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Azalea Restaurant | Dumaguete Info

We found the Azalea quite by chance, following a torturous motorbike ride up the mountain for what turned out to be a ‘disappointing’ (to put it mildly) lunch at the Twin Lakes Resort.  Rolling back downhill my lovely partner, Nympha, cooed in my ear from the pillion seat “Why don’t we stop at that little restaurant we passed on the way up?”

“What little restaurant? There’s nothing on the way up here,” was my aggressive response, which turned out to be entirely wrong, as she demonstrated a couple of kilometres later when she had me pull over at the Azalea. The story demonstrates how easy it is to miss the place when you’re concentrating on the road ahead unless you’re actually looking for it. So, if you’re going to try, turn left off the north/south highway at the sign to Twin Lakes, north of Ajong, and follow the road for about 4-kilometres to the restaurant sign.

The restaurant hangs off the side of a deep valley to the left of the road, down a small flight of beautifully landscaped steps and cleverly constructed so that its impact on the road above is minimal. What you find down those steps is an absolute delight, from the panoramic views across the valley to Cebu, to the quality and comfort of the modern finishings and décor and, of course, to the stunningly good food – it is after all, a restaurant that I’m writing about!

But then, ambience is a large part of enjoying food and the ambience at the Azalea is wonderful… even if you choose to eat inside, huge floor-to-ceiling windows give you a similar view across the valley to that which you have if you eat outside at the tables that run the length of the balcony. Due to being shielded from the road it is peaceful and relaxing, with only birdsong and the waterfall swishing far below to disturb the chatter of the diners.

On that first visit we only had snacks but we have returned several times for lunch and we have never been disappointed. Everything is freshly prepared, so service can take a little time but it is very much worth the wait. Do ask your waitress if a meal is “Good for two” because some of their portions are more than enough for one and, anyway, sharing is always enjoyable in a group of four or six.

I won’t recommend any particular dishes because I do know that the menu was due to change soon after our last visit. However, up to that point we and our friends had tried and enjoyed everything on the menu – particularly the salads, which were both inventive and tasty.

Practically speaking, the Azalea offers twelve tables for two with generous space between so it is easy to create tables for larger groups. On one of our visits we were a group of four and another table was set for eight. Seating is comfortable; the linen is clean and classy – in fact, that’s the word, everything about this place is ‘classy’.

It’s just a pity that the Azalea does not open in the evenings – I think it would be one of the most romantic places in all of Negros to go for a really special dinner.
 

8am to 5pm – 7 days
southseahotel@yahoo.com.ph
Rated: 3.71 by 7 ratings