long way, built over a decade of indulging Pinoys’ taste for home-cooked dishes.
The restaurant’s ambiance is a cross between modern and traditional, but dining at Josephine’s offers a touch and taste of your mother’s kitchen.
A notable and authentic Tagaytay specialty is the Fried Tawilis (a small fish found only in Taal Lake). All this and more while savoring the spectacular view of Taal Volcano.
Getting there: Josephine’s Restaurant is at Km 58 Maharlika West, Gen. E. Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay. For reservations, call (046) 413-1801/02, (632) 842-9851 or email josephinetagaytay@pldtdsl.net.
Antonio’s
A definition of a special romantic dinner date is one that is set far ahead of time. In the case of Antonio’s in Tagaytay, one might have to wait two to three months to confirm a dinner table during weekends, and a month-and-half on weekdays.
Story has it that a senator and her party were refused the dining experience at Antonio’s because she didn’t have a reservation. People had been put on a long “waiting list” just to dine there such that if one books in April or May, you’ll probably get a table in June or July.
The legend of Antonio’s begins with its exotic layout, with impressive dining areas and gardens. Colored lamps lend a cozy, romantic feel to the area overlooking Taal Lake.
There’s a variety of starters, from cream of white onion soup to cream of tomato soup and coffee souffle. Salad with foie-gras (glazed) come with purplish dressing (raspberry vinaigrette).
Antonio’s menu includes a wide selection of main courses, which includes seafoods (scallops swimming on creamy sauce or tasty seabass, a house specialty) and steaks. A child’s meal includes soup, main course, mashed potato and a scoop of ice cream. For dessert, chocolate souffle is worth checking out.
This French-themed restaurant may be one of the most expensive outlets in Tagaytay at $20-$40 per person, depending on the order. Antonio’s is open on Tuesdays for dinner only and on Wednesdays to Sundays for lunch (11:30 AM-3 PM) and dinner (5:30-9:30 PM).
Getting there: From the highway (ridge), turn right when you see the radar station. Look for Antonio’s farm signage in Barangay Neogan, Purok 7. The farm is after a cursillo house; turn left after 200 meters of concrete road. For reservations (must), call: (0917)899-2866 or (0917)819-1022.
