If you will travel to Tagaytay and want to add a little spice in your road trip and adventure, there’s a restaurant that is worth to visit when you are along the long road of Sta. Rosa and Tagaytay highway, The Rekados Café and Restaurante is there near the boundary of Silang, Cavite and Tagaytay City. It’s a 20 minute drive if you are coming from Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, but it’s a 5 minute drive if you are coming from the public market of Tagaytay, or 15 minutes if you will come from Olivares in Tagaytay.
It’s a nice hub for food, a rest place to stretch those legs after a long drive, a nice pasalubong haven, dessert station and also a good selfie photo location. Its not just the food that they offer, but also the place that you can absorb and feel the Filipino vibe, why? because when I was there, I felt that I was in Intramuros or in Vigan’s Calle Crisologo, the exterior of the resto and their façade resembles very Fil-Spanish and it tickles you for a vintage feel.
When a friend invited to check the resto, I did some research online and I learned that this resto is owned and managed by the Custodio family, the exterior and interior décor of the whole place were from their design taste and not from an interior designer expert, we met one of the kids of the Custodio family and he told us that the designs and fixtures were from their dad’s idea and others are from their own concept. The recipes of the food they serve are dated back from the golden years of their grand parents. Just imagine, you are eating a century old recipe that is preserved for many generations by the new generation of the Custodio family. For me that’s an awesome trivia.
Most of their food are Fil-Spanish style, but they also serve the all around pinoy style food, like bulalo, papaitan, caldereta, pochero, lengua and many more. If you want to level up your taste buds then you have to try their paella valenciana and some angus steak.
My food and travel experience here is nice, and I’m excited to bring my family here to show them there’s another place that we need to explore near Tagaytay City.
Sunset scene infront of Rekados.
It’s a 5-15 minute drive if you are coming from Tagaytay, its funny that I traveled all the way from Cavite going to Alabang then to Sta. Rosa. I took the long cut way and I didn’t realized that its much nearer to Tagaytay. The best part here is that I went here via Bus and jeep hahhaha. and thanks to the locals of Brgy Pasong Langka for guiding me on how to go here ( I just met them riding in the same jeepney going to Tagaytay)
How to go to Rekados (if you don’t have your own car)
From Alabang
1.Go to jeepney terminal in Alabang
2. Ride the jeep going to Balibago and Coke area
3. Drop off to Coke area, its after the toll gate in SLEX
4. Ride a jeep going to Tagaytay (this jeep takes the Sta. Rosa de Paseo-Nuvali – Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road)
5. Tell the jeepney drive to drop you off in Rekados resto in Brgy Pasong Langka
Bec. of the bus-jeep travel, I just learned on how to go to Nuvali without bringing a car
If you are coming from Tagaytay1. Ride a trike in Olivares going to the public market of Tagaytay in Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road
2. Infront of the public market, ride a jeepney going to Sta. Rosa or Balibago, Laguna
3. It’s a 5-10 min. ride to Brgy Pasong Langka
If you don’t want to get lost, I suggest you pop up the Rekados Foursquare map to see the resto’s location and your location in real time. Bec. that’s always I do whenever I travel.
check: https://foursquare.com/v/rekados-cafe-and-restaurante-silang-cavite/5302c9c3498e99c2cc684d0d
Here’s Rekados resto.
Infront of this resto is the pasalubong center
1. Balai Pasalubong
2. Gatasan (a carabao milk shop)
Reflection of the sunset
What I love here in Rekados is that the entire resto glows during sunset, everything just turned gold color. The brick walls and brownish color of the wooden table reflects a golden color that comes from the sunset. If you want to catch this moment then head over here before 5PM
The dining table
there’s something awesome lurking under the table. I will tell you about it later
It’s a small resto, but they have more tables at the al fresco dining area. Most customers dine at the al fresco area, bec. the resto is sometimes fully booked. The resto is mostly booked during weekends and holidays.
Lampara light effect
Greeny façade entrance
Here’s the Intramuros like feeling, it’s the entrance to their al fresco dining.
Take note that its cold after sunset, so make sure you brought your jacket and sweaters to warm you up.
Al fresco dining of Rekados
There’s a chess board game and an old piano, you can play with it while waiting for your food
Rekados is now finishing the construction of their wedding reception area, it’s a grassy field with a backdrop of another Intramuros-like wall made up of bricks and stones. This will be complete in the early part of 2015.
I noticed some small bahay kubo near the al freso dining area. It’s a small bahay kubo mock up that is perfect for kids who wants to play bahay bahayan and people who wants to do their selfie.
Their classic style of a Comfort room.
don’t worry, the toilet and urinals are very modern.
Wishing well for you to wish that you can go back to those fairy book tales
and then forget the real world for awhile and see yourself talk to a talking whale
Balai Pasalubong
Normally, this place is for Balai Pasalubong, a store that the Custodio family owns for years, but then on 2013, they decided to built a resto infront of it. Transforming the entire complex as the Rekados Intramuros (imbento ko lang yan title haha)
Rekados
Eagle statue on top of the bahay kubo
Of course, the print and media are now raving the food wonders of Rekados
Here’s the menu of Rekados Café and Restaurante.
the price of their food is quite okay for a restaurant. But I heard that they might change their price soon.
just click on the photo to read the menu
And here are the food of Rekados Café and Restaurante
masarap naman…dahil kumpletos rekados sila.
Caffe Mocha
PHP 93
Cute food category…bec of the heart shaped choco syrup on top of the froth
Calamansi Juice
PHP 75
Sinisipon si Chelle kaya heto ang order nya haha.
Home blended iced tea
PHP 45 per glass / PHP 135 per pitcher
I ordered this and its good. There’s a pinch of lemongrass in their iced tea.
But I think it’s a lemongrass..
Cream Spinach soup
PHP 115
The cream of spinach soup is good too, it’s the 1st thing they will serve to you if you have soup. Its thick and tasty and you’ll wish for a toasted bread to dip on it.
Grilled Salmon
PHP 285
I’m a fan of their salmon, I don’t know why. Its weird that there’s seafood here in the boundary of Laguna and Tagaytay. I gave 5 stars for their grilled salmon, because they prepared it right and the creamy cheesy toppings is so good.
Lengua Solo
PHP 285
For the mighty meaty eaters…yes this is a thumbs up too. Its soft, good and tasty. Perfect for a rice meal.
Linguine al pesto
PHP 195
I skipped on tasting this, but when my seat mate Axl, told me to try it… OMG. Its good and its one of the best tasty pasta.
fyi: I’m a pasta lover
Paella Valenciana
PHP 475
It looks like a normal or common paella, but this is a century old recipe of the Custodio family. The hot plate contains heavy loads of meat, seafood and sticky rice. Its not salty, sour or even sticky in your mouth. This paella rice gave me a tap down because my tummy is full after some chomps.
Grilled Porkchops
PHP 255
Callos Solo
PHP 285
PHP 425 – good for 4 persons
There’s spice or chili kick but it’s the best meaty soup for the cold weather. I love this because it’s a food treasure from Spain. I didn’t stop in eating this because Callos increases your appetite to eat more.
Churros
(no price yet)
I thought that we’re done but then they offered us to try their Churros, we gave it a shot and It’s a different style of churros. I thought that it’s a thick and super sweet choco but then it tasted like a cocoa of a champorado, but for me, it’s a news taste and its good. I don’t like champorado, but this gave me an idea on how to love a champorado with a different twist. Their churros bread is quite okay, I expect that it will level up with Dulcinea, but for me their own original recipe of the bread is okay na.
Me and my food dates enjoyed the awesome dinner here in Rekados. I’m so glad that I joined them here and travel from Cavite to this part of unfamiliar place. It’s a good travel and food journey for me as 2015 started.
Oh btw, here’s the awesome lurker under our table. It’s a vintage pedal of a Singer manual sewing machine. And its not 1, or 2…but all table here is mounted to a vintage pedal that now act as the table’s feet.
You have embraced the vintage feeling, tasted the food of the yester years, and then try those old sewing machine pedal like its 1980.
My review:
The place is nice and the food is great. Its too far from Manila, but its one of those hidden gems that needs to be discovered. Rekados just celebrated their 1st year anniversary last December 2014 and I’m glad that they didn’t stop in expanding. I love the wedding reception area with grassy field, I’m so sure that this newly discovered resto will be discovered again by others.
Take note that when you order your food, make sure that you make yourself busy, because food takes time to arrive in your table because they prepare food by demand, and its freshly cooked. After ordering, go out of the resto and check out their amazing structures that will teleport you to the old Manila years.
And if you want to get more of a vintage feel, tell the waiter to pump up the volume of their Fil-Spanish music, and listen to the forgotten music of our ancestors.
and yes..I want to go back here
Rekados Cafe and Restaurante
Address: Santa Rosa- Tagaytay Road (Brgy. Pasong Langka Purok V), Silang, Cavite
Contact: 0917 545 5421
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rekadoscafeandrestaurante
Foursquare: https://foursquare.com/v/rekados-cafe-and-restaurante-silang-cavite/5302c9c3498e99c2cc684d0d
