Gaea's — Restaurant in Rizal

It was our first time there for a celebration. We went for lunch on a Saturday and the place was surprisingly empty when we got there. I was expecting a lot of people based on the photos I’ve seen online. No complaints though because it made the place even more relaxing. It was very quiet especially since they don’t even play background music unlike other restos do (I think a soft background music would be nice too though). Thankfully the weather cooperated that day too.

We first made a reservation by messaging them in their FB page. We had to pay a reservation fee of P500 which will be deducted from your total bill. Their reservation fee depends on how many people there are in your group.

P500 - 1-5 pax P1,000 - 6-10 pax P2,000 - 11 or more pax

For the food, it was good. I loved their house salad, panizza, grilled porkchop, and vegetable soup that came with the Classic group meal. I love that their veggies and edible flowers came straight from their garden. I also tried their malunggay pesto, but for a basil lover, I was somehow looking for more of that basil taste. It was still okay for me though. For the dessert, the cheesecake stood out for me.

It’s also nice that the place is pet friendly. They’re literally friendly with our furbabies, even calling them “love”. That was heartwarming.

Kudos to our server, Marbs! He’s so good with what he does. He was so warm and welcoming right when we got there. He let us take our time in looking at the menu and deciding what to order. He made sure we were comfortable. And plus points to him as well for even knowing how to set your phone camera properly for better lighting and angle. :)

I think the place would be nicer during summer when there would be more flowers blooming though. And if there’s something that can be improved, perhaps the flies. There were 2 flying around us while we were there.

Overall, still a great experience. Thank you Gaea’s! More...

Searching for a sweet escape?

Well, here you go. A newlt built sanctuary which if I'm not mistaken just recently opened February this year.

I would say it was a good spot for people who enjoy a bit of mindfulness. It was indeed refreshing with its mountain view and the zen look and feel of the place.

Although, few people might be wondering why I just rated this place as 3 star. Well, first things first was, it's sort of a cafe-resto so therefore I was expecting more of the variety of food that I can choose from and not just the ambiance of the place. Food taste just so-so for me. Or maybe the reason, why I didn't enjoyed it that much because of the housefly that's been circling around while I'm eating. Ended up, I'm swooshing it the whole time. Which made it so terrible hot because it's very humid when we're there. Good thing, it was still that early. I can't imagine myself if we went there during lunchtime. Hence, I suggest go there early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

They've got a flower farm too, but I guess it will still need some time for them to bloom. Looking forward for the time when it's all covered with tons of colours.

What else, can I say. Hmmm.. Nothing much really. But before I forget, good thing they've got the nicest guest assistant, too bad I didn't get her name to give thanks to her through this post. She's very friendly and whenever I look at her uniform, I suddenly have this sense of feeling as if I'm staying in a hotel. It blends well with the aura of the place. Good job!

Since they're new, I guess 3 star wasn't a bad thing after all. There's still a lot of things to improve on. And...

We had a frustrating, disappointing and disgusting lunch today. The food is yummy BUT the restaurant is infested with flies, not only in the dining area but also in their restroom. When we asked if there are flies in the kitchen where food was being prepared, of course the staff would say no because they're in a different area. True, but they still open the kitchen door when it's time to bring the food to the table without any food covers. So who really knows?! The flies can't be managed by the candles only. Believe me since the staff brought 4-5 candles to our table but the flies still managed to land on our food and even on the glasses/drinks. It seems that 2 years ago, a similar review on the flies was made but to date, the same problem persists. This is a matter of sanitation and safeness of the food the customers consume and should be taken seriously! EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Furthermore, we also noticed that the 12%VAT exempt for the seniors was not deducted from the total bill and only the 20% SC discount. We called their attention to this and even presented a manual computation. The Manager listened and presented how they computed which is 20% discount is deducted from the total bill with VAT and said that this is what their head office provided. The Manager asked if we wanted to talk to their head office and we initially said yes but just asked them to charge our CC as is, so that we can already get out of the place. Please be warned accordingly.

I'm doing this review/feedback not to malign but for further...