Review: Café Leona (Calle Crisologo, Vigan, Ilocos Sur)

We traveled for 16hrs. From Batangas to Ilocos. So we are literally on the car the whole day. All 7 of us are exhausted. But I can’t imagine how Pao felt that night for he has to drive all the way to Ilocos. Arrrggghhh… 16hrs of driving?! I sure didn’t wanna try that.

Oh well. After we checked in on the hotel and freshen up a bit, we went out for dinner. Thanks to our ever reliable mobile phones and it’s 3G connection, we were able to search for the best place to dine in Vigan. All of the blogs and forums point us to one “must-try” restaurant – Café Leona!

Add the fact that it’s a block away from the place that we are staying! >:) Pero yun talaga yun eh! Yung one tumbling away from our place. We can’t walk/drive anymore!!!

Café Leona is located at the very heart of Vigan. You can actually see the very famous Calle Crisologo if you opted to dine outside. There’s some sort of a program that night and there are loads of people on the street, complete with a band and the full blast speaker. Very fiesta ang peg! :-P

We entered into the restaurant and noticed that it is a little bit dingy. It’s small and it surely felt like I’m dining into one of those café on the walls of Intramuros. Old fashioned. Simple. But surely is a tourist favorite. There are loads of people dining on the area.

We ordered those specialty that was mentioned on the blog but most of them are not available. Bagnet for one is surely extremely hard to find in Ilocos.

Anyway, we just opted for Sisig, Sinigang na Malaga, Embutido and a Pizza which I totally forgot what it’s called (sorry!). Oh well! The entire meal is just okay. Though I specifically loved the Pizza. It seems like it was pugon-baked that’s why it is extra tasty.

What amazed me is the pizza-shaped plate that they have. Being a kid-at-heart, this simple detail really made my dining experience fun! :)

Although the entire meal is just OK, this one for sure is the star of the night – the Sinigang na Malaga! :) I didn’t like fish that’s not fried. So when the sinigang was served, I only asked for the hot soup. However, towards the end of the meal, I noticed that the fish seemed untouched. And since I grew up believing that it’s a sin to leave food on the table, I forced myself to eat the fish. But after the first bite, I just can’t seem to stop! I swear. The fish is so delicious. It’s tasty. And the meat is tender. Basta masarap! I actually finished the entire thing. Harhar.. Saan kaya may Malaga dito sa Maynila?! I want it!

Oh well. We went back to Vigan on our last night in Ilocos. And since we weren’t able to try the Pinakbet Pizza, we got a take out on our last night. See?! Pag may tyaga, may Malaga! Oooopppsss.. Nilaga pala! :)