Manos Greek Taverna

Unplanned trips, don’t you just love them? I love receiving a phone call from some friends at an unlikely time of the day telling me to be ready as they will be at my doorsteps in ten minutes because everyone is up for a long drive somewhere. The adrenalin rush beats the crap out of drinking a gallon of energy drink. Yes, I am a sucker for spontaneity.

Having been stressed by work and some personal matters, it was one of those days when I couldn’t even think of a single thing to help me lighten up. Then my phone rang, it was my cousin Anjo inviting me to go out for a coffee. Hours after, I found myself taking photos of sunset while my cousin was manning the wheels. The back seat was already full of different kinds of food we purchased from some random restaurants and stores we happen to passed by, so we just thought of having coffee in Tagaytay. When we passed by Manos Greek Taverna, it’s a different story. “Light dinner?” we both agreed.

As my fork sinks into the dense layer of eggplant, potatoes, meats, and béchamel sauce, in a split second, my palate was blissfully covered by the meaty creaminess of Mousaka. Although eggplant is the main ingredient for this wonderful dish, its taste was very subtle. The serving was very generous; I could only finish half of it.

Mousaka

Souvlaki was also a filling meal which comprise of tatziki (greek sauce made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, salt, and mint), cabbage salad, potato fries, and 2 sticks of pork. Manos made their own yogurt which makes their tatziki fits to my liking as it doesn’t taste commercialized. My cousin clearly had a great time feasting on this dish because of tatziki which perfectly goes well with the pork.

Souvlaki

The subtle crunchy sound of the phyllo pastry was music to my ear, as I was greeted with the beautiful shade of green brought about by the spinach. The almost melting state of the feta cheese was not just a beautiful sight but a lovely creamy treat to the palate. I was a little apprehensive about ordering Spanakopita thinking that my cousin wouldn’t like it, but he finished the dish in no time, raving how delicious it was. You couldn’t go wrong with spinach and feta cheese after all.

Spanakopita

I was about to order for their baklava but then I realized that we have tons of food waiting for us in the car so I just decided to skip it. It was a light, and simple, yet lovely dinner. The ambiance of the restaurant was downright simple but very clean. The food attendants were very friendly and approachable, service was fast and accurate.

Manos Greek Taverna Interior

I’ve been planning to dine at Manos Greek Taverna for a while now, to no avail. But this unplanned trip to Tagaytay brought me one of the loveliest dinners at that simply lovely restaurant. Not to mention that I was in a company of my cousin who’s always been a brother I never had.