4 Interesting Places to Eat in Batangas That Offer More Than Just Good Food

Address: The Outlets at Lipa, LIMA Technology Center, San Lucas, Batangas

Operating Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Friday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Price Range: PhP70 to PhP2,390

First on our list of places to eat in Batangas is this artsy coffee place in Lipa City is bohemian and also vintage. What could be more vintage than a real Beetle car-turned-counter? The walls of the café have their own stories—a mural painting, a wall dotted with the owner’s paintings, and a statement wall. A place to visit in Lipa Batangas!

People might think that dining at Purple Beetle Café is one of the places to eat in Batangas that’s expensive because of its artsy interior and intricate food and beverage presentation. But with most items priced at just PhP70 to PhP310, their offerings are considerably affordable. Mentioned must-order items are lasagna rolls, cream cheese, banana French Toast bread, beef cheese wedges, a cheeseburger with bacon and egg, buffalo chicken wings, and their Oh-frappe varieties, especially green tea, hazelnut, and Nutella.

While food is still the main repertoire in Purple Beetle, this place where to eat in Batangas’ make sure that the café lives to its form of being fun-filled and art-filled. This is not just a place to eat in Batangas, but you can also read books, play board games, doodle, and paint using their art materials, or simply admire the Beetle toy cars on display. You can also buy some boho stuff like headpieces and dream catchers. It’s the customer’s call.

Purple Beetle was a lifestyle brand first: a bohemian and vintage online shop (http://purplebeetle.com.ph/) before it became a café. The name is inspired by a purple beetle toy the owner’s daughter requested for her birthday. The lifestyle brand was born, and then the café followed suit.

Address: 223 JP laurel highway, Barangay Inosluban, Lipa City, Batangas

Operating Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30 AM to 8:00 PM

Price Range: PhP70 to PhP270

The second spot on our list of places to eat in Batangas is not just you’re an ordinary coffee shop. Candlelight Café is where to eat in Batangas, offering food, coffee, and art. Established in 2011 also at Lipa City, this place to visit in Lipa Batangas has the vibe of a romantic Europe but is not haughty because it also exudes a small-town café feel. And as the name suggests, candles are the centerpiece of the coffee shop. Lots of them.

The olfactory sense will surely indulge in the smell of coffee and the scents of candles upon entrance. This place to eat in Batangas is more indulgence in the murals that seem to lead to a lovelier place, in the unique artworks in an arranged mess—most of which were done by the Lipa Youth Art Club, and in the stash of books displayed in the café.

Candlelight Café is one of the places to eat in Batangas that offers the usual coffee shop food repertoire but with names patterned after literati. Examples include the Adobo Caravaggio, named after an Italian baroque painter; the Chicken Cezanne, named after post-impressionist French artist Paul Cezanne, and the Miro Plate (egg topped with salmon slices and capers and salad), and named after Spanish artist Joan Miro. If you’re finding where to eat in Batangas and chill, add this to your list!

Also famous is the Mortenese pasta, an original pasta creation whose name was derived from the owner’s last name. Their juices also carry artists’ names like Andy Warhol (guava juice), Frida Kahlo (lemonade with mint leaves), Picasso (mango juice with pomelo, grapes, apple, and watermelon), and Basquiat (guyabano). A must place to eat and visit in Batangas who loves art!

And true to its romantic European feel, the café also holds poetry and music sessions on a candlelit evening. The café was named as such because of the owners’ passion for candles and coffee. Mr. Morten and Dr. Marichu Carstensen own Doc’s Candles candle export business. A must-place to visit in Lipa Batangas!

Address: Banay Banay, Lipa City, Batangas

Operating Hours: Daily, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Price Range: PhP150 to PhP3,046

In our third spot on the list of places to eat in Batangas is the Casa Marikit, Lipa City’s Italian trattoria. If you find where to eat in Batangas, this restaurant is tucked away in its location—not along the JP Laurel Highway. However, it is still strategically accessible and located near Fernando Airbase.

The ristorante is faithful to the concept from the food to the interior and structure. It has the quaint country charm—bricks, mosaic, and a fireplace. This place to eat in Batangas exudes an aura that makes the customers engage in a leisurely lunch or dinner of homemade dishes. It is a place for ladies who lunch, couples who date, friends who catch up, and families who celebrate milestones.

Finding where to eat in Batangas that serves Italian food is a place to eat in Batangas. The food on the menu is, admittedly, difficult to pronounce as they are Italian names, but the travail one has to go through in pronouncing and waiting are all worth it. It will be immediately erased by the complimentary bread with pâté and tomato-basil-garlic dip. This a place to eat in Batangas that One can also while away the time, waiting for their order at the antique gallery or the courtyard.

The menu includes Insalata (salad), pasta, pizza, and steak. The rib-eye steak is authentic Angus Beef priced a little over PhP3,046, just like any Angus beef served in other restaurants. The Pasta and Pizza are priced at around PhP360 to PhP1,100. Most food items are suitable for sharing and worth a second serving round. A place to visit in Lipa Batangas.

Casa Marikit is named after the owner’s youngest and only daughter. Marikit is a Filipino word for beautiful.

Address: Unit 4A, Casa Villa Lourdes Mataas na lupa Lipa City, Lipa City, Batangas

Last on our list of places to eat in Batangas, the Hugot Café is the hip and hot café ATM brewing bitter and bittersweet. Finding out where to eat in Batangas, Every corner in the café screams with hugot lines; this a place to go. The term “hugot” is a Filipino word that means to draw or pull out. In pop culture and social media, this place to eat in Batangas has become associated with emotions that need unsheathing.

True to form, the food and drinks’ names on their menu are hugot-inspired. They serve, for instance, hugot shake coffee crumble called pa-fall; double-dutch aptly called two-timer, and waffles that can be a loner (one piece) or a couple (two pieces).

This place to eat in Batangas is not all hype, as the food and drinks are just right in terms of affordability (PhP50 to a little over PhP100) and taste. The coffee-based beverages, for instance, are not too sweet but not too bitter.

This is a place to visit in Lipa Batangas where you can vent your emotions. The writings on the hugot wall and the interactive hugot corner are a hit; they target those who can relate the most, those who are single, in a complicated relationship, friend-zoned, heartbroken, left behind, or two-timed. And for those who want more hugot lines, you can read spoken word artist Juan Miguel Severo’s hugot poem entitled “Kapag Tapos na ang Lahat” (“After All Is Done”), prominently occupying one side of the wall in the café.

But this is not to say that the café is only for those going through despair, bitterness, heartache, misery, or any negative state of emotion. Contrary to the hugot concept, the general ambiance is full of energy and good vibes.

May 2023 Update: Hugot Café is permanently closed. But don’t worry! Check out Prism Restaurant in Lipa, Batangas, for possible replacement.

Visit Yoorekka Magazine for more restaurants and dining options in Batangas and Southern Luzon!