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

-----

Marina
National Road, Pallocan West
Batangas City