Woods Smokehouse — Restaurant in Cebu City

(From dinner and drinks at around 730pm on a Saturday night) The place is fairly new and I have to say it was a disappointment because i expected so much from the good reviews posted.

Service - they were very understaffed and the staff were poorly trained. Simple things such as providing service water (standard practice in places that charge as high as this place), asking if I require a receipt (which I did and only a piece of paper listing what I ordered counted for a receipt), and calling me to move my car with the guard telling me to go back because I didnt need to move my car then calling me again because I did need to move my car after all. Because they were understaffed, it felt like calling a waiter/waitress was hunting pokemon hoping that one of the pokeballs actually catches a pokemon.

Food - again for the price, it is disappointing. I don't mind food to be priced high but quality needs to be good and not just passable. It's bad enough that the service wasn't good. But the quantity and quality of the food wasn't commensurate to the price charged.

Service charge - though 20php seems cheap for service charge fixed rate, but I would certainly rather the place charge 10% service charge, hire more service staff, hire a consultant on customer service, and actually have a manager.

Management (or the lack thereof) - as a newly opened establishment it was vital for a manager to oversee operations so that it doesnt get out of hand especially if it just recently opened. I could not see any manager at all.

Ambiance - for a place that is closer to the city center compared to Tops and other establishments, this is nice. They have a good view and they have a beautiful combination of the greens during daytime and the nice city lights at night. I do wish though they turned down the music because the audio wasn't very nice (single speaker placed at the deck). The cars passing by felt tolerable, after all it is understood that the location is easy to access.

Pricing and food - I guess this is what triggered me. The pricing just felt off because of the service and the food quantity and quality) admittedly, we only ordered one dish (was gonna order more but I was already bothered twice to move my car so by the third time I was called, I just lost my appetite). I ordered a Palm life cocktail that was 155php. Pricing felt okay but then the mint leaves in the drink were already very soft, bruised, and mushy with no minty taste which suggests spoiled mint leaves used. It was also served in a colored water glass which made the drink even harder to appreciate.

Parking - perhaps they should mark properly as to where the cars can park so that misunderstandings may be avoided and then cars can be properly positioned so that the car owners will not play a game of 'moving car puzzle' with the guard.

Conclusion.

The place has a lot of potential. It could be a great place for a weeknight release from city stress because of it's great location. The view is beautiful, though it doesnt have the freshness that tops, delice, and others, have to offer but the proximity to the city makes it good.

However management has got to work on service quality, their official receipt, actual management, and quality assurance of food and drinks.

It's too early to tell if this place is indeed bad. This is my personal experience. I guess there was so much hype and build up from the reviews, that it all flopped when I looked forward to what I saw in the reviews.

Maybe in 3 months time I'll give this place a visit again. By then I hope, things will...

This is my first time to dine here and here are my thoughts about the place. As far as the place goes, I love how accessible it is, its just along the road to your way to Busay. Its not to far from JY Square though. You can easily see the place because of their big Carved Cement Wall Signage (you can't miss it). When you get inside the interior is not that amazing as there some fixing on the furnitures that needs to be done they said it's because of the typhoon Odet but despite all these its still a good place to relax your mind with a very nice view of the city as it has an overlooking view. The place is not too big just enough to accommodate a number of people which for me is wonderful because it kinda keeps the intimacy ambiance of the place. For the food, I'm having mixed emotions although we only ordered 4 dishes. I love the smoked bacon, it is very flavorful. I also liked the sizzling pork belly with the ginger-garlic sauce. The Chicken that we got I believe is overwhelming because of the Spices but its still okay. I don't like their Carbonara that much as its not that creamy and the sauce has the tendency to harden if you don't eat it right away. The staffs are the best. We are assisted by two of their staff and both of them are so accommodating. They answered all our inquiries. They are very patient and I love how they always put a smile on their face. Parking do not worry they have a parking area but don't be too hype about it coz its not that big remember that they are located along the road but yes they do have a parking. So this is my review about the place, I may not have given this place a 5 star but I still recommend for you to try it. God bless everyone,...

I was looking forward to checking out this place with a friend who lives nearby after noticing it en route from Temple of Leah last weekend. The place looked promising with its laidback vibe and al fresco dining areas overlooking the nearby mountains of Busay and the lights of Metro Cebu in the distance.

But our experience here turned out to be a huge disappointment, starting with the very limited parking space and inattentive staff. Our dinner was interrupted three times, just so my friend can move his car for departing and arriving customers. And whenever we’d need something, there were frequently no waiters around and I had to walk over to cashier to ask for the menu or make an order. The establishment seemed understaffed with few waiters and no manager around.

Then there’s the food. I ordered the carbonara pasta which they agreed to prepare with bacon instead of the sausage (which was accommodating of the cook), but the dish turned out to be way too salty. I actually like salty food, but this was not good. I don’t mind shelling out for food, as long as it’s money well spent. To be honest, the carbonara wasn’t worth the PHP 320 at all, considering it’s overpowering taste and the insufficient serving size. I’ve had carbonara pasta for less than PHP 200 (eg. Bo’s Coffee) that tasted far better than this!

After paying for the bill, we had to approach the cashier yet again to ask for a receipt. After quite a wait, the waitress returned, handing over no official receipt but a piece of paper with a handwritten list of our orders!

I might return to Woods next time just to enjoy the views, but I’m staying away from the overpriced food and...