Tagaytay has always been a go-to for quick getaways. Whether with friends or family, the city outside Manila has its way of calming our minds and temporarily but not totally shutting out a good amount of regular life, distancing ourselves from the chaos. We may not be on a remote island where signal is totally off and we have no choice but to socialize face to face, but the slightly slower pace and quietness of being a little high up has the tendency to make us voluntarily put aside our phones. This vibe and numerous good places to eat never fails to make a good yet brief getaway.

One of the places my family and I almost never fail to go to when we’re there is Il Gallo Nero, an Italian restaurant just by the entrance of Royal Tagaytay. It’s a very small restaurant connected to Alfonso’s Hotel that could seat possibly thirty people comfortably. There’s an airconditioner available, but in all of my visits for dinner, it has never been turned on and the restaurant just relies on the cool breeze of its location. In front of it is just the road that leads to Royal Tagaytay Estates, and across the road, untouched land, so the place is void of excessive noise and is overflowing with the cool Tagaytay breeze. The perfect spot for some cold cuts and wine.

Since we ate there on a Friday, we had to avoid meat dishes (Lenten season) and couldn’t get some of the usuals.

For appetizers we got Carpaccio Salmone , Insalata Cesare and Verdure alla Griglia.

Their Carpaccio Salmone this time around seemed a bit smaller than the serving I remembered it to be. Still good to have with some wine, I just wish the slices of the fish were slightly bigger.

Their Insalata Cesare is your regular Caesar Salad. It says in the menu that it’s good for two, but we were able to share this amongst 6-8 people. Just one serving each, of course.
We forgot this had bacon on it so unfortunately, the meat had to be swept aside.

Verdure alla Griglia is their very basic grilled vegetables with olive oil. I love eating grilled veggies so I enjoyed this along with my meal.

For the mains we just got dishes for sharing: Pizza Margherita Php 280, Pizza Quatro Formaggi (no tomato sauce) Php 520, Pizza with Anchovy (with olives and capers) Php 380, Spaghetti Marinara Php 310, and Putanesca Php 400.

The best way to eat in places really is to get dishes for sharing so that you could taste a bit of everything. I really liked the Quatro Formaggi or four cheese pizza and their Puttanesca, both topped with chilli flakes (which in this place is stronger than regular chilli I would get in other restaurants). But everything else ordered were also all very good. To make the experience complete, you must wine!

Until next time #danielaeats!

Il Gallo Nero
Alfonso Hotel Farm and Resort Royal Tagaytay Estates, Washington Avenue, Alfonso, Cavite City
0922 818 5468