When travelling, one of the things I make sure is try local food places. Just recently, I visited Dumaguete City and decided to visit one of their famous restaurants: Gabby’s Bistro. There are two of them, and I went to the closest branch from where I stayed.
Accessibility and Ambience: 9/10
The store is located on the second level of Paseo Perdices along Rizal Boulevard. Being along Dumaguete’s famous boulevard, Gabby’s Bistro is very accessible. Aside from that, since the main mode of transportation in the city is the tricycle, you can always go there regardless where you are located within the city. Buses from the terminal also pass by the area, so the location is very viable for business and convenient for customers.
What amazed me as well is the interior of the restaurant. Gabby’s is located inside and arcade, and it does not have any unique exterior branding or facade, just a simple glass door and their logo. But when you go inside, you’ll see an overwhelming design of modern art, classy interior, comfortable booths, and creative settings—things you will not expect from a store located inside an arcade.
Food Selection and Price Range: 8/10
Their menu is thick! From food to drinks to desserts, you have plenty of things to choose from. And guess what? Every page of their menu is dedicated to a specific type of food—a page for seafood dishes, a page for pasta, a page for chicken, and so on. The price of their products are not bad as well. Their most affordable food is at 85.00 PHP, and their most expensive dish is 385.00 PHP only!
Food and Service Quality: 7/10
We tried their seaside tuna grill and poulet au pesto. Their serving size is reasonable in comparison to their prices. The tuna is not bad at all, with the right blend of spices and flavors. It wasn’t too charred as well. It came with a cup of buttered corn and carrots and java rice; the veggies were a little bland, and the java rice was too dry that they fell apart, grain by grain.
The poulet au pesto is basically set of chicken breast fillet, cut lengthwise, sautéd in pesto, and served on top of mashed potato with coleslaw as side. I understand that pesto is oil based, at the sane time, it was too oily (the proportion of oil and basil/nuts was off) and a bit bland for a pesto-based dish.
Their servers are friendly and interactive; they even helped us choose what to get. What’s great is they did not make us wait for our food! Superb serving time—exactly fifteen minutes as they said it would be. They know how to set proper expectations.
Overall Review: 8/10
Gabby’s is one off Dumaguete’s famous food places, and they have a lot of good reviews. These are the reasons I gave them a try. They have an awesome atmosphere where you can enjoy the company of your friends and family, and drown yourself with their selection. At the same time, their flavor needs improvement.
For more information, visit their Facebook page here.
Have you been here before? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Wonderlost 
Looks good! Such a shame on the pesto though. You’re right, the ratio was off.
I am a huge pesto fan, and this dish disappointed me tbh. But overall, my experience was good. I would totally go back there, only if someone pays my food for me. HAHAHA!