Dear Joe - Crosswinds — Restaurant in Tagaytay

(Cons) TOO EXPENSIVE - We don't mind paying but the serving was definitely NOT worth the price.

TINY PORTIONS - You would think that for the price of a four hundred peso ala carte dish, you'd get a decent amount of serving but given the food we got, it was obvious that the people who prepared the meal skimped on the portions. Presentation wise, the food looked great (see picture below) but if you look closely, sobrang liit ng serving. We thought that the gelato we had for dessert would somehow give the restaurant a redeeming factor but sad to say, it was nothing different. Who sells P200+ for two tiny scoops of ice cream that looks like HALF of what manong sorbetero would sell on the streets? Hindi naman kailangang sobrang laki ng serving, pero sana wag ganun. Can't believe we drove down a steep and narrow road for this. ☹

FOOD TASTED ORDINARY - The French beef bourguignon tasted like menudo and the Korean chicken tasted like something anybody can cook at home. No wow factor.

WRONG ORDER - I asked for a green apple fruit blend, they gave me something that tasted like cucumber. When I rechecked the menu, it didnt indicate anything about green apples being blended with cucumbers. This is a minor mistake but when everything else adds up, it just ruins the whole experience.

Restroom had a foul smell

The security guard at the parking lot was a bit arrogant.

(PROS) Good ambiance Restaurant staff were courteous Frappe was good

If you're looking for a quiet place with great ambiance and dont intend to eat, then this place is for you, but if you're looking for a great dining experience, you might as well just look elsewhere. It's not...

We went to Tagaytay for breakfast/brunch during Holiday, arrived at 930am. Its on the hilltop so the travel is quite long around 10 to 15 mins from the entrance. Parking around the place is also convenient. The place is not crowded yet at that time but volume of people arrived at noon onwards. The place is very instagrammable. Best place to take photoshoots because of its good aesthetics. Plus the very wide overlooking of Tagaytay.

Now, the food. So pricey. Grande sized iced coffee is around 310 (and above for upsize), food is not so extraordinary (around 395 above). What surprised us was that we are not allowed to dine upstairs as they have different menu - called Joe’s Tavern (I think). So you need to order from their menu if you wanted to dine upstairs, which we did. We ordered cheese fries after we ate downstairs. Fries is salty that we cant even finish it. We also ordered ice cream which is btw around 250 to 300 pesos. Again, didnt justify the taste for its price, too ordinary.

Customer service, not so much. For its pricey menu they could have at least up’ed the level of their customer service. No one’s smiling or even cared to tend to used tables.

Overall, we only enjoyed the scenery and the place. If its not how great looking the place was we would not stay. We dont think we would go back to Dear Joe’s. I hope they will improve esp on the customer service side. People might not care about how pricey or ordinary the food was as long as they get an outstanding customer service. Just...

Disappointing Cafe Experience

We recently visited Dear Joe Cafe for a coffee and snack, but we're afraid our experience there was quite poor. While the interior of the cafe had a nice aesthetic, that's about the only positive we can say.

To start, the cafe was infested with fruit flies and other insects, which is an immediate turn-off and raises concerns about the cleanliness of the establishment. The washroom was also in an unpleasant state, reeking of a funky and strong bleach smell.

The service was equally disappointing. Upon arrival, none of the staff greeted us or even provided menus, leaving us to awkwardly stare at the menu board. The staff seemed quite snobbish and aloof. When we did place our order, it took over 30 minutes to receive our drinks, despite the cafe not being particularly busy.

The drinks themselves were overpriced and underwhelming. And the potato chip snack we ordered was soaked in oil and had a bitter aftertaste, suggesting the use of old cooking oil.

For the price range, one would expect great service and quality. Sadly, our first visit to Dear Joe Cafe was a very poor experience overall. Between the cleanliness issues, lackluster service, and mediocre food and drinks, we cannot recommend this cafe. There are far better options in the area that provide a much more enjoyable...