Antonio’s Tagaytay 2014

I go to Antonio’s in Tagaytay whenever my friend Ariel comes home from San Francisco because that’s his favorite restaurant. I don’t mind going to Antonio’s more than once a year though.

The foyer looks different each time I go to Antonio’s. They often change the color of the paint but this time even the pictures and art work have changed.

 

The main dining area was closed that day due to some ongoing improvements nearby. 

 

I like their retro water glass.

It’s all in the details. If you ask for more ice they will still give you mango ice cubes. It’s the same for their fresh dalandan juice. 

 

We were so hungry we attacked the warm bread which was specially good with the salted butter. We had to stop ourselves after two rolls.

Since our guests were from San Francisco where foie gras has been banned from restaurants we ordered two appetizers with foie gras. Thank goodness there’s no such ban in the Philippines. 

 

Just a little paté on bread and you will get smiles all around you. This seemingly small piece of paté de foie gras was enough for 7 of us to share.

 

If the paté got smiles then the smelly delicious raclette which hid nuggets of foie gras got groans of pleasure. I’ve never seen raclette paired with foie gras in other restaurants. 

 

For those who are not familiar with Antonio’s whatever entree you choose comes with soup, salad, dessert and coffee or tea. So don’t be shocked by the prices of the food. I feel it’s quite a good deal considering the size of the portions and the excellent quality of the food.  

  

Their house salad is one of my favorite restaurant salads anywhere. 

 

Antonio’s always cooks lamb perfectly. I’ve never had unsatisfactory lamb in this restaurant. If it were overcooked I’m sure they will change it for you. 

 

If you like duck then you must try their duck confit with extra crunchy skin. 

 

New in their menu was this extra large organic chicken confit. This leg quarter was double the size of the duck. If you don’t like duck then you can have chicken with all the crunchy goodness.

 

Kit from SF wanted to stock up on foie gras memories so he ordered this duo of duck breast and squab. You can see the foie gras was as big as the duck breast. He said his meal was up to par with the fine restaurants in San Francisco. Isn’t that so heartening to hear?

 

If you can’t decide what to eat then choose their meat sampler which has a small piece each of their most popular items.

 

It took me a long time to decide what to order. I just knew I wanted to try something new. I initially wanted the lamb ribs but they didn’t have it that day. I eventually chose the ravioli filled with beef cheeks and goat cheese. When the dish was placed in front of me I thought it looked underwhelming and dry. After poking around I discovered there was a lot of creamy mushroom sauce below the ravioli.

 

Since I don’t really like chewing big chunks of meat the shredded veal cheeks was just perfect for me. It was the uber delicious mushroom sauce that tied everything together.

 

We each got a different dessert. Their desserts need more oomph and I do wish they would improve their selections. My favorite dessert was the orange sherbet balls covered in dark chocolate which I had in 2012. I hope they would bring it back to the menu.

 

Instead of the vanilla ice that came with the poached pears my friends chose a different sorbet to give it a more exotic taste.

 

 

Let me save you the mistake of ordering lemon black pepper sorbet with the poached pears. The flavors don’t mix well. 

 

I chose a simple scoop of Turkish coffee ice cream made by Chef Tonyboy and Ian Carandang of Sebastian’s. First of all I don’t know how they scooped it so perfectly round. I was a bit disappointed by the mild coffee flavor. I tasted more spices than coffee. I thought Turkish coffee was supposed to be strong and dark. I did enjoy the slice of freeze dried orange. 

 

 

Chris said the black olive sorbet reminded her of champoy. She basically liked the orange sorbet the best. 

 

I’ll never get tired of dining at Antonio’s. I love the food, ambiance and the cool Tagaytay weather. It’s a must for tourists and balikbayans.

Antonio’s 
Barangay Neogan Tagaytay City, Cavite
telephone: (046) 413 0975 or (046) 413 1054
cellphone: (0917) 899 2866
email: antoniosfarm@yahoo.com
website