Lula Cafe PH — Restaurant in Tagaytay

Discovered this café inside a subdivision along the Tagaytay ridge. Be warned, the roads are steep as hell! But if your vehicle has a strong enough engine then head on down to Lula Café! Dropped by without a reservation since we figured it was still early, and because this place is tucked in the bowels of a subdivision chances are most peeps have no idea they exist. Big bonus, they are PET FRIENDLY!

We ordered the Hummus as a starter. Wifey had the Beef Tapa, I had the Longganisa, my 2 teens had the Adlai-Caldo. All dishes were not lacking in flavor, but the wifey was not happy with her "sweet" tapa. Simply not what she expected, but if you're into sweet tapa then you are probably going to love it. Too bad they removed the Eggs Benny from their OG menu, that was what she really wanted. Longga was a sweet-garlicky mix, with the edge going to the garlicky flavor. Adlai-Caldo was solid, both in flavor and serving size! Meal would not be complete without coffee, the Americano was surprisingly ok. My Father in law joined us 30 minutes after we arrived and had the deconstructed suman (Suman, Mangga, Cassuy), which looked more like Biko. It was very good though.

There was a group of Big Bikers, around 20 of them, who were already there when we arrived. Staff was busy attending to their needs as to be expected. Problem was there was only one server covering the dining area. I am assuming big groups like this would have booked ahead, therefore it would make sense for the owner/manager to assign more servers at that particular time. As mentioned before, only one server. So we had to wait a bit before we could place our orders, which is torture if you are already famished. Hummus arrived promptly, but our mains took 20-25 minutes to be served. If not for their friendliness I would have given a lower rating for service. Ambiance/vibe of the place was ok, but could use a bit more decor. Will do for a clubhouse converted to a resto.

Lula Café has a lot of potential, just iron out the kinks all around and they can be a must-visit establishment when...

Had a really great dine-in experience here in Lula Caffe’!

What we ordered:

1. POUTINE, TRUFFLE ESSENCE - super yummy, I love the play around of the sauce. It was PERFECT.
2. FRESH CATCH CEVICHE- this starters is the best one to try here especially if it’s your first time. I’m giving it a 10/10 for sure! And wow the art on plating the dish is beautiful!!
3. WATERMELON & FRIED CHEESE SALAD - this is really good too. Especially the sauce and the mix of the almonds/ watermelon. Amazing!
4. SALMON FILLET, BLACK RICE RISOTTO, SQUID INK - really good too! Plating as usual, really beautiful.
5. ROSEMARY GRILLED PORK CHOP, SWEET POTATO PUREE, SPINACH CREAM - this is the main dish I ordered for myself. I was really surprised on how tender the pork was, and it was cooked to perfection!
6. SPICED FRESHWATER SHRIMP, ADLAI CORN RISOTTO - really loved the play of ingredients here too. I was only able to taste the risotto though because my mother ate all the shrimp 🤣 I asked her opinion on the whole dish, she said it was perfect!

The staff was very kind and friendly. She knew from the start that the reason why we were coming was because it’s my mother’s birthday. So she gave us a celebratory dessert to finish off. (Although I ordered 1 whole HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE, it wasn’t the best, but I think it was just me as I’m not really a cheesecake fan to begin with. Everyone else who dined in with us loved it though)

Atmosphere- giving it a 5 star too. It’s so cozy and relaxing. Then you partner it up with really good food, I can say, by far, one of the best experience dining...

Went on a trip from QC to Lula Cafe for lunch just this Monday Jan. 23... treat of my daughter as she knows how much i enjoyed my dining experience at the Burrow Cafe in Antipolo. Daughter and I enjoyed our food ( ceviche, caldereta and salmon on black risotto ). Meanwhile, hubby ate his ordered dish and halfway through noted how tough and dry his beef "tenderloin" ( most expensive on the menu) was . Only then did i see from the photo daughter took that given on the plate was a clump of meat, presented unsliced and that when sliced by hubby was dry , stringy. Hubby wanted me to be quiet about it, but I needed to bring it to the attention of our pleasant server, Ara, who gave the feed back to whoever cooked and plated it. Hubby was served an affogato with apologies. (Nice move, thank you.) It will be great if the Lula purchaser ensures getting good quality beef tenderloin; the cooking , plating and presentation of the dish must be improved. If no good meat can be had it is perfectly alright to tell the diners that the dish is unavailable for the day... Overall, though, our dining experience was pleasant, weather was cool, the servers were attentive. Lula Cafe is still worth a visit...but may I say I enjoyed it more at the Burrow Cafe.. loved the food, the ambiance and it is...