[Review] Rowena's Cafe - The Cliffhouse Tagaytay

The Cliffhouse in Tagaytay is a compound which arguably has the best spot to view Taal lake and Taal volcano. Inside are various restaurants (Concha's Garden, Fire Lake Grill, Café Breton, Buon Giorno, and Rowena's Cafe) and a hotel (The Inn at The Cliffhouse Tagaytay). It is located near the main rotunda of Tagaytay along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu highway in the direction going to such iconic places such as the Sky Ranch, Josephine's, Leslie's, Taal Vista Lodge, Casino Filipino and Sonya's Garden.

Rowena's pasalubong shops are known for their buko pie and various tarts and can be considered as one of the must visit places if you plan to take home some pasalubong from your trip to Tagaytay. This was the first time I have tried going to the Rowena's Cafe located at the Cliffhouse compound in Tagaytay and the food there did not disappoint. Aside the usual dessert treats I have come to love, the menu of their cafe is a good mix of tried and tested local (Batangas-Cavite) delicacies and traditional Filipino breakfast fare from their all-day-breakfast menu. Thinking about Tagaytay will always make me crave for piping hot and flavorful bulalo (tender Beef shanks with bone marrow in clear broth) and lightly breaded deep fried crispy Tawilis (finger sized fish and is the only known freshwater fish of the genus Sardinella and is exclusively found in Taal lake - which is an ancient volcano caldera). Unfortunately at the time, we were touring a friend around who cannot eat beef so it was decided to have pork and fish on the menu.

Crispy deep fried tawilis

We ordered sinigang na baboy (pork in tamarind based sour broth), bagnet (crispy deep fried pork belly) with atchara and liver dipping sauce, dinuguan (pork meat and intestines in pork blood stew), and crispy fried Tawilis with spiced vinegar dipping sauce. All of these were served with a steaming bowl of freshly cooked white rice. We finished our meal quite satisfied and with no room for dessert but that did not prevent us from buying their delicious mini cheese tarts and buko pie to take home.

Dinuguan

Bagnet

Sinigang na baboy

If you are in the area I would recommend that you give Rowena's Cafe a try. I know they might be having a hard time being the new kid on the block in the compound especially since at least two other restaurants there have a good following - Fire Lake Grill and Buon Giorno are personal favorites of mine. And if you are especially going for local filipino dishes I am also well aware that most people will automatically think about Josephine's as the default destination. Go ahead and take a look at their menu at Zomato and try their food if you get the chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.