+63 46 413 4866+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Mon
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tue
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wed
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thu
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Fri
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sat
7:00 AM - 9:00 PM
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
CUISINES
Filipino, Asian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
features
Is this restaurant good for dinner?
Details
CUISINES
Filipino, Asian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Waterfront
Contribute
4.0
764 reviews
Excellent
305
Very good
262
Average
123
Poor
47
Terrible
27
Viatorem
Vienna185 contributions
Sep 2024 • couples
-we went there for a friday early lunch to avoid the crowd since we attempted twice in the past weeks( full)
-We were not expecting the protocols you have to go through before you have your table. ( too much drama). So with this we expected a really good experience once seated.
- once inside, we were greeted with noisy crowd, reminds me more of a buffet restaurant.
-Food- we ordered a pork dish- pork was dry= and Sinigang(fish)- I have to say this is one of the best Sinigang we have eaten this year.
- Staffs- Some of the restaurants in Tagaytay that we have tried; the staffs are friendly too- but are they trained? For Balay Dako the staffs are ok- will give them 4 stars for service.
-For Ambiance- we did not feel welcome. how you are treated as a paying customer at the beginning, from the entrance all the way.
-Price wise- over priced.
-Too noisy for us to even enjoy the food. If I want noise I will go to one of the Fastfood areas-
Over all- Touristy feel. we have tried it and that was enough.
Written September 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jacbesya
Singapore8 contributions
Dec 2022 • family
Was my mother's 83rd birthday and thought to celebrate her special Bday Dinner at this place.
Ambience is good and waiting time for food was not bad though we came early and place was not very crowded at the time.
Problem started when we tried to order for a Birthday cake. It seems waiters and staffs are not familiar on how cakes are served for a birthday. Initially my son tried to approach 2 waiters, not sure if they were too busy or they just ignored the request, so I approached the front desk staff. Front desk staff asked me to approach and coordinate with the bakeshop beside the restaurant. I then talked to the staff in the bakeshop and told her that it was my mothers bday and wanted to get the cake delivered at the table (and we were dining inside), she looked busy and instead of getting the details she asked me to go to ask the waiter... All the merry go round was settled when a supervisor arrived and politely said that she will handle the request.
After a few minutes, at last the long awaited birthday cake arrived ready to be served at the table, but wait theres no birthday candles!!! Really dissappointing, cake was placed cassually at the table and the candles just came out when I asked the waiter. Aside from the merry go round issue, I believe It's not how birthday Cakes for a special occassions should be served... We chose the place even though its quite pricey since we thought the staff and crew are properly trained to handle special occassions such as this. I can honestly say food is great as well as the ambiance, but they dont give special attention to special requests like Birthday cakes and staffs are not trained how to handle such requests and you will just be disappointed
if you are celebrating special ocassions and want some special birth day cakes to be properly served to your celebrants. suggest you avoid this place at all cost as they are not sensitive to the customers celebrating Birthday milestones, instead go to Vikings lol.
Written December 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ohh Lee
Tagaytay21 contributions
May 2024 • family
Balay Dako is one of Tagaytay's most renowned restaurants, so we decided to give it a try as it was conveniently close to our home. The restaurant operates on a walk-in basis, with no reservations accepted. Although they offer a buffet breakfast, we opted for the à la carte menu.
The wait for our table was brief, and during that time, we were given access to the menu. This allowed us to discuss and decide on our family meal in advance. Our table was on the second floor, where the atmosphere was perfect. The view of Taal Volcano and the surrounding lush greenery from the al fresco area was breathtaking.
Service was prompt, and the food was cooked to perfection. Balay Dako exceeded our expectations, and we can't wait to return to try their buffet breakfast soon.
Written June 17, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AbDurchDieMitte
Makati125 contributions
Sep 2024 • couples
Before you even take a seat at the table you are given a QR code to a Google form for electronic “queuing”. The form requires you to give away your personal data to the restaurant, and the “queuing” seems to be the excuse for that process. it misleads the customer, conveying the message that without giving your data you won’t be seated. The protocol appears to have survived from COVID times and takes in lots of profitable data.
The food took at least 30 min. The pork steak was well seasoned, but hard. The Sinigang (Fish Soup) was very good, but why is the smallest serving a bowl of soup for five (!) ? We were two people.
The first room is not at all cosy, can become extremely noisy and at times a conversation is impossible. If you sit by the window with the view, other guests may just walk over and stand right beside your ranke for 20 min to enjoy the view.
The Restaurant is advanced mass tourism, but still mass tourism. We did not feel welcome, we felt like tolerated visitors. The prices are inflated for the modest dining experience.
Written September 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Onel R
2 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
We are regular customers that we usually visit weekend buffet monthly with my family.usually 4-6 adults.we visited last week and we are dissapointed on the rule that my 3yo daughter need to pay 900 which is unreasonable. Unlike on our previous months we visited. They do not reply in messenger. Need to train the staff in customer service so that they know how to greet and smile.
Rosario by Vikings is far better than Balay Dako.
Written April 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Summer
Philippines27 contributions
Apr 2024 • family
The wait was extremely long. Totaling to 3 hours. The food was good. Their muffins were sweet. The iced tea also was good and the fruits were fresh. They have fresh corn beef as well but their hot chocolate is a bit bitter. The taho was ordinary. You can make your own omelette and fried rice by choosing ingredients from a wide variety of different things. They have coffee as well and an amazing view.
Written April 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian D. -AmANomad
Dubai560 contributions
Apr 2024 • friends
Beautiful place, beautiful view but they should consider half-sized portions
Having missed their famous weekend brunch, my friend and I decided to brave waiting and went to Balay Dako for lunch.
Nearly all of the menu was made for groups of 4 or more. I don’t know what the rationale was for this but we went ahead and ordered anyway.
For rice, we had bagoong rice with green mango, a classic northern Philippine dish. This was to be the base for the baby squid dish that was well cooked and seasoned. Since tawilis was not in season, we ordered deep fried asohos instead. In theory, one would have eaten this whole, bones and all, but it wasn’t fried enough to render the bones easy to break down and swallow. It turned out to be a finicky dish to eat.
Service was overall good but a change in the shift somehow gave us a weird ending to our lunch, as the new waiter actually REFUSED to serve us when he was told by his colleague to assist us in billing. This entire interaction happened in front of us.
One meal was enough to convince me to never dine here again.
Written April 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Srlon
151 contributions
May 2022 • none
This has been our go-to place when we visit Tagaytay. We like the location, and the great view of Taal lake, and the food was all right. Service has suffered considerably since the last time we were there. We had to follow up our request for soy sauce and calamansi and our softdrinks several times (I am not exaggerating when I say several times; for the soy sauce, we asked them for it four times and by the time it arrived we had already finished most of the food we ordered). The food was not great (unlike our previous experience): the inihaw na pork belly was tough. What we loved, however, was their beef mechado -- hence the three stars in this review. Most of the wait staff were really busy and could not cope with a full restaurant; there was one exception, too bad I did not get his name, who was very attentive. Maybe management should hire more wait staff. And I would suggest getting another oven to cook their yummy ube piaya (average waiting time was 1.5 hours for the piaya when we were there!).
Written May 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mzzyap
3417 contributions
Jun 2022 • none
Kansi was good. Laing Na Gabi at Tokwa hardly had any taste. Escabecheng Plapla's sweet & sour sauce could have come out of a supermarket bottle; plus those fried white strings on top were soggy. Chicken Inasal was okay. Puto Bumbong was all right. With so much hype about this place, I expected "better than average" food. The best thing we had was the Special Bibingka and the freshly cooked Piaya. Inundated with customers, the staff were running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. This place is a victim of its own success.
Written June 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thomas A
1 contribution
Jul 2023 • family
Our family took a chance at going to Balay Dako as recommended by the bellhops at the hotel we had just checked in at. I was curious, being an Ilonggo, as to how a place with an Ilonggo name came to be in Tagaytay where Tagalog is spoken. When we arrived at Balay Dako, we were very impressed by the size of the place. Balay Dako means large (dako) house (balay) in Ilonggo. The setting was just beautiful and the grounds and building were very well kept. It was meant to be reminiscent of a large family house from decades past. Luckily, we were there on a Tuesday afternoon and we were able to avoid the usual weekend crowds. I would estimate that it only took us about 20 to 25 minutes to get seated at a table by the window with a great view of Taal. The menu can be deceiving since we order kare kare and kansi amongst other dishes. The size of the bowl was very large and was full. I travelled all the way from Iloilo just to try one of the best kansi that I have ever tried. The servers were very attentive to our every need. The service at Balay Dako was great. Our family will be back for more at a later date. Eating at Balay Dako is a must when you come to Tagaytay.
Written July 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
241lilyh
Jimboomba47 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
Well presented restaurant with historical story, stunning panoramic view of Taal volcano. Well set tables setting, staff is very friendly.& helpful and very clean. Very good authentic Filipino food, the only fall not many ordinary people can afford to eat here it’s high end of the market. I love it
Written February 23, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Frances M
2 contributions
Jan 2023 • friends
My husband and I together with our friend decided to grab a dinner. We were surprised how the food was served so fast, we had kare kare, crispy pata, squid, some dessert and rice. Our server Mr. Julius went above and beyond when he offered as soup because our order were more of fried/dry. I loved the thoughtfulness right there, kudos as well for being funny. We had a great night. It’s actually decent for $100 meal than what I usually get from NY Filipino Restaurant. Again Thank you Mr. Julius!
Written January 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Skyla
Pasig7 contributions
Sep 2021 • friends
We went there with my friends to dine in. The ambience is good, the food is expensive and just okey you can eat a more delicious one in other restaurant, the problem is the employees especially the waiter who serve us. We already call him how many times to take our order and he just stared at us and pass us by. We waited almost 40 minutes before he took our order and he never apologize for that behavior. He look very arrogant. We are already tired and hungry and we dont have the energy to get mad anymore atleast apologize for the delay. No coordination between the staff. If you will ask something example like tissue you will ask again for the 3rd time and they grant yoir request. And that time there are only few customers, its not even pack because of the limited allowed capacity. You will just pay expensively here because of the ambience overlooking taal lake. I will rate the Location as 4 star, food is 3 star, staff is 2 star.
Written September 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gillbhai
Houston124 contributions
Nov 2022 • friends
If you are looking for an introduction to quintessential Filipino food while enjoying endless views of a caldera lake and mountains in the distance, then Balay Dako is the place to be. Located approximately an hour away (depending on traffic) from main Manila City, the restaurant is located in a local popular getaway of Tagaytay hills. Tagaytay is a town situated around the Taal volcano and Taal caldera lake. The restaurant has been a mainstay and is an institution on its own serving local Filipino dishes for decades. The back of the restaurant has a viewing area which provides breathtaking views of the lake and the surrounding hills. The restaurant starts to fill up early, so it is highly recommended that you arrive early for breakfast or lunch. Once you enter the restaurant, you are greeted with a lobby which opens into a two floor dining area with floor to ceiling windows in the back which offer expansive views. We ordered classic dishes including Sinigang Ng Balay, Bulalo Na Baka, Pastel de Lenguas, along with a few appetizers including Calamares Fritos, and chicken skin (Chicharron). We finished off with piaya, another Filipino specialty which are unleavened flat bread filled with muscavado sugar. Normally, you find them in grocery stores, but these were freshly made on the flat top in the restaurant. Overall, a fantastic meal which I will remember for a long time, and will definitely come back for more. Highly recommended.
Written November 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rizza E
5 contributions
Jul 2024 • family
We came here to celebrate or furbaby's 4th birthday. We ordered their beef bulalo and the serving was good! It's perfect for the rainy weather. Their crispy pata was so tender and you don't need a knife to cut the meat. Their pinakbet rice was also worth it! Overall, we had a great dining experience plus the staff are really nice. Thank you for making us and our baby doggie super happy!
Written August 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Showing results 1-15 of 749
Best moderately priced restaurants
See all
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all Best nearby restaurants
See all Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing