Bahia Restaurant in Dumaguete

The new Bahia restaurant in Dumaguete was our target for another celebration just after our trip to Bali. According to Mamma Monster we had a kind of celebration, as it is the day we had our first physical liquid exchange many decades ago. Fair enough, whatever the reason is, nothing wrong with some good food and some cold beverages. I guess good food is like sex for seniors.

Bahia Restaurant @ Northpoint in Dumaguete

The place opened a few months back and I wanted to try it anyway. It offers (according to some reports I saw) some elevated dining experience, at least for Dumaguete standards. The restaurant is located at the waterfront at Northpoint, which is a kind of the new “to-go” area, when it comes to food.

Bahia Restaurant is the first place at Northpoint, which seems to cater to guests who can afford a bit more than unlimited chicken wings and rice. As we qualify for that group and I don´t mind a good piece of meat, we jumped on the bike and drove the 15 minutes there.

We tend to go out for dinner a bit earlier than the usual crowd. I prefer to choose my table, not getting the last available. The service is also better than with a full house, and the chances that most dishes are available in the country of “Out-of-stock-Sir” are bigger.

As expected, we were the first dining guests around 5pm. The place is on the second floor facing the waterfront. The aircon inside was nice and cool and the balcony is perfect for a cigarette, while waiting for your food.

I am undecided about the interieur design. It is nice and spacious, but I am simply not a friend of that plastic-like leaves and bushes hanging from ceiling and walls.

Service and ordering

We were welcomed friendly and seated on a table for two, which is usually too small for us, as we tend to order several dishes to eat ourselves through the menu.

What never stops to amaze me are some of the reviews about a restaurant in Dumaguete by expats about the quality of service, and how great a place is. Well, we got seated, got the menu, and got some service water. Really, nothing to celebrate, that is just standard at a restaurant, and I won’t write a postcard home about it.

The menu should have something for each taste. The prices are on the higher side for Dumaguete, but not out of place, if the dishes taste as described in the menu. Our order was:

Starters:

• Croquetas de Jamon: A classic Spanish Tapas: 3 deep fried bechamel balls flavored with cured ham, served with a spicy bell pepper sauce.
• Tuna Tartar: Tantalizing Tuna Tartar, a fresh and flavorful ocean delicacy
• Lebanese Humus: made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic, served with pita bread.

Mains:

• Beef Bourguignon: braised beef in a rich red wine sauce topped with carrots, mushrooms and onions, served with mashed potatoes.
• Black Angus Ribeye Steak (12oz) with bordelaise, a French red wine and beef stock reduction. It comes with bone marrow. I choose potato wedges as a side dish.

Now that should be enough for the two of us to get our big bellies stuffed and to get a good overview about the quality of the dishes.

Bahia Restaurant Dumaguete food verdict:

• Croquetas de Jamon: The three croquetas had a great taste and consistency. The sauce was nice and creamy and tasted well. Sadly the “spicy” part from the dish description was nowhere to be found. Still a good dish and worth ordering again.
• Tuna Tartar: Very yummy, as the tuna tasted fresh and the seasoning was perfect. The small mango cubes added the perfect sweet touch to the mild acidity. A perfect dish with 100% “order-again” warranty.
• Lebanese Humus: Humus was absolutely fine, great taste and consistency. One level with my favorite Humus in Dumaguete. Downfall was the pita bread. It was not fresh and reheated. Tasteless with slight dry-rubbery consistency. Still can make use of it when you have a wobbly table. However, for me, a good pita is essential when eating dishes like hummus and makes at least 30-40% of the dishes value. So probably won´t reorder again.

• Beef Bourguignon: For us the winner of the day, together with the tuna. The beef was braised very well, the carrots glazed to perfection and the red wine sauce yummy as it gets. The mashed potatoes could not keep up with it. Nice consistency, but bland as it gets.
• Black Angus Ribeye Steak (12oz): The meat was absolutely delicious. I ordered medium rare, and that’s how it came. My personal preference would be a slightly thicker cut, which would make a better sear of the meat possible, but that didn’t affect my joy in eating that meat. I also loved the potato wedges. Sadly, the bordelaise wasn´t up to par with the rest of the dish. It simply was not good. Lucky me, my missus “donated” some of her red wine sauce from her braised beef, which was a totally different league than the bordelaise.

For all, who say “a good steak does not need sauce”. That is certainly true for the first bites, but I want to put it in perspective. Each steak is losing its magic, when sitting 10-15 minutes on a plate while eating. Therefore, I like the option, to have a sauce when it comes to that point. I don’t want to have my meat drowned in it, but in a tray on the side.

Will we visit Bahia in Dumaguete again?

Absolutely. It was a good experience with some great dishes, and some more to explore. I would like to try another steak maybe some pasta, and other dishes which sound yummy.

Bahia at Northpoint in Dumaguete is certainly a nice addition to the restaurant scene in Dumaguete. There is certainly some room to improve. All bread on the table was not fresh and rather low quality in taste. I had most dishes equal or slightly better at other places. For Hummus and bread, it is Biryani point in EJ Blanco. Steak wins at WhyNot, especially the sauce and the table-site cooking. Bahia wins with the braised beef and the tuna.

The whole experience with a beer and some lemonade was just under 4,000 pesos for 2 people. That gets into a higher bigger city price-range; therefore, I need to judge also on a higher expectation.

As there is more to explore on the menu, we will return.

Yummy greetings…
Rhoody