Harbour View Square ala San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf
There is this place in front of CCP which I love to go recently for dinner. It is called Harbour View Square which is across CCP. It is envisioned to be Manila’s version of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf and a fusion of arts and culture with excellent food. If San Francisco Wharf has Alcatraz, we would have a tour of Corregidor just right next door. According to Sol Jose Vanzi article Harbour View Square: A Fusion of Arts and Culture, the complex be designed with an open area in the center of the project that could easily accommodate an entire philharmonic orchestra and a sizeable audience. They also designed the surrounding structures with large balconies complete with an expansive view of the stage. I’m glad that it is being designed by RMJM Architects, which is the one of the best in this industry and they did a superb job designing our offices as well.
This is a budding place and only a few people, foreigners in fact go to this place. There are lots of restos which includes an artsy Dencio’s and Grappa’s, up-scale version of Tapa King, and the best Starbucks by Manila Bay. I think the place is open 24 hours 🙂 One of my favorites is Mini Shabu Shabu where you can other a complete Vegetable Set for P160 and you’re done with a healthy food dining experience. You can add another P160+ if you want seafood or chicken with your Shabu Shabu. By the way, the Vegetable Set is not in their menu (beware!) because they would offer you a vegetarian meal which costs P200 more for a total of P360 and you’ll not be happy with it.
The place is still under construction and this is one of those places that I hope only a few people go to so that we would still have abundant parking and nice environment. You know what, this is a perfect place for the Christmas Party or Christmas hang-out with the cool breeze of December along with the Manila Bay winds.
Hi anton! I tried clicking on your “email me” link, but I couldn’t get through. So I decided to leave this as a “comment” instead. Hey, I know you and your wife are into food, and because of your very helpful resto insights, the least I can do is give some suggestions back to help you out in your food journey.
There’s this place in Tagaytay called the “Cliffhouse Tagaytay.” It’s in General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, but the easiest way I remembered it was because it was located near or right after the “dencio’s,” “The grill by Antonio,” etc. establishments.
“Cliffhouse Tagaytay” was a former residential house, and they decided to turn it into a commercial area. So far, there are only two working restaurants and a bar/furniture store in it cos it’s quite new. One reason why I like it so much is because of the ambience. Day or night is equally superb because during the day, there’s a fantastic view of the mountainside (the compound is on a cliff, after all) while during the night there are stringed lights hanging off trees, which makes it very romantic for couples.
There are two restaurants, one is Italian called Buon Giorno, while the other is a steakhouse called Fire Lake. I haven’t eaten in the steakhouse yet, cos my boyfriend and I ate in Buon Giorno for my first time (which is two days ago). Actually, it was more of a “surprise” date because my boyfriend knows I’m such a foodie and he wanted to “trump” me a little by surprising me with this dinner at the same time being the “first” to know of a new place compared to me, haha. But I’m digressing…
The food in Buon Giorno is okay. I guess it’s nothing compared to Amoroma or L’Opera, but for the price, it was well worth it (Which made it great! hahaha)! We ordered two glasses of white wine, parma ham antipasti, their specialty salad, salmon and asparagus risotto and chicken saltimbocca and only paid 1k. I’d recommend the food except for the dessert and the wines. (the risotto was around 250, the chicken was 400 [but that’s their specialty], but on the whole, the dishes cost around 150-250 each) (pls don’t get the desserts! The sansrival had too much butter, while the panna cotta was runny). The nicest thing about it was my boyfriend reserved the “opium bed.” It’s this wooden chair that had hanging curtains overlooking the view which was absolutely beautiful and romantic. If you’ll eat in Buon Giorno, you SHOULD have that seat reserved. I’m sorry I don’t have the contact number for the resto, but I’m sure their digits are easily googled.
We also tried wine in the bar/furniture store next to it. If you still have a craving for alcohol, you should cap off your dinner with wine from this place. even their house white is yummy!
So that’s about it. But hey, as much as I vouch for the ambiance of this place, I’d suggest that you only eat here if you’re going to Tagaytay on purpose. Just don’t go all the way there just for the restaurant because I might get your hopes up too much, and then you’d regret it and overestimate the place and get mad at me in the process, haha!
But as I said, the place is beautiful, and there’s nothing like eating a good meal with a good view with your wife to make any night special, right?
Hope this helps! I’m trying Fire Lake next time, and they also have a simiar “special” al fresco spot like the one in Buon giorno worth reserving, but probably not as nice as the opium bed. I was able to get their calling card because the next time I visited there, I promised myself to check it out. Their telephone number is 4132069.
That’s about it. Happy eating!
The Cliffhouse Tagaytay
General Emilio Agunaldo Highway
Tagayaty City, Cavite 4120