Zola Restaurant and Cafe

Location: Dagupan

Zola Cafe and Restaurant is a casual, urban hip place located in Dagupan City.

Facade-wise, Zola looks like a typical red and black themed restaurant. The Japanese inspired signage is a nice touch, reminding every customers who enters its doors that the management means business.

The interior of the restaurant is familiar and cozy. The light fixtures that hangs on the restaurant’s ceiling is evidence that the management didn’t leave anything to chance when they designed the place.

From the looks of their furniture inside, the management wants its customers to relish their dining experience. They also have a super fast internet Wi-fi connection that will surely attract those people who can’t leave their house without hauling their laptops or netbooks.

For my appetizer, I ordered their garlic and mushroom soup. The creamy soup has a distinctive quality that adds piquancy. It’s a simple soup that will surely get your appetite going. It is very light, and it has a gentle aroma that is unmistakably pinoy. The soup is garnished with fried garlic, and garlic oil to give it a little kick.

Their version of sizzling pork sisig is not that special, but its not bad. I wish they could have added something more, something distinct.

Sisig is a Filipino delicacy that is made of pork, beef, or chicken marinated in soy sauce. It is sautéed in onion, garlic, and spices. Different restaurants have their way of cooking this food, some even have their own family secret recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Because the food is so common in the Philippines, its very hard to find a place where the perfect sisig is being cooked and served.

The calamares was served in a dish with tartar sauce dip, and garnished with shredded cabbage.

The dish was OK. But there’s nothing special about it. I’ve had better calamari before.

I don’t really get the point of the shredded cabbage in a calamari plate. I think it would be better if they just put lemon slices instead of shredded vegetable leaves.

For my main course, I ordered the chicken cordon blue. The dish is a popular boneless chicken rolled out in breading and stuffed with cheese and ham. Chicken cordon bleu is either baked or fried.

Zola’s version of the popular diner dish is excellent. The chicken is cooked to perfection, and the cheese inside it was just awesome. I don’t know what that yellow stuff was doing there, but I couldn’t care less. What ever that stuff was, I’m glad that it’s there because it gives the dish that extra something that I couldn’t really explain.

Their wait staff were all very cordial and they made us feel welcome, which is a big plus.

So, if you are only going for the good food, you won’t get disappointed but it’s more about the atmosphere than anything else in Zola.

Cheat Sheet

Location: Dagupan
Bring: PHP 400
Connectivity: Free Wi-fi
Smoking Area: Yes
Alcohol: Yes