Greg & Sally Tree Garden Café

Greg & Sally Tree Garden Café is a peaceful quaint place in Marikina Heights.  They have an indoor dining and also tables outside for those who like to feel the sun touching their skin. People who are into plants and trees will surely love their huge garden filled with different kinds of trees and herbs: tarragon, sinta, talinum, stevia, mint, sambong, oregano, pandan, dill and basil, just to name a few.  In fact, many of their neighbors and very loyal customers buy herbs from them because they are cheaper and fresher compared to what are being sold in the market.

I've decided to bring along my friends with me, having this really good feeling that I would never disappoint them with the place, especially with the food. Been hearing a lot of good feedback about Greg & Sally from friends and family. This is the moment of truth.  Kind and well-dressed staffs opened the door for us and led us to our table.  They are young on-the-job trainees from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina who decided to choose the place as their training ground. I personally love the color of their aprons and the design of their logo. Beige is my favorite color. I thought, no one can go wrong with beige.  It tells me one thing: they are ready for business and they are serious with what they do.

Excel, the owner and manager of the place soon came and received us with full enthusiasm.  Her perkiness and high spirits definitely filled that empty space we were looking for. Oh, how much I adored that woman. She was a like a long-lost aunt that just came back from a trip and has many interesting stories to tell. She immediately became our best friend. She then showed us her place: her very beautiful herb garden, the pond area, the barbecue area, the swing area and even the canopy bed. Then, the foods were served.

Crispy Tadyang is served with atsara and garlic rice. We find it to be dry on the outside, however slightly moist and tender on the inside.  A little too crispy and we had to ask for a knife just to slice it.  Taste is a little bland which explains why they served it with atsara and soy sauce. The sweet tangy taste of atsara brought out the real essence of the dish.

Gourmet Tinapa is a mixture of sautéed tinapa flakes in olive oil, tomatoes and capers, served with egg and garlic rice, sided with Talinom Salad (green mangoes and Philippine spinach).  The strong flavorful taste of smoked fish (tinapa) tickled my taste buds and brought back my interest to food blogging again. No wonder it is their most ordered dish. A sure winner!

Peppered Pork Steak (photo on top) is probably our favorite dish. It was perfectly cooked, it's tender and very well seasoned. My friend was even surprised to know that it can go well with riped mango salad. It was a tasty experience.

Tuna and Black Olive Linguini does not have the strong fishy taste and smell. Cooked with big freshly stewed tomatoes in red sauce, it is a very healthy dish for everyone. Tastes a little bit spicy to me, however my friend wanted it to be more spicy. Comes with slices of Italian Toasts.

Halo Halo Turon is a sweet dessert wrapped in a turon wrapper then quickly fried and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  It is definitely a halo halo with a twist. The dessert fans would definitely love this. Note: We apologize for the photo of the melted ice cream. We were too delighted with our meals that it had to sit there and melt.

Our visit to the Greg & Sally Tree Garden Café was truly unforgettable. The food were good, staffs were nice, the price was reasonable and the place, quite pleasant. We are highly recommending this place to couples and families. One of the best restaurants in Marikina City. To the entire staff of Greg & Sally, thank you for having us.  Visit their fan page by clicking here. Their location is at 145 Ipil St cor Champaca, Marikina Heights with telephone number (02) 940 1976.