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Road Trip Restaurants along Marilaque

Kara Santos

For riders, cyclists and road trippers clocking in the miles, meals on the road often just consist of quick stops at fast food joints or meet-ups at gas station convenience stores before heading out. Most riders would be satisfied with cup noodles or hot coffee to warm up along the way. A few years ago, this was pretty much all there was along the Marilaque route (also known as Marikina-Infanta or Marcos Highway), the scenic twisting road traversing Marikina, Rizal, Laguna all the way to Infanta, Quezon.

During weekend rides, I’ve noticed a lot of new places to eat and a lot of other establishments being built along the route. Below is a growing list of old favorites and new places where you can grab a bite to eat and enjoy the view along Marilaque. Manila East Road (specially in towns overlooking Laguna de Bay) also has a lot of interesting dining places that makes it great for road trips. This is arranged by distance coming from the Quezon City side.

Mang Vic’s Bulaluhan

Bikers swear by the bulalo in this no-frills roadside carinderia along Marcos Highway. Food is cheap and good enough (if you’re not a picky eater), with dishes like liempo and inihaw na manok aside from bulalo, papaitan and the usual carinderia fare. It’s a bit too near the metro for motorcyclists and those in cars for breakfast rides, but it’s a cheap pitstop for hungry cyclists who need to fuel up for the uphill ride ahead.

Balconahe Resort & Resto Camp

Balconahe Resort & Resto Camp is a cheerful events venue and camping area in Brgy. Pinugay just along Marcos Highway. The place serves mostly as a vacation home rental, with glass cabana rooms for overnight stays, a small pool and camping grounds. The whole place can be booked for exclusive events space for get-togethers and parties. Regular rate for glass cabana rooms is P3,000/night but they have a rainy season promo of P1,300.00

They also run an open-air restaurant for breakfast meals in the space, where you can stop by for meals, hot chocolate or coffee. They serve Unli-Breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays for just P200/head, making it a good stopover for hungry riders and cyclists.

Park, Rest & Dine

A garden restaurant that offers a pretty good selection of meals in a pleasant setting. Food is a bit pricier, but it’s one of the better restos along the route in terms of food quality and ambiance.

They serve unlimited brewed coffee for the whole day. So you can stop for coffee in the morning, and then have another one on your way back for the price of one cup. If you’re bringing up bicycles by car to other destinations along Sierra Madre, they have a spacious and secure parking lot where you can park before continuing by bike. This is also the nearest eating place if you’re visiting Palo Alto Falls.

Silayan at Masungi Georeserve

Silayan is a sustainable restaurant within Masungi Georeserve that aims to help local farmers and producers around the area. They serve dishes which make use of locally sourced ingredients sourced within a 20-km radius. As of May 2017, the restaurant is currently on soft opening exclusively for confirmed trail guests.

Meals are served with black/red/brown organic heirloom rice, salads, appetizers and signature shakes with wild honey. The restaurant has a 360-degree backdrop of Laguna de Bay, the city and Sierra Madre mountains.

The Sierra Madre Resort

A family-friendly resort with a nice view that’s popular with locals for picnics and swimming. They have a zipline, hanging bridge, rope bridge, swimming pool and even a waterfall (Sto. Nino Waterfall) you can hike to from here. Most people bring their own food for picnics, but they have an in-house restaurant serving basic meals like corned beef and tapsilog.

The view deck and weather here is pleasant for a pit stop, but don’t expect anything fancy in terms of food. It’s one of the more popular resorts in the area, so it can get crowded on weekends.

Pico de Pino Cafe & Restaurant

Opened in February 2016, Pico de Pino is another restaurant catering to bikers, riders and travelers. They have a spacious restaurant that can seat groups in the main building and a small parking area right along the restaurants.

It’s hard to miss with the large white sign painted on stones. An elevated portion leads to an outdoor seating area with an enclosed nipa-hut style cottage and some stone picnic tables under the trees where you can catch the breeze. They serve mostly Filipino fare, tapsilog, bulalo, rice meals, and desserts. They also have clean and well-maintained restrooms (non-customers are required to pay to use CR).

Camp Cafe Resto Bar (Ten Cents to Heaven)

Camp Cafe Resto Bar is the in-house restaurant of Ten Cents to Heaven Leisure Park, a resort in Tanay, Rizal. Camp Cafe is a pretty big restaurant with a scenic view overlooking an obstacle course and ziplines ideal for team-building activites. They have infinity pools and very relaxing cabanas if you want to stay for the afternoon. Fish pool spas are in the works.

They also claim to have the longest zipline in Luzon (1.2 km long). There’s a pretty good selection of Pinoy fare. However, most of the orders are good for 2-3 people, which is a downside if you’re on a solo ride. The free WIFI is good and fast, which is rare for the area. Decent restrooms.

Martessem Mountain Resort

Martessem Mountain Resort was originally conceptualized as a family retreat house in the chilly mountains of Tanay, Rizal. It is now open to the public as an events venue with a great view of the Sierra Madre mountain range 2000 ft above sea level. They offer guest rooms where visitors can enjoy a panoramic views of the highlands and valleys of the verdant slopes of Tanay.

They also run a restaurant that’s become very popular with motorcycle riders. Food is pretty basic, with the normal tapsilog type meals available, but the place is nice. They have ample parking space here for vehicles and stunning views.

Cafe Katerina

A restaurant with a cheerful Pinoy fiesta theme and a great view of the mountains. It’s one of the more popular restaurants for riders on the Marilaque route because of the view and affordable meals. They serve tapsilog meals, grilled combo meals, sandwiches, short orders & pulutan fare. They also sell some native souvenirs and trinkets.

Parking is secure and the price range isn’t bad. Their Katerina’s Lusog Silog (crispy talong, salted egg with tomato, Shanghai Fried Rice, Tapa) with Brewed Coffee for P150 is a pretty good deal. Other taspilog meals cost just P75. If you want to bring bicycles to other destinations in Marilaque like Daranak Falls and Calinawan Cave, but don’t want to padjakoldaway, Cafe Katerina is a good place to park your cars.

3 Springs Mountain Park

3 Springs Mountain Park (formerly Haranah Eco Park) is a refreshing events venue and camping ground along Marcos highway that has its own in-house restaurant for day trip visitors and checked in guests.

They specialize in healthy fare using fresh herbs and spices from their garden. Day Tours include set lunch with fresh coconut juice for P1,000 per guest. Prior reservations must be made for all visits.

Paseo Rizal

Paseo Rizal is one of the nicest restos along the route in terms of ambiance. There are lots of outdoor huts and gazebos set amidst pine trees and landscaped gardens. The main dining space is very artsy and has a Baguio vibe, with rustic details and a fireplace. You can enjoy live music while eating here.

They have a wide selection of food and snacks. Good suman and hot chocolate though main viands could still use some improvement. Paseo Rizal also has a branch in Morong, Rizal. Very clean and well-maintained restrooms. They also have a nice gallery and gift shop on the ground floor containing paintings and sculptures by Rizal artists.

Pranjetto Hills Garden Restaurant

Pranjetto Hills is a mountain resort located in Sampaloc, Tanay, which has a nice view of Laguna Lake and the mountains of Sierra Madre. They run mainly a hotel and conference center, but they also have a roadside garden restaurant for walk-in guests.

You can enjoy the great view and cool breeze from the al fresco second floor. I haven’t really tried the food here beyond mami and goto though, but they serve mostly Pinoy food.

Mang Frank Bulalohan Silog

Across Pranjetto Hills is Mang Frank Bulalohan, a small eatery that serves bulalo, tapsilog and basic meals. You can tell this is a popular rider’s hangout because of rows of motorcycles parked outside especially during weekends, as well as the banners and stickers of different riding clubs decorating the place.

Good for a cup of coffee or hot milo for a quickie breakfast ride before heading back to Manila. They offer budget-friendly carinderia style meals.

BNK Cafe & Resto

BNK (Budbod ni Nanay Kaling) is a cozy restaurant that serves traditional Filipino dishes. From the highway the place looks small, but the multi-level space inside can accommodate large groups. The place has simple but homey interiors with a nice vertical garden.

Their specialty is Budbod or fried rice toppings, a specialty in the province of Rizal. The one on the highway right after Pranjetto Hills is their second branch after the main in Tanay town proper. If you’re staying overnight in Pranjetto Hills Resort & Conference Center, this is a good place to grab a late meal and beer.

Rambull’s Restaurant

Rambull’s Bakahan sa Tanay along Manila East Road is a popular carinderia-style restaurant serving mostly beef and pork dishes like bulalo, lechon kawali and baby back ribs. They’ve recently opened another branch along the Marilaque Highway in Brgy. Sampaloc, which you’ll pass after going down from Pranjetto Hills and before the intersection of Sampaloc.

Lutong Pugon

A very artistic garden restaurant that serves wood-fired pizzas, pasta and main meals. Food is pricier compared to other restos in area, but the quality and ambiance is very nice. Ideal for special occasions, dates, family trips and if you’re taking balikbayans on road trips. Not really ideal for those on a budget.

Their gourmet pizza toppings include Pepperoni, Chorizo Iberico, Beef Pastrami, Beretta Salami, Gambaretto, Posciutto and Jamon Serrano. Main dishes include Lamb Chop, Platter Butter Prawns, Smoked Salmon, Roasted chicken, Pork Belly with tomato salsa and the like. You can get your portrait sketched here by local artists.

Kubs Mountain Resort

Kubs is a mountain resort and restaurant (opened in April 2018) overlooking Sierra Madre, that offers a getaway destination for family and friends. They have a large two-story native open air restaurant that serves Filipino food, seafood dishes with live music.

They also have a swimming pool, with affordable rates (entrance/swimming (adult & children above 3ft) – P150/day and P200/night), cottages (P500), bahay kubo (P700) and AC rooms good for 6-8 for P2,500. They also have spacious camping grounds where you can pitch your own tents or rent from them. Camping tent – P250 (bring your own), P350 (rent).

Heaven’s Valley Cafe / Little Baguio Cafe

A small resto along the Marifanta route that serves basic meals. I haven’t eaten here yet, but we passed by it the last time we went to Jariel’s Peak. Looks like a nice place to stop in case you get caught in the fog or rain up in the mountains.

KM. 90 Eco Park and Restaurant

One of the newer restaurants along the highway is Km. 90 Eco Park and Restaurant, a log cabin style restaurant with good ambiance, good food choices and decent restrooms. The staff here is very friendly and accommodating.

The resto has its own small lake where you can go fishing. It also has a swimming pool and picnic grounds. The place is located in an area called Little Baguio and the weather here can get very foggy and cold. While it’s hot during the summer time, you can experience fog here in the late afternoon, evening and early morning.

Jariel’s Peak

Jariel’s Peak is one of the most popular weekend spots for motorcycle riders based in Manila. They serve tapsilog meals, good coffee and hot chocolate, and some exotic fare like mountain snails.

Great mountain view, really cold weather, high chance of fog and lots of twisties to get here. There’s a waterfall nearby that you can hike to.

Marquez Bulalohan

Located a few meters past Jariel’s Peak, Marquez Bulalohan is another popular rider’s pitstop that serves affordable Bulalo, Gotong Batangas, tapsilog meals, carinderia food and some exotic fare.

There’s a scenic hill right across the road you can hike to for good photo ops.

D’ Hulk Resto Park

D’ Hulk Resto Park is the last main establishment you’ll come across before the damaged Querocep bridge leading to Infanta. Good view.

They offer budget meals in their open air resto, picnic grounds and have a swimming with a few picnic cottages right next to it ideal for picnics and group rides. There’s a large Incredible Hulk Statue right by the entrance, so it’s hard to miss. The view of the mountains here is amazing.

Do you know of any other good places to eat along the route worth checking out? Please let me know in the comments section! 🙂

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