First Bite: Patio Vera

I love giving (nice) surprises. Planning and thinking of what would make my special someone happy already makes me smile. Seeing the person appreciate it gives me a sense of fulfillment and I felt that when I surprised R with a romantic dinner for two at Ninyo. And since it was a success, I decided to do it again with Patio Vera (I got a CashCash voucher worth PHP1,600 for a romantic dinner for 2), yet another hidden gem according to Looloo.

Hello, Patio Vera.

The place is a bit hard to find since it is located in a residential area. The location itself is also a bit shady. But it’s another story when you enter the house turned restaurant.

The garden area and patio are the first dining areas you will see. We entered the house and saw antique pieces and our romantic set up was near the cockatoo glass cage.

The hyper cockatoo kept us entertained while waiting for our food. The adorable bird also distracted us while we were being bitten by mosquitoes. (Warning: apply mosquito repellant if you do not want to be their feast.)

After 30 minutes of waiting, our appetizer was finally served. Presenting, banana wrapped in bacon.

It was quite weird and the contrast between the supposedly sweet banana and salty bacon did not happen as well as it should have.

The pumpkin soup was served next and it was just okay. It was creamy but it wasn’t warm anymore when it was served.

The watermelon salad looked photogenic and it was refreshing. It made me remember the salad from Earth Kitchen.

As for our main course, I chose steak for R and salmon for myself.

The steak portion was thick but small. I didn’t get to really appreciate the meat as the sauce’s taste was too strong.

The salmon was okay though slightly dry and was something I could easily cook at home.

And just when I thought dinner was just ordinary, the desserts redeemed Patio Vera’s high rating.

The fried halo-halo was delightful. The crispy crepe enveloping the ice cream and scooping the beans, langka, coconut and ube sure could get messy though.

The Tres Leches cake is something I would go back for. I loved the soft sponge cake and all its creaminess. It was light on the taste buds making it so easy for me to engulf the whole slice in a few seconds.

Overall, it was a so-so dinner. Service was remarkably sloooow and it’s hard to find call the waiters from our table. The ambiance though is indeed romantic and dining beside the cockatoo cage was a treat! Plus, the desserts were wonderful.

Patio Vera is located at 70 General F Santos, Marikina City. To reserve, contact 0905 424 15 93.