Naga City Restaurant Tips by cyndymc Top 5 Page for this destination

Basilica Kaffee Haus & Restaurant: Gourmet Coffee & Cheesecake, Anyone?

We discovered this coffeehouse & restaurant by accident. When the rained stopped, we looked for a restroom, and as we searched, we found Kaffee Haus & Restaurant. We reckoned the place would have a restroom. When we went inside, we expected to see a simple church canteen, but we were surprised to see such pleasant looking and relaxing ambience. It exuded a romantic mood, too, with its post Valentine decors.

Favorite Dish: We couldn't resist sampling their blueberry cheesecake with gourmet coffee...Really good!

Address: Basilica Minore Compound, Balatas, Naga City

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: Adjacent to the Religious Store at the right side of Basilica

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Coffeehouse

Jollibee: Reliable Everywhere

SM was still closed and we haven't explored the city yet for possible restaurant choices, so we just walked from our hotel to nearby Jolliibee.

Everywhere we go, if there is a Jollibee outlet, we usually eat breakfast or fast snack there. Service is fast; ambience is good; service crew are helpful and always smiling; more importantly, food is clean and great for the price.

Aside from the familiar tasty food, we patronize Jollibee because we feel safer asking their service crew for directions on how to go to certain places, how much is the regular transportation cost, and other concerns in a new place.

Favorite Dish: For breakfast, I have many favorites: pancake meal with hot chocolate, beef tapa and corned beef meals with egg, rice and coffee/chocolate. For snack, I like their peach mango pie, but when I'm really hungry, I take the hotdog meal with french fries and sarsi.

Address: Panganiban Drive, Brgy. Tinago, Naga City

Comparison: about average

Directions: near SM

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Fast Food

Makiyaki: Japanese Food, Anyone?

We haven't tried this place for lack of time, but I'm posting this to remind me to try their makis and sushis the next time we go to Naga Ciity.

Makiyaki, despite its usual minimalist but uniquely beautiful Japanese interior/theme, caught our attention. The foods in their menu chart are quite pricey, but they also have value meals at more affordable prices.

Address: SM, Naga Central Business District II, naga City

Directions: Ground Floor

Rating: 0

Theme: Japanese/Sushi

Bigg's Diner: American Style Diner

I've read many good feedback about Bigg's Diner. We saw a Bigg's Diner across Quince Martires Plaza and a smaller 24-hour outlet at Magsaysay Avenue. When we saw a Bigg's Diner at SM, I was impressed by its nice interior decor/theme. It reminded me of a restaurant in Makati with the same motif. There was a big chart of food offerings at the entrance, and a staff to welcome diners and/or answer inquiries. Though hubby was more inclined to try the nearby Japanese restaurant, he agreed to have eat at Bigg's Diner. I told him I had a craving for Bigg's Salad, as I wanted to have only a light meal... Alas, I wasn't able to eat the salad that I craved for. After getting our order and making us wait for a long time, we were told that the kitchen no longer had ingredients for the salad. What poor customer service! SM Supermarket was only a few steps away; they could have bought fresh lettuce and other ingredients if they really wanted to satisfy their customers! Or if they couldn't do that, they should have informed us beforehand that the salad wasn't available.

Favorite Dish: I couldn't cite any favorite. The tuna sandwich I ordered in lieu of the salad was SO-SO BLAH! The bread was soggy, perhaps due to the watery tuna sandwich filling that didn't taste that good either. Hubby wasn't ecstatic about his meal either.

Too bad, the nice ambience couldn't compensate for the poor service.

Address: Bigg's Diner, SM Mall, Naga City

Comparison: more expensive than average

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 2

Theme: American

Geewan: Bicol & Other Local Cuisine

I read some positive reviews about Geewan so we looked for it. It is actually a fastfood type of restaurant offering local dishes. It has nice, quiet ambience unlike other fastfood outlets; aircon is cool; food showcase is clean; service is fast (as expected); staff and guard are courteous.

Favorite Dish: The "laing" and "Bicol Express" that we tried weren't extraordinary; I expected more. Maybe I'm biased, but I like our own cooking...but then again, taste is a personal matter. The fish dish (I forgot the name of the dish) which my hubby ate was delicious though.

Address: Naga City

Comparison: about average

Directions: near the Quince Martires Plaza...ask any local for directions if you can't see it.

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Local