Ibabaw Gardens
On our seventh wedding anniversary, my husband and I together with our little one celebrated this milestone in Panglao, but before heading to the private villa which I booked, we had to stop by Tagbilaran City for the husband’s annual physical exam, required by his company.
Thanks lovies!It was 30 minutes before noon time and so he asked where should we go for lunch? I thought I saw one post on Facebook where a church friend had gone lunch in a place with a wine cellar, reminds me of Cebu’s La Vie Parisienne so I researched and found out this place is called Ibabaw Gardens. And so we hit the road following Google Maps.
The app said we will reach there in 18 minutes but it didn’t actually take long before we were already at the restaurant’s parking area. As we opened the door, we heard their music playing, it was relaxing and there were only two other cars parked so I guess there were customers ahead of us already.
This is not located in a high way so it is understandable that there will only be a few customers which we definitely liked. I was surprised to see their open-air dining area upon entry.
Filled with different leaf plants, those which are expensive ones on the market! The owner even made a label on the pots to distinguish what these plants are. They even have monsteras in the house! I have to also comment that the floor tiles look like mermaid skin but the flooring where the tables and chairs were located was made of faux grass.
Open Air Dining Area
The restaurant is mostly made of wood from the foundations to the ceiling, their roof on the other hand was made in a way so light can be utilized and there’s a free flow of air too, even their fence was designed for proper ventilation.
There were at least ten family tables, all made of pure wood as well as their chairs. These tables can accommodate six to eight members, they also have tables good for two, perhaps around two sets of those and that’s in the open-air area, there were still other dining corners. So, you can imagine that this restaurant is indeed huge! But wait, there’s more! It can’t be named Ibabaw Gardens without a proper garden so later on, in this blog, I will show you their spacious garden they are still constructing a bigger area!
They got a corner that look like a typical Filipino dining area with the last supper painting at the back and some plate collections in the nooks plus the ceiling fan looked all vintage. It has a homey feel indeed!
Airconditioned Dining Area
Staff welcomed us at the entrance and asked if we prefer the open-air dining or inside the air-conditioned space. We love the open-air but this time, we decided to go to the air-conditioned room because they got the wine cellar there too!
He opened the glass door for us, and what showed in front of us was a delight, shiny, wooden floors, orange-ambient light chandelier, limestone wall, wooden furniture, beautifully painted wall, and an attractive wine cellar!
First things first, we have to order food as it was already almost noon and we have a toddler who is not very patient. So I ordered a few things, and their menu has markings if this specific option is a seller. I got baby back ribs, beef estofado, and Bicol Express, we requested that the Bicol express not be that spicy and the staff noted. We also got some soft drinks in a can and a dessert which they call Pan De Saging.
Wine Cellar
The waiting time was around 15-20 minutes so we had to roam around and explore the place first! I was already a bit hungry by that time, while waiting, they served us some peanuts which my niece munched on saying she was already hungry and that’s the only thing that was on our table.
The Wine Cellar was of course the easiest spot which we had to explore. This spot here was that I found on Facebook which got me interested in this place.
And I am not a wine person, I mean I don't drink wine that much so I know nothing about what's a good wine or what's not so we just came here for the ambiance and I know I can also share this with my hive audience and perhaps others will be interested in visiting this restaurant too!
By the way, I really love the wooden ceiling and the circular entrance has wood carvings on its side, it also has nooks with hanging seats and hanging cute tables for those who are going to be drinking wine. Aside from that, there's a center wood table with high chairs.
Now, let's check the lines of wines available in this cellar.
The corks really look nice! They got a bowl full of it and I believe all those corks were from the wines sold already!
Comfort Room
Taking a lot of photos of the place while watching over a toddler is not that easy, most of the time, I have to make ways to entertain him, and yes, I gave him the iPad too so he can watch Super Jojo, we don't have Cocomelon on the tablet. But this time, he won't watch and I wanted to go to the comfort room so I brought my niece and my baby with me to the restaurant's comfort room.
Oh well, this is a beautiful rest room, there were two cubicles, a huge vintage standing mirror, a wooden couch which was super inviting, the tiles are looking really pretty and can you see the wall behind the mirror? I love the textures!
The sink as well is very aesthetic. It's made of wood and there were real plant leaves on glass basins! They got cool tiles on the wall behind the mirror and the mirror looks really clean!
You'd easily distinguish a good restaurant by its comfort room and this was just the women's section. I wasn't able to check how the men's area looked, I forgot to ask the husband to take photos and I also forgot to tell him to check it out! They also got another comfort room for those who need assistance.
Videoke Area
Our orders were not yet ready and so we decided to go to another room which has a karaoke set! This has a vintage look as well with those artistic highlights and glass walls. There's a long family table that can accommodate 12 persons and some circular ones good for four.
There's access outside from this room, a sink as well is available and a comfort room and I love how they made a section here with some bamboos and plants, the ground covered with nice white stones, it looked very zen!
On the way out, there's a bar too and the kitchen on the opposite side. We could already smell good food which made us even hungrier!
So we just took a group photo before we headed back to the air-conditioned room and just wait for our orders. We were all hungry and don't want to waste any energy anymore!
I'll share with you the food and the rest of the ambiance in Ibabaw Gardens in the next article! Stay tuned!
For now, do check the previous articles here:
xoxo,
momentswithmatti
Mother | Boholana | Cebu | Philippines | Travel | Photography Enthusiast | Calligraphy | Art | Crypto Noob
Dakoa gud dai no. Ayos kaau ang ambiance ai, malingaw pod guru kog tuyok ana while nagwait sa food.