Tanay Highlands — Restaurant in Rizal

Tanay Highlands is an excellent spot for those who want good food while enjoying fresh air and a mountain view. It’s a great choice for families, couples on a date, and groups of friends on a road trip. The mix of Filipino classics and international dishes ensures there’s something for everyone.

Date & Time of Visit Visited during the daytime, around lunchtime, which turned out to be perfect for enjoying both the food and the panoramic mountain views.

Purpose of Visit Casual meal with friends/family. The place has a warm and communal atmosphere, making it great for group dining and relaxed conversations.

📍 Location & Accessibility Tanay Highlands is located along the main road, making it fairly easy to find when driving or using navigation apps. It’s a popular stop for travelers heading through Rizal province, and the drive up offers scenic views of nature. Public transportation is limited, so driving is the best option.

Parking & Entrance There’s available roadside parking near the restaurant. The entrance is accessible, though the surrounding terrain is slightly hilly, typical of the highlands.

🏞️ First Impressions & Ambience The restaurant is set against a backdrop of lush greenery and mountain landscapes. From the terrace, you get a wide-open view of the Sierra Madre range, which makes dining here extra refreshing.

Interior & Seating: Open-air dining with simple yet functional tables and chairs. The space is casual, airy, and comfortable.

Noise Level: Lively but not too loud; you can still hold conversations easily.

Comfort: Good ventilation, natural breeze, and plenty of light thanks to the open terrace design.

🚻 Facilities Restrooms are available and decently maintained. While not luxurious, they are adequate for casual diners.

👩‍🍳 Service The staff are attentive and polite. Orders were taken promptly, food arrived at a reasonable pace despite being a busy lunch hour. The servers were approachable when asked for recommendations and quick to clear used dishes.

🍴 Menu & Food Experience The menu is diverse, offering both local Filipino favorites and international comfort dishes. A good balance for groups with mixed preferences.

✅ Dishes Tried: Crispy Chicken Rice Bowl with Egg A hearty dish topped with a perfectly cooked sunny-side-up egg. The chicken was crunchy on the outside, tender inside, and paired well with pickled vegetables and scallions. Comforting and filling.

Pomelo & Fried Fish Salad A refreshing plate with fresh greens, onions, mango, pomelo, and crispy fried fish. The mix of tangy citrus, crunch, and mild sweetness from the dressing made it a standout starter.

Salmon in Tamarind-Based Soup A flavorful take on sinigang-style soup with salmon and vegetables. Tangy, warm, and appetizing — perfect for the cooler mountain weather.

Seafood Pancit (Noodles with Shrimp & Fish Cake) Generous portion with shrimp, fish cakes, vegetables, and boiled eggs. Balanced flavors and ideal for sharing.

Lasagna with Garlic Bread A classic Italian comfort dish. The lasagna was rich with tomato sauce, cheese, and beef layers. Served with garlic bread that was crisp on the outside and soft inside.

Creamy Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes & Egg Yolk A lighter pasta option with creamy sauce, topped with cherry tomatoes and a golden egg yolk for extra richness. Nicely seasoned and satisfying.

Fish & Chips with Curly Fries The fish fillet had a light, crispy batter and was served with lemon wedges and dipping sauces. The curly fries were flavorful and fun to eat, making this a crowd favorite.

💵 Price & Value

Prices are moderate, with most main dishes ranging from mid to slightly higher compared to local eateries. However, given the generous serving sizes, good taste, and the scenic dining experience, the value feels justified.

⭐ Overall Impression Food Quality: 4.5/5 Service: 4/5 Ambience: 5/5 Value...

Food 3/5 We ate most of our food and drank all our coffee, and the prices were comparable to similar places and it seems there's a premium put on the food for the view here, which is typical. My big gripe is the lack of filtered water and the need to buy bottled water instead. Our group finished the tapsilog, bangsilog, and the Hungarian sausage-silog. As silogs go, they were satisfying after a morning hike. We also had a mango kani salad on the side, which was heavy on the mayonnaise and the group just couldn't finish it. We could barely taste the coffee in the cappuccino as it was too milky; it could have used another shot of espresso. We also had the specialty coffee, both the local and the international. Both were delicious but again with the international at PHP 220 and less than 300 ml, coffee was quite overpriced. "Dirty" ice cream was also available, but on a separate bill, which was creamier and bigger than what you'd get on the street at PHP 150 a-piece. We enjoyed all the flavours on that one, with chunky fruit bits, and a wafer cone that fit snugly in one's hand.

Ambiance and Atmosphere 3/5 The place was crowded and bustling on a weekend. If we wanted a quiet, relaxing breakfast, this would have been last on our list. On that morning, a light fog obscured the view of the surrounding mountains. I just wish Highlands would concentrate far more on the quality of their food and the coffee and delivering value for the price, than simply banking on their ambiance, especially when there was very little to see at the time. A lot of people take pictures against the railing, which can be a bit of a distraction, and pet owners can't seem to handle their whining dogs. Seeing as the dining area was open on all sides but one, it got very bright and over-stimulating.

Service 4/5 Servers were busy and hard to flag down. They took us to our seats in a hurry, but didn't stay to explain the menu or how things worked. In that sense, we were left to our own devices. Serving the food didn't take too long, and we had enough time to chat from the time we ordered and the food was laid in front of us. Paying the bill also took time as there were many guests.

In all, it's a good enough place to visit when one has time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there again. There was nothing glaringly bad about the place, but nothing was very inspiring or beautiful, either. Middling food that didn't really made an impression, frenetic service, expensive coffee, and an underwhelming view that forced us to really consider the atmosphere without it, made for a...

Long review ahead.

Our group of 6 + baby stopped over for lunch here after a trip on May 29, 2023. Initial reaction was that the place was very nicely done up, so we were excited for the meal.

Turns out this place is a waste of good location and ambiance. Tanay Highlands has displayed the absolute WORST service I'd ever had the displeasure of experiencing in recent years.

First off, one of our drinks (the smores one) had not one but TWO flies swimming in it. When we attempted to flag down a waiter to inform them (there were 3 in the area), we were ignored until we were forced to call out loudly. When the waiter came over, he said nothing and just took the drink away. There were also no stirrers served with the drinks, and requesting those had to be a separate ordeal.

Food was served, one of our orders did not come with the specified dip. When asked for it, waiter said the dip was unavailable. The dip that was part of the menu entry's name. Why did nobody tell us when they accepted the order? It had to be replaced with sour cream, and my companion did not enjoy the flavor mix. My own dish, the truffle cream pasta, I did not enjoy as well. I asked for it with nothing spicy due to allergies and they complied by over pepper-ing the pasta.

Throughout the meal, there were heavy gusts of wind that kept knocking things off tables. The wind is expected because we were in Tanay. What wasn't expected was the terrible service when one of our drinks fell over and the glass broke, spilling drink over me (my torso and one whole leg was wet with iced tea). There was no immediate help to clean up the area, and the first response was to give us small tissues. We HAD to ask for a rag to wipe up the table and chairs, and the waiter to help do that barely did the job and left both table and chair still wet. I had to use up so much of their tissue to do it myself. There was also no effort to sweep the broken glass away, we had to AGAIN ask for them to do this.

Through ALL of this not a single apology was given, and when the bill came at the end of the meal they had not even comped a single thing.

If I could give a negative amount of stars for this review, I would. I will be using this experience as my new benchmark for worst restaurant service experienced for a while, and will be actively discouraging all of my friends and family from trying this place. Steer clear if you value good food...