Buon Giorno (Cliff House, Tagaytay) at allanko.net

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Buon Giorno (Cliff House, Tagaytay)

27 June 2008 17 Comments

I had late lunch with my good friends Sunday afternoon at the Italian café and bistro Buon Giorno,
which is located at the Cliff House in Tagaytay, right in front of Fire
Lake Grill (which we originally wanted to lunch on, but was closed,
probably due to the very bad weather). This post is about my dining
experience there.

I wasn’t able to see much of the overall setting,
especially outdoors, as the storm had rendered a lot of fogs and very
low visibility all around. I would presume though that the resto offers
a great view of lake Taal and the volcano. The interiors are cozily lit
and furnished, with a bar and nice cloth lamps hanging from the ceiling.

Now for the food.

Appetizer: Croquettes with Mozzarella (an outer layer that’s both battery and starchy coupled with an inner cheesy surprise). I only had a small slice (see inset in pic below) but I thought it was very delectable. A bit dry but goes really well with the tomato-based sauce.

Drink: Grape Shake. One of the best I’ve had. Easily beats that of Roma Mia and that dud I had at Fish Out of Water.

Main Courses:
Quattro Formaggi (Mixture of four cheeses: Mozzarella, Fontina, Parmesan and Gorgonzola). Tastes very cheesy. I only had 1 slice, not being a pizza person. It was okay for me.

Osso Buco con Risotto alla Milanese (a popular Northern Italian classic — veal shank braised to perfection with gremolata: parsley, garlic, and lemon rind topping). According to weedboy and Charlie, the shank was not so tender and didn’t actually look as good as the pic on their menu. I had a taste myself and thought the same — it was nonetheless not bad.

Pollo E Funghi Risotto (chicken and mushroom risotto). This was what I ordered. I loooooove risotto! And this dish doesn’t disappoint at all. Goes well with a dash of grated parmesan. Just looking at this pic makes me hungry again!

Spaghetti Vongole e Gamberetti (Spaghetti with clams and shrimps). Tossed plainly with olive oil and garnished with spring onions, this pasta dish has clams underneath (not seen in the pic), the flavor of which complements the al dente noodles perfectly.

Desserts:
Molten Chocolate Cake (soft and moist cake literally with molten chocolate).Charlie ordered this for sharing. I had a taste or two and liked the strong chocolatey-ness topped with the vanilla gelato.

Chocolate Pistachio Sans Rival (layers of thin, buttery wafers drizzled with pistachio nuts). This dessert order of mine was both chewy and crunchy — chewy because of the soft wafers, and crunchy because of the crushed pistachio. Not my best dessert moment, but I liked it nevertheless.

Service. Liked it. They were actually closed when we arrived (at around 230-ish/3pm), but upon weedboy’s prodding they graciously opened the resto for us. While there were also flies spotted inside the resto, the staff welcomed and greeted us instantly and knew what to recommend from their menu. While dining and accidentally dropping my fork, I did not have to count to 10 to see the waiter approaching me with a replacement fork. They were unobtrusive yet attentive, and were very courteous.

Price. At about P675 per head, I think this resto offers a very reasonable price point for the quality of food it served us. It would have been an even bigger steal if the weather ain’t this bad — with the spectacular view of Taal Volcano right beside you.

My verdict. We originally planned to dine at Antonio’s and/or Fire Lake Grill, but i was not disappointed at all that we ended up here. The ambiance, the food, and the service are all well worth the price. Come here if you like good Italian food and want to unwind with friends or family with Taal as your backdrop.

Buon Giorno, Tagaytay
#4 Cliff House
Tagaytay City, Cavite
(046) 413-2102