Buy me a Coffee 
On a boring Tuesday morning a friend invited me to have an out of town outdoor lunch at Cucina Bernardo. The restaurant is inside Angelfields Nature Sanctuary located at Silang, Cavite – Tagaytay City. A one a half to two hour ride from Manila. So, why not?!
As a frequent wanderer, the first thing that i always do is to check the weather of the destination. First, I was hesitant because the weather is kinda gloomy that day. Second, it looks like it’s about to rain. Third, I’m not sure if the food is going to be great.
I am all about nature and I am dying to reset and re-energize. Surrounded by luscious green garden and cool climate, how can i resist?!
Cucina Bernardo Al Fresco Dining
Before heading there, my friend decided to give them a call. We were informed that the tables are on first come first serve basis and may be closed once our restaurant is already full.
Due to on-going pandemic, that is truly understandable. As expected, they have a limited dining capacity. In other words, there is a high chance that there might be no table available for us when we reach there.
So, i asked why not just reserve a table? The person we were talking to told us that they’re accepting reservations for a group of 10 pax and above. For guests count below 10 pax, may dine via walk-in visit.
As soon as we arrived, i asked my friend to just run inside and reserve a table while i park the car.
The Cucina Bernardo indoor and outdoor dining area is at their Holy Family Pavilion. I think, this area was meant for religious gatherings and converted into a restaurant. That’s how it looked like to me.
Upon arriving at around 11:30am, the place is still partially empty. Everyone was outside dining, walking around taking pictures and enjoying nature. Kids and senior citizens is allowed. In fact, most of the families I’ve seen has at least 1 toddler with them.
There’s also bunch of sheep maintaining the grass, several ducks swimming in the pond and a horse. Kids were truly fascinated with them and as observed, everyone was following protocol – everyone was wearing mask while not eating and practicing social distancing.
I am a planner. Anticipating where we are going, i already checked their menu online. Then, discussed and agreed on what to order.
When we sat down, the waiter informed us right away that we have limited food choices. He explained to us that they weren’t able to prepare / not have anticipated the amount of people that will be dining even on weekdays and they’re still on adjusting phase. They were full capacity last Sunday, 20 June – Father’s day and they simply ran out of food to offer.
We wanted to order Fish and Chips for appetizer, their version of Sinigang, Crispy Pata, Pork BBQ for Entrée and Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert. BUT, to our dismay we ended up ordering Nachos for appetizer, Beef Bulalo and Grilled Pork Adobo which is not what we really want.
The Beef Bulalo we ordered is good for 8 people (according to them). To me, it consist of overly cooked shredded beef, drowned in soup with vegetables of course and served in stainless steel oval chafer (not sure of the exact term) to keep the soup hot and or course, for presentation. It’s not for 8 persons (more like 4-5). I am not sure if my taste buds were just off that day – but to me, it didn’t have the wow factor.
No offense, but I’ve had better. That is Balinsasayaw’s Bulalo and that needs to have a separate post. (I already published a post.)
As for their Grilled Pork Adobo, the egg is cooked perfectly. The meat is tender but the sauce is missing something.
We couldn’t taste any signature taste that an Adobo should have. Maybe that’s the signature taste they’re aiming for?
Overall Experience
This is an honest review based on my personal experience. In my humble opinion, the food was OK or should I say “pwede na”. Nothing special. It’s presented well. A bit overpriced but the venue compensated for it.
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The place is relaxing with a cool ambience. It is truly worth visiting and indeed a good place to spend time with family and friends. I really do strongly suggest to give them a call before heading there to check the status of their menu.
Will i go back? YES! I would still want to order the dish that we were suppose to order. How soon? I’m not so sure. But for next time, I want to arrive as early I can to be able to enjoy a nice quiet scenery and I’m going to give them a call first to make sure that their whole menu is available.
DISCLAIMER : All opinions are of my own. No compensation received. Opinions expressed belong to Kat&Beyond and are NOT influenced in any way.
