The Alliance Française de Cebu occupies an old pink house near the Mormon Church on Gorordo Avenue. The restaurant occupies the first floor.
La Maison Rose is the restaurant of the Alliance Française de Cebu. The restaurant is on the first floor and the classrooms are on the second floor. If you come in for lunch, expect to see students and teachers wandering about.
Interiors by Delphine Delorme.
If it's your first time to dine here, Nicolas recommends starting with the terrine de foie gras (P323), which is made from duck liver, not goose, and served with white wine jelly and onion jam. For your main, he would suggest the black pepper steak, which comes with an excellent ratatouille that, at P375, is an absolute steal. And, for dessert, the only item on the menu worth mentioning is the chocolate coulant (P122).
Other items on the menu that I can recommend are, for starters, the trio of soups (P244) and the goat cheese salad (P194 for the small portion and P344 for the large) and, from the list of mains, the sole (P361) and the duck confit (P550), which is particularly outstanding. The desserts aren't anything to write home about, although they are pretty cheap. The yogurt is only P57 and the flan au caramel is P79.
Yogurt, with your choice of special sauce. I chose strawberry basil.
I spied a diner having spaghetti bolognese, which is a strange thing to order - or to have on the menu - at a French restaurant, but it looked good and I made a mental note to try it when craving spaghetti bolognese. I did try the truffle coquillettes pasta (P236) because it seemed to be a favorite among the food bloggers and, while it was very tasty, I found it a bit dry and the dish probably would have done better if it was served with a different pasta or in a deeper dish, rather than unceremoniously piling all that macaroni into on a mound on a plate.
They've added some vegetarian dishes to the menu, presumably to attract participants to the yoga classes they intend to start on the compound, and we tried the asparagus crepes with blue cheese and a tomato tart for dessert but... Well, let's just say we won't be trying the other vegetarian options anymore.
371 Gorordo Ave., Lahug
Open daily, 12NN to 3PM, 6:30PM to 1AM
Reservations recommended: (+63-32) 268-5411
Tavolata, part of the Abaca Group, is still on its soft opening but I can see it easily becoming my favorite restaurant in Cebu. Mostly because it's only two minutes away from our apartment. On foot. Our dinner for two quickly turned into four, then into six as we bumped into friends at the restaurant and joined tables.
Taken from the resto's second floor.
The pizzas are good, great crust and all - except that our truffle pizza was more of an arugula and cheese pizza. There wasn't the faintest hint of truffle on it. It was still good pizza though.
Pork chop and pizza.
The surprise hit of the evening turned out to be my oxtail pasta, which I have to commend my server for recommending. Nicolas eventually commandeered it for himself. He ordered the pork chop but I guess he didn't expect it to be breaded and deep-fried, nor did he expect it to be so large. I happen to be a fan of all creatures, great and small, that are breaded and deep-fried, so I didn't mind switching plates with him. The potato salad it came with was perfectly tart and vinegary.
For dessert, we shared the panna cotta, which we liked, although I must say that it did not need all those things piled on top of it. Especially the sugared cookie which, in my opinion, cheapened the dessert. When you have a cream that is exquisite, you just need a bit of contrast to enhance its flavor. You don't want to drown it out.
All in all, it was a good experience and we will definitely be back to work our way through the menu.
Design Center of Cebu, A.S. Fortuna cor. P. Remedio St.
Open daily, 6PM to 10:30PM (last seating)
Reservations recommended: (+63-32) 505-6211
A Cafe. Yet another addition to the Abaca Group, this was the one I had difficulty persuading Nicolas to try. He said he had been round before with his brother but they didn't like it that the place didn't have any windows and quickly walked out. But we turned up at around 2:30 PM on a Sunday and, apart from one other table, had the place to ourselves so it would have been hard to feel claustrophobic in there.
Nicolas wasn't too hungry and ordered two fresh orange juices (at P218.40 each) and the turkey salad (P509.60), which he liked. While I went there with the intention of trying their all-day breakfast and order some eggs benedict for myself, my head was turned by the Angus beef pie (P532), which turned out to be just okay. (Nicolas didn't like it at all.) I think it would have been better if it came with mashed potatoes but I don't think it was on offer as a side dish and I ended up having fries, which were unremarkable as fries go.
We ordered two desserts to share: the bread and butter pudding (P184.80) - which can be given a miss - and the creme brulee (P184.80) which, I dare say, could possibly be the best creme brulee I've ever had. While Nicolas concurs, he thinks it could have been better if it were served chilled.
Crossroads, Banilad
Open daily, 7AM to 10PM
(+63-32) 505-5692
Today, Nicolas and I talked about our next dinner date in Cebu and we already know what we want: The terrine de foie gras and duck confit at La Maison Rose and the creme brulee at A Cafe.
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