Rizal is becoming a favorite food and travel destination for city-dwellers who want a quick escape without driving for hours or paying expressway toll fees.
If you’re planning on a quick trip up East and enjoy the fresh mountain air, there’s a hidden treasure you’ve got to visit for great food that won’t hurt your budget.
Theo and Miguel is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that just opened in May of 2022. It’s quite literally a hidden restaurant because it is located inside a family-friendly resort: Bosay Resort. You wouldn’t think that there would be a highly-recommended restaurant inside this resort, but you’ll be surprised with the culinary experience you’re bound to enjoy.
Theo and Miguel features cabin-inspired interiors that will actually make you feel like you’re in Baguio City. With all the vines and twinkly lights hanging from the ceiling, plus the log-inspired walls and rattan furniture, this restaurant offers a picture-perfect and cozy vibe that will give you just the escape you need.
The brilliant minds behind Theo and Miguel call it an Asian Fusion Filipino restaurant with their menu consisting of Pinoy classics with a creative modern twist. Their menu might not be as massive as your usual restaurants, but that’s just because every single one of their food items is a bestseller!
Comfort food at its finest
We first tried the Crispy Potato Frites because I was craving something crispy. I was so shocked to see a gigantic tower of thinly-sliced shoestring potatoes fried to perfection. It’s topped with thrice-cooked pork and fried basil for that burst of flavor.
One serving is good for up to 4 to 6 people and is an excellent choice for an appetizer.
For mains, there were classic comfort food choices such as the flavorful Chicken Tenders which featured their original firepot sauce (a more flavorful version of the buffalo sauce) and their original mango salsa that gives you so many different flavors in one bite.
The crispy and juicy chicken tenders are served on a bed of shredded cabbage—this, along with the mango salsa, spares you from that umay factor. Fair warning: it’s so addicting!
Theo and Miguel also added their own twist to the well-loved crispy chicken burger and turned it into a Bagel Burger.
This indulgent burger features a massive boneless quarter-cut fried chicken crisped to perfection, cheese, veggies, and a delicious sauce, all sandwiched between two halves of a savory bagel. They revealed that they chose the bagel because it’s denser than the usual burger bun, helping it to keep its shape and preventing it from being soggy over time.
Pinoy classics with a creative twist
Another must-try section of their menu is the modernized version of classic Pinoy dishes.
Their Beef Bulalo Pares is the perfect combination of beef pares and bulalo. You won’t even have to drive up to Tagaytay to enjoy delicious bulalo on a weekend!
This soup dish features melt-on-your-mouth beef, flavorful beef broth, and a dome of crispy noodles which essentially become the “pares mami” once it gets soaked in the soup.
If you want to take it to the next level, you should enjoy the Beef Bulalo Pares with a bowl (or two) of their Angus Rice!
Another modernized Pinoy dish on their menu is the Baby Back Ribs Adobo. This highly recommended dish has the distinct salty and sour flavors of adobo bursting from the perfectly cooked tender ribs. It’s served with flavorful rice and sunny-side-up eggs.
One of the co-owners of Theo and Miguel even gave us a tip on how to enjoy the Baby Back Ribs Adobo—you have to get one of everything in one bite. Have a bit of the meat, roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes, rice, and eggs on your spoon for that burst of various flavors all at once!
Finally, if you’re bringing friends, family, or loved ones to Theo and Miguel, you’re guaranteed to impress them with the Crispy Pata Kare-Kare.
This must-try dish is massive (almost as big as a kitchen tray!). It features a beautifully cooked crispy pata on a bed of kare-kare sauce and veggies.
The kare-kare sauce is deliciously savory that it perfectly complements the crispy pata. I didn’t think that I could possibly enjoy crispy pata even more, but here it was: a beautiful combination of two mouthwatering Pinoy dishes.
Even with this smorgasbord of delectable dishes, you should always have room for dessert because the Miguel’s Favorite from Theo and Miguel deserves to be enjoyed.
The Miguel’s Favorite is a mix of the classic turon and suman which is an Antipolo specialty. It’s essentially suman, bananas, langka, and mozzarella cheese wrapped in spring roll wrappers and deep-fried. It’s then served with a side of vanilla ice cream.
It is the perfect way to end such a satisfying feast. The textures of the crispy spring roll wrappers combined with the chewy suman, fruits, and mozzarella make it such a treat. Plus, the variety of flavors is made even better by the sweet vanilla ice cream.
(RELATED: 10 Luxurious Private Resorts You Can Rent in Rizal)
A culinary experience for everyone
Theo and Miguel is one of those restaurants that stuck with me even days after our visit, and I probably won’t stop recommending it to our friends anytime soon.
Theo and Miguel offers a world-class food experience with their creative dishes, excellently cooked food, and a beautiful array of flavors in every bite. Their regular customers (including us) also cannot stop talking about how big their servings are. You’re sure to be satisfied and filled at the end of your feast here.
This new hidden restaurant is definitely worth the drive up to Antipolo—and we’re sure that you’ll be back soon enough.
Theo and Miguel
Bosay Resort, Marigman Rd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo, Rizal
Facebook.com/TheoandMiguel
Instagram.com/theo_and_miguel
Tiktok.com/@theo_and_miguel
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