The stretch of restaurants along Aguinaldo Highway near the Rotonda is informally known as Bulalo Row, and it is the place to eat the dish most associated with Tagaytay. Bulalo is a clear, long-simmered broth made from beef shank and bone marrow, served with bone-in short ribs and a pile of cabbage, corn, and other vegetables that cook in the hot liquid at the table. The altitude — Tagaytay is cool enough to make a bowl of steaming soup genuinely welcome — makes it taste better here than anywhere in Manila.
The restaurants cluster along both sides of the highway and most are open for lunch and dinner. Josephine Restaurant and Bag of Beans are two of the most established names, though the local competition keeps quality high across the board. Most also serve tawilis, the tiny freshwater sardine found only in Taal Lake — usually fried whole and served with vinegar dipping sauce.
Prices are higher than Manila equivalents, but for a weekend trip the combination of a long, satisfying lunch with a view of the volcano is part of the experience.