Food Trip: Sagada

In recent years, Sagada has gotten a reputation for having lots of great eating places. If you’ve been there, you can probably agree that the cool crisp mountain air and all that walking around surely works up an appetite. Thankfully, there are lots of great restaurants to try out. For those who like to plan where to eat in advance, here’s a list of some of the restaurants we sampled during our five-day trip there, with accessibility ratings and distance on foot from the town center (with the hospital as the starting point).

food trip sagada

MISTY LODGE & CAFÉ

  • Accessibility: Medium
  • Distance from town center: 10-15 minutes 
  • Bonus points: Great food selection, hands-on service, WiFi

Misty Lodge is now one of my favorite restaurants in Sagada. Though I wanted to try as many restaurants as possible during our trip, we ended up eating here three times because the food was really great. They serve pizzas, burgers, platter meals, breakfast meals and the best yoghurt shakes. Everything we ordered was excellent. After our epic motorcycle ride to Banaue Rice Terraces, we tried their All-Meat Pizza and I had the really refreshing Blueberry Yoghurt Shake. I stopped by again after doing a photowalk around town and tried their mango crepe drizzled with chocolate, which was really delicious.

The night after the Panag-apoy sa Sagada, we tried their Margherita and 3-cheese pizzas and pork steak, which was really savory and tender. I also had the Mango Yoghurt Shake. My photos don’t do all the dishes justice, so be sure to check out this review by Happy Foodies, who we ran into in Sagada. You’ll definitely work up an appetite going to Misty Lodge & Café because their location is further from the town center, but the food there is really worth the hike. For those who don’t want to walk, Misty Lodge also conveniently offers delivery service to St. Josephs Inn. [MENU]

SALT & PEPPER DINER

  • Accessibility: Easy
  • Distance from town center: 5 minutes downhill
  • Bonus points: Great food, free extra rice, WiFi (pretty good signal compared to others)

This cozy restaurant is a bit easy to miss since it’s located on the second story above a set of shops. One of the best meals I had during the whole trip was the Dinakiw (grilled pork belly). The meat was seasoned just right and grilled to perfection, and the combination with fresh crisp veggies and spices was just amazing. The pepper steak Art ordered was also really good.

For lunch on our fourth day I restrained myself from ordering Dinakiw again and tried the Rosemary Inutom (baked chicken) served with potatoes while Art tried the Mushroom Inutom. I heard their garlic chips pasta are also pretty good, though I didn’t get to try that. Because of their generous portions, this is a great place to eat after doing one of the extreme activities, like caving, hiking to the falls or outdoor rock climbing. Extra rice is on the house! [MENU]

ROCK INN & CAFE (CAFE BODEGA)

  • Accessibility: Medium-Hard
  • Distance from town center: 30 minutes uphill/downhill (10 minutes by mountain bike)
  • Bonus points: Great ambiance, large restaurant ideal for big groups & events, souvenir shop sells some food products 

We had breakfast at Rock Inn & Cafe the morning I rented a mountain bike, so it was easier to get to since the place is relatively far from the town center. To get here, you have to hike downhill through a dirt path and rocky trail at a junction on the main road. Hands-down, Bodega Cafe has the best ambiance of all the restaurants we went to. The main restaurant is shrouded in blooming vines, leading to a beautifully landscaped garden on the right side with a gazebo with a fire pit and lots of cute dogs lounging about.

I ordered a Ham, Cheese and Herbs Omelet and fresh mango shake, while Art got the Corned Beef Meal and coffee. The servings were a bit smaller than we expected and the dishes pricier compared to the other restaurants. I wish we could have sampled their main dishes, but these weren’t available yet since we passed by pretty early. [Breakfast MENU, Lunch & Dinner MENU]

THE VILLAGER RESTOBAR (CAFE ST. JO)

  • Accessibility: Very easy
  • Distance from town center: 2-3 minutes walk up stairs

This restaurant is situated next to St. Joseph’s Resthouse where we were checked in, so we made it a point to have breakfast here at least once. It’s one of the larger restaurants in Sagada and the second story (Cafe St. Jo) can be used for functions. The servings here were very filling and reasonably priced. [MENU]

MASFERRE COUNTRY INN & RESTAURANT

  • Accessibility: Very easy
  • Distance from town center: 2 minutes downhill
  • Bonus points: Very nice souvenir shop selling Masferre items next door

Unfortunately, a lot of dishes were not available during the time of our visit, but I heard they restocked later on and when I passed by again, they even had buffet breakfast to accommodate the influx of tourists. The fried chicken with veggies and fries (the only other option available was chicken adobo) was delicious and we finished every last bite. It seemed just a bit pricey for P200/dish. [MENU]

YOGHURT HOUSE

  • Accessibility: Easy
  • Distance from town center: 5 minutes downhill
  • Bonus points: Cool balcony on the second floor ideal for drinks at night

Yoghurt House’s colorful sign caught my eye as we walked around town during our first day, so we headed there for dinner. I had also read reviews and had gotten recommendations from friends to eat there. Though the pasta with bechamel and ham and open faced tuna sandwich were a bit bland & lacking in flavor, the Yoghurt w/ granola and strawberries was pretty good. [MENU]

LEMON PIE HOUSE

  • Accessibility: Easy
  • Distance from town center: 8 minutes downhill

Though they also serve some other snack items and sandwiches, most people head here for their bestseller, the Lemon Pie. A slice costs only P25 and the combination of sweet and zesty flavors is really great for dessert or a light snack.

STRAWBERRY CAFE

  • Accessibility: Easy
  • Distance from town center: 5 minutes
  • Bonus points: Not as crowded as other places, good service

I only got to try out the strawberry shake here (P60/order), but have heard that they serve pretty good meals as well. They have options like crepes, pancakes and omelets for breakfast (P100) and a decent selection of fish, chicken and pork dishes with rice and vegetables for lunch/dinner (P120-P150). Strawberry Cafe is just a little off the main road, so it doesn’t get as crowded as some of the other restaurants. [MENU]

SAGADA PINE CAFÉ

  • Accessibility: Easy
  • Distance from town center: 5 minutes downhill
  • Bonus points: Very laid-back vibe, people can play chess & cards here

This backpacker bar is mainly a watering hole that serves San Mig Light, San Mig Pale and Red Horse. Unfortunately, that’s all it is and they don’t serve any type of food or pulutan. The vibe here is really cool though, with recycled materials used as artwork, and walls decorated with cigarette packs and old bottles. The same establishment rents out mountain bikes during the day. I suggest you bring your own bag of chips if you plan to drink here. You can also head right next door to Kimchi (which also has a similar Bohemian vibe) for meals and more drinks.

DINING TIPS:

  • On the average, meals cost P150-200 per dish in most restos in Sagada.
  • Meals are prepared fresh, so expect to wait a while for your meals in most restaurants. During peak season, expect most of the dishes on the menu not to be available.
  • Beer costs P45-50 per bottle in most establishments.
  • For a satisfying dining experience, I’d suggest you budget P400-500 per meal for 2 people.
  • Be sure to have lots of money for food because most restaurants don’t accept credit card payments and there are still no ATMs in Sagada. According to reader Abbey, there’s an ATM at Sagada Rural Bank.
  • To save on costs, have only 2 meals a day (brunch and early dinner).
  • To save on buying mineral water, bring a water bottle with you when you eat out so you can just refill it in the restaurants.
  • You can buy bread & instant coffee from the sari-sari stores and fresh fruits like Sagada oranges and kakanin from vendors on the street.
  • Reservations are required or preferred in some places like Log Cabin and Rock Inn & Cafe to allow chefs time to buy ingredients and prepare food.
  • For Rock Inn & Cafe, meal reservations are as follows: Breakfast: The Night Before, Lunch: On or Before 10:00 am, Dinner: On or before 5:00 pm.
  • Certain dishes like Pinikpikan need to be pre-ordered.
  • Restaurants close relatively early in Sagada, so it’s better to take dinner early (before 8 or 9pm).
  • NOTE: Prices of items on the menu as of October 2012

WHERE TO EAT IN SAGADA:

23 thoughts on “Food Trip: Sagada”

  1. Strawberry Cafe din! 🙂 For me, they make the better yoghurt than yoghurt house saka mabait pa si ate wella. Sa yoghurt house, masungit mga tao. Log Cabin’s the best for me when it’s come to dining! 🙂

  2. Just tried the shake in Strawberry Cafe but wasn’t able to try the yoghurt or other food. (Just added entry to blogpost na rin). Too bad Log Cabin was closed the week we visited. Really wanted to go back there! 🙁

  3. We came back again and again here at sagada 🙂
    you should try the Kusina ni Ysagada . . Very delicous food, the ambience is cool . Nice paintings of the owner of the resto. . Yogourt house is a very bad experience they’re not nice to there customer they laugh at you and i dont know why.! Hate them so much anyway try also the kimchi bar one of the best

  4. Hi Queenj, you’re the second person to comment about the service in Yoghurt House. We didn’t have a problem when we visited though. Got to try Kimchi as well. Thanks for the tip on Kusina ni Ysagada. Will check it out next time 🙂

  5. Thank you so much for the useful information 🙂 I’d like to ask, do you remember which of these restaurants have credit card payment facilities? I don’t really like carrying unnecessary cash with me, so it would be great to know just how much cash I’ll need to bring if I wanted to eat at any of these places. Thanks!

  6. Hi Nikki. As far as I know, most acommodations & restaurants in Sagada still don’t accept credit card payments. You’ll really have to bring enough cash for your trip. Enjoy! 🙂

  7. Hi,

    May atm sa sagada. nakapagwithdraw ako nung pumunta ko dun last year eh, (malapit na kasi ko mashort hehe). Hindi lang siya kitang kita kasi baba ka pa, wala siya sa main road. May mga katabi siyang parang carinderia style na kainan. Sagada Rural Bank yata yung name.. fyi lang hihi. =)

  8. What? Sabi ng husband ko naghanap siya ng ATM when we were there nung naubusan kami ng pera. Sabi niya wala. :p Argh. Haha, thanks for the info, Abbey. I’ll correct my post.

  9. disappointed with Yoghurt House. Matabang yung food when we were there last Saturday May 17. Also yung smoothie di malamig kelangan pa namin humingi ng ice. But after lumamig, sarap na.

    Salt and Pepper masarap yung breakfast menu nila and yung dessert. Sa Log Cabin, masarap lahat except dessert.

    Gusto ko na ulit bumalik.

  10. Hi B. I agree na medyo bland yung food sa Yoghurt House. Hopefully they’ve improved. Too bad Log Cabin was closed during our visit. Will try it next time! Gusto ko rin bumalik.

  11. Very helpful post! Love how you posted all the menus too. Would you know approximately what time places start serving breakfast? If early enough, it would be great to have breakfast at Cafe Bodega before trekking to the falls.

    Heading out to Sagada-Batad this weekend! It’s our first trip since 2003. Curious to see how much (or little) things have changed.

  12. Hi JB & Renee. We went to Cafe Bodega around 8 am but had to wait an hour for the food to be cooked (so this might not be a good option for your pre-trekking meal). Based on their menu, they request diners to order the night before. Heard from friends who recently went there that Misty Lodge’s chef is now based in Manila so they don’t serve food there anymore. Sayang, since the food was great. There’s also a new cafe called Sagada Brew in town.

  13. there’s a DBP ATM at the Municipal Tourist Center, right where all tourists need to get their “visa” to all tourist sites (a P35 government receipt actually). we didnt get to withdraw, though, because the only bills the ATM released were P100s.

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