Charito by Bag of Beans
Back in 2011, we had our 1st vacation as a family. Everyone enjoyed their time then and my siblings and I agreed to make it a yearly thing. So far, we’re doing a good job there but this year, instead of going on a flight (because CebuPacific doesn’t have those nice Piso sales anymore) and really travelling from point A to point B, we decided to try having a staycation in Tagaytay. And like most trips, all 4 siblings will pay for a certain part of the trip (ex: accommodation, lunch, breakfast) so we’ll be sharing the load hehe. This time, I get to pay last and pay for the breakfast. But this isn’t the review for the breakfast place yet, but for the dinner place, Charito by Bag of Beans. It’s along the Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway and is just near the Sky Ranch.
My younger sisters searched for good places to dine. When we arrived, parking was almost full, and since it was already nighttime, there were security guards/ushers helping the diners to park. And they did help us park in no time. We walked to the restaurant and were greeted by the receptionist who then guided us in our table. The view was wonderful, we could see the Taal volcano (yes, the one that’s behind that very famous little cone there). The server gave us the menu and left us for a few minutes to decide what to eat. When she came back, since there were 6 of us, naturally, the server had a hard time getting all the orders haha! But she got everything and scurried away to the kitchen. So what were the dishes?
Pumpkin Soup
Carbonara
Grilled Salmon in White Wine & Dill Cream Sauce
Grilled Tuna Belly with Creamy Pesto Sauce
Baby Back Ribs
Grilled Pork Chop “BoB” Style
Roast Beef
Grilled Ribeye Steak
Barako Coffee
Cafe Mocha
Hot Chocolate
Blueberry Cheesecake
There’s a lot of dishes here, I know. I ordered the Roast Beef and I’m going to say right off the bat, for its price, it’s a good deal. The beef was tender and seasoned right. It wasn’t too oily or fatty. I gave away small slices to everyone and they all liked it. My sisters even asked for more haha! The serving was quite big so it was good for sharing. From the list, I’d say the Grilled Ribeye Steak was also good. It was medium, tender, but lacked salt.. it was also the most expensive dish. The Baby Back Ribs tasted great too, sweet and tangy, but my sister wasn’t able to finish it because she ate the pasta first. I know, I told her to just stop eating the pasta because it’s just carbs but she wouldn’t stop lol! The fish and pasta dishes were forgettable, but someone had to try them haha! Good thing it wasn’t me. The fish were overcooked and the pasta just didn’t do anything for me. The worst dish would be the Grilled Pork Chop. My mom sliced them in small pieces for everyone to taste and it just remained in the middle of the table almost untouched. The Pumpkin Soup was so-so, good thing I ordered just 1 for me. The Barako Coffee was exceptional, as expected in these parts. The Café Mocha was ok and the Hot Chocolate was too sweet. I had to add water to it haha I think they may have placed one too many tableas there haha and the dessert of Blueberry Cheesecake was a flop. It was more like whipped cream than cheesecake.
Verdict: 2.5/5
All in all, family had a good time. The place is homey on some parts and good for date night on other parts. Yeah, it’s a large restaurant. It was a good find, just be wary of what to order. Ask for the bestsellers and ask the servers if you have questions. They are very responsive and made the diners feel very welcome. They gave us an extra cake treat for Valentine’s Day haha! Oh and there was a Tokay Gekko in the restaurant! My father saw it just above the cabinet/water dispenser section where I was closest to! Good thing I didn’t see it, because he said it was as long as his forearm haha! Yes, the servers confirmed they had a resident gekko. Ugh.