Marina

Marina (Oyster, Seafood, Grill) is a restaurant chain that has a branch in Batangas City.  It's actually not very popular and I haven't even tried it when I was in Manila.  Since it's here and quite near, we gave it a shot.  

Marina is conveniently located across the Parish of the Most Holy Trinity, right beside SM Batangas City.  It has a wide area for parking and spacious seating areas inside and outside.    However, amid all these plus factors, I wonder how it survives given that it's usually empty.  It's difficult to run a restaurant of seafood since the food can easily go to waste if not consumed right away.  Seafood won't also last long even inside freezers, and they definitely won't be fresh.  

The place has good lighting and clean tables.  It was properly staffed and it had some good variety of seafood, oysters, and grilled items. We just wanted to sample their food and not be overly committed to it since as I've mentioned, I'm not too keen on the freshness of their seafood.

The calamares were quite good.  Perfectly cooked and crunchy with good flavors. 

Calamares - P205

We also got their best-sellers of baked oysters.  One serving was about 10 of these rock oysters, baked with cheese and herbs.  They were actually pretty good as well.  Nice texture and taste.  No feeling or taste of rawness or seawater.   

Talabang Ilonggo (Baked Oysters) - P299

It was a good experience to try.  It's just unfortunate for the restaurant that it hasn't clicked to the Batanguenos yet.  I won't be surprised if it goes out of business soon. 

Summary:
Taste - 4/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 4/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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Marina
National Road, Pallocan West
Batangas City

Cafe de Lipa

In the place known for its barako coffee, Cafe de Lipa has shown that it can compete with the likes of Starbucks and CBTL.  With four branches in total, three of which are in Batangas, Cafe de Lipa is slowly growing.  

It was my first time to try Cafe de Lipa.  I've always been biased towards Starbucks.  But being in the land of kapeng barako, I just had to try its coffee.

I always order the Dark Mocha Frap when I'm in Starbucks, so I ordered something similar from Cafe de Lipa.  One thing that you'll notice right away is the price.  The drinks cost cheaper than Starbucks or your other favorite coffee shop chains.  As for the taste, it was comparable.  I'm not a coffee connoisseur, so I don't really notice these things.  The coffee beans were locally grown in Batangas though, so they're definitely barako.   

Celleto Dark Mocha Grande - P115

My only pet peeve was their lack of drink customization.  I was so pampered by Starbucks in having my drink my way.  I could opt for a nonfat milk and for an extra espresso shot to my drink. Not a major deal-breaker, but for those who like their coffee a certain way, Cafe de Lipa may not be that flexible.  

The place was good for hanging out and having a conversation over coffee.  There was enough space and parking was available in front.  Cafe de Lipa is definitely worth another visit, to try their other coffee drinks.  

Summary:
Taste - 4/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 3/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5

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Cafe de Lipa

32 San Carlos drive, Mataas na Lupa, Lipa City, Batangas
+63 43 757 4953
http://www.cafedelipa.ph
info@cafedelipa.ph

Lipa Grille

On a street connecting Batangas and Quezon provinces lies Lipa Grille.  The restaurant serves Filipino food and has good reviews on the Internet.  Since we went to Lipa last Saturday, we decided to give it a try and see what it had to offer.

The place has ample parking area and it has some seating areas outside the main restaurant in nipa huts.  Given it was a Saturday lunch, the place was packed.  Whenever a table opened up, it immediately got taken over by a new party.  

The place didn't impress me though.  It was unclean, with lots of flies and dirt and trash on the floors.  There were several air conditioning units, but they weren't effective.  It was actually uncomfortable since it was very humid.  Even the newly-cleaned tables weren't really clean.  It's a pity that they can't maintain the place properly.

Upon opening the menu, I immediately noticed that their prices weren't cheap.  In fact, they were quite expensive.  Not something I would expect from the looks of the restaurant.  The prices were comparable to Gerry's Grill, if not a bit more expensive. 

The food offering was plentiful and there were a lot to choose from.  We decided on the Beef Tenderlion Tips and the Lechon Kawali Royal, with some garlic rice and a fresh watermelon shake.

The Lechon Kawali Royal wasn't your usual lechon kawali.  The pork parts were different.  It contained the meat near the bones and not those near the skin with fat.  There were some crunchy skins scattered though.  The meat was very flavorful.

Lechon Kawali Royal - P285

The Beef Tenderlion Tips were soft and tender, and the sauce was tasty.  The dish came on a sizzling plate, but nothing was hot or sizzling.

Beef Tenderlion Tips - P275

Lipa Grille has another branch in Robinsons Lipa.  Not sure if there are other branches.  I'm not too keen to find out.  At their high prices, poor service, and dirty ambiance, I don't think I'll be going back there again.  Maybe if it was on the way and incidentally time to eat, we might go in again.  But not deliberately.

Summary:
Taste - 3/5
Value for money - 3/5
Menu - 5/5
Ambiance - 2/5
Service - 2/5

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Lipa Grille

P. Torres St., Antipolo del Norte,

Lipa City, Batangas