When in Davao: Sea Green Café + Boutique Rooms

I rely on two things when looking for a restaurant while traveling... TripAdvisor and Instagram. I check TripAdvisor for the ratings and the latter to find out how Instagram worthy the restaurants are. And more often than not, I rely more on TripAdvisor's rating more than how appealing a dish would look on my feed. After all, wasting hard earned money on pretty but terrible food is never a good idea. There might be fashion over comfort but I don't agree with Instagram over taste. It's a jackpot though when I discover a place that offers good and pretty dishes. And that's what I thought when I saw Sea Green Café + Boutique Rooms. 

Hello, Sea Green Café + Boutique Rooms. 

This bed and breakfast joint is one of the popular foodie destinations in Davao. Known for its healthy dishes and Instagram worthy place, I figured that we could have an early lunch here one Saturday morning. 

It was a good thing that I checked its Instagram account for its address as Sea Green Café moved to another location which is bigger and perfect for its bed and breakfast concept. 

We were quite confused when we got to the place as it seemed like it was closed given the construction happening in front of the store. But after confirming with the only staff on duty that Sea Green Café was indeed open, we quickly looked for parking and headed up to the restaurant. 

Since the place was extremely short on staff, service was slow and we had to approach the counter every time we need something for the lone staff was busy prepping ingredients too. 

But it seemed that there were not much ingredients to prepare as there was barely anything available. We mentioned several dishes and all were unavailable. And after a few more misses, we finally settled with Roasted Pumpkin Soup (PHP110), Soft Boiled Eggs, Jam & Toast (PHP140), and Creamy Smoked Salmon Linguine (PHP220).

While waiting, I checked out the shelved filled with different local products that vary from accessories to cosmetics. 

After 20 minutes or so, our orders were served. 

The roasted pumpkin soup had a lovely thick texture but it was on the bland side. We had to put pepper and salt on the soup for it to be more palatable. 

R's Soft Boiled Eggs, Jam and Toast was very straightforward and offers nothing out of ordinary. The soft boiled eggs had a dash of black pepper but needed salt for more taste. The strawberry jam was your typical commercial jam and the toast was quite hard. 

My Creamy Smoked Salmon Linguini was decent. It was indeed creamy and the salty smoked salmon gave it more depth in terms of flavor. The pasta was al dente and the dish was filling. However, it was good enough for me to go back for more. 

I was actually disappointed from this visit but I understand that the place was understaffed and that they could have done better. I also saw that they are now accepting bed and breakfast guests and that the rooms look very inviting. I might consider spending a night or two here. I just hope that it would be a better experience.

Sea Green Café + Boutique Rooms is located at 15 Jacinto Extension, Dona Vicenta Subdivision, Davao City.