Date Places Philippines

Cyma Greek Taverna is a pretty popular Greek restaurant in the city but we’ve always snubbed it, thinking that we’ve found our favorite at Manos Taverna Greek Restaurant at Tagaytay City. However, a recent birthday allowed us to sample food from here.

Cyma Eastwood Greek Taverna

The place is cute and cheeky, but I wouldn’t know if it was Greek. I was used to the countryside and open air interiors of Greek Tavern, much similar to how Greek houses and restaurants are shown in movies. But the blue and white themes were similar.

The waiters, once in a while, would shote “Opa!” when something hot is about to be served.

We surveyed the menu and realized that it was quite pricey. We had the impression that food in Greek Tavern (around P250-P350 per order) was more expensive and Cyma was cheaper, but apparently not. The food here is pricier – an order of salad cost P400, an order of pasta (for 4) costs around P800, and the leg of lamb must have caused at least P1,700. A brief research showed us that the Executive Chef is Bobby Goco.

Greek food abound in the menu

More greek food listed

More Cyma Greek meat and pasta

The Spinach and Artichoke Fondue (P350) and Hummous with pita appetizers (P125) were decent. The Solomos Angel Hair (pink salmon pasta, solo for P380) was totally weird – it tasted like Jollibee’s Palabok Special.

The food was delicious enough though. Or maybe we were just starving.

Anyway, on to the main course. The Pastisado (pasta with beef stewed in tomatoes sauce, solo for P320) tasted like kaldereta pasta, which would be interesting to make, actually. The Arni Sto Fourno me Patates (leg of lamb with potatoes) was soft and succulent, and we actually found the potatoes a better bite than the lamb.

Beef pasta that tasted like Kaldereta

Yummy Lamb Chop - luckily not too many people liked lamb

I think their waiters are getting paid a lot – they speak impeccable English and go by the names of “Flash”. They’re also polite, though at times you get the feeling that they’re feeling too comfortable and close with you.

We also had a bottle of Two oceans wine for around P1,100 (that one I remember, I chose it), and it was smooth. It was served non-chilled, and I think this went better with the lamb. The glass goblets were as big as our faces. To illustrate:

my friend holding up Cyma's giant wine glass goblets

In any case, the good news is that the servings are big and you can share an order with 2 other friends. The ideal number of people going here together is 3, then order two dishes you can all split. Expect to shell out about P400 each for that.

Overall, the great time we had at Cyma can be attributed to the great friends and conversations we had, partnered with the great food. Would I bring a date here? Probably not, now that I know how it tastes like. It’s good but personally it’s nothing to write home about, and I’ll settle for more reasonably-priced, same-tasting food. Either that, or take a trip to Greek Tavern in Tagaytay. It will be more romantic for you and your date anyway – imagine the great conversation you’ll have spending 2 hours stuck in traffic together.

At least P400 per person for a basic meal

Really, don’t get the salad. If you’re looking for a vegetarian fix, get the spinach and artichoke instead. Also, try to go at off-peak hours as it will be hard to get a seat without a reservation.

Unit 638 Level 6 Shangri-la Mall, Mandaluyong City
Telefax: (02) 637-3090

G/F Greenbelt 2, Ayala Malls, Makati City
Telefax: (02) 729-4837

Unit 4 002A Level 4, Trinoma Mall,
Quezon City
Telefax: (02) 915-2859

D’Mall, Boracay Island, Aklan
Telefax: (036) 288-4283

G/F The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu City
Telefax (032) 417-1351

Level 2 Eastwood Mall Libis, Quezon City
Telefax: (02) 709-1955

Make your own Hummus with this recipe!