# Opening a Business in Angeles City



## happyhawaiian1 (Dec 19, 2012)

I am a retired chef from the US and specialize in American BBQ, Italian, and French cuisine and thinking about opening a small restaurant or carry-out...I live in Baguio City now...but moving to Angeles/Clark area in April 2013...and want to know the best locations, the cost of renting/leasing a commercial space.


----------



## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

The best American BBQ in Angeles is at Cottage Kitchen! A few times a month I meet my friends there for lunch. A great place (feels like I am in the USA) and great food! It is a bit expensive on Philippine standards but very inexpensive on USA standards. Sadly the owner recently passes away. It is still open but without him the quality has gone down. His family is selling it and all my friends are hoping it get a new owner that brings the quality backup!
Home Page
Cottage Kitchen Cafe Restaurant Reviews, Angeles City, Philippines - TripAdvisor
Cottage Kitchen Café in Angeles, Pampanga - Tales From The Tummy


----------



## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Phil_expat said:


> The best American BBQ in Angeles is at Cottage Kitchen! A few times a month I meet my friends there for lunch. A great place (feels like I am in the USA) and great food! It is a bit expensive on Philippine standards but very inexpensive on USA standards. Sadly the owner recently passes away. It is still open but without him the quality has gone down. His family is selling it and all my friends are hoping it get a new owner that brings the quality backup!
> Home Page
> Cottage Kitchen Cafe Restaurant Reviews, Angeles City, Philippines - TripAdvisor
> Cottage Kitchen Café in Angeles, Pampanga - Tales From The Tummy


Now--stop that or I'm gonna have to leave the comforts of my house and ride over there with the wife tonight and eat! Hahaha.

Honestly that sounds like a goooooood place!


----------



## jon1 (Mar 18, 2012)

Gene and Viol said:


> Now--stop that or I'm gonna have to leave the comforts of my house and ride over there with the wife tonight and eat! Hahaha.
> 
> Honestly that sounds like a goooooood place!


It USED to be a great place. Had awesome Cajun and Deep South cooking. When the owner's health started to fail and his absences became more frequent, so did the quality of the food and service. I would not recommend the place now. It's a shame as they had awesome ribs and real deep fried catfish......


----------



## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

jon1 said:


> It USED to be a great place. Had awesome Cajun and Deep South cooking. When the owner's health started to fail and his absences became more frequent, so did the quality of the food and service. I would not recommend the place now. It's a shame as they had awesome ribs and real deep fried catfish......


That really is too bad. Seems nothing ever stays the same. Hopefully someone will either take it over that knows what they are doing or another like it will open up. Tell ya what I enjoyed was Thanksgiving dinner over at the VFW. My wife and I and another couple made total pigs of ourselves. Had heartburn for two days but the turkey and even the pumpkin pie sure was good!


----------



## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

Gene and Viol said:


> That really is too bad. Seems nothing ever stays the same. Hopefully someone will either take it over that knows what they are doing or another like it will open up. Tell ya what I enjoyed was Thanksgiving dinner over at the VFW. My wife and I and another couple made total pigs of ourselves. Had heartburn for two days but the turkey and even the pumpkin pie sure was good!


Gene, I have to agree with jon1. It used to be a great place! Last time I went there with only one friend to see if it had changed. I wanted a dish with short ribs but they had none so ordered something else. They served a small flavored loaf of bread with butter as a appetizer before the meal come. The bread was not warm as usual and the butter was frozen! My mash potato tasted like instant potato! My friend potato salad was not all cook! I am hoping someone like happyhawaiian1 buys the place and brings the quality back to what it was. I once ask the owner how he does it since his Filipino staff is not use to this kind of food. He said he said everything is prepared in advance and he taste and tell the cook what it needs. We are not returning unless it is sold!


----------



## HondaGuy (Aug 6, 2012)

happyhawaiian1,

You may want to consider working at an existing restaurant in AC as a chef before you start up your own business there. That way you can get a feel for how the the business side operates before you plunk down a big chunk of change for a location, equipment, supplies, etc. Think of it like renting a house in a new location before buying one.

Good luck!



happyhawaiian1 said:


> I am a retired chef from the US and specialize in American BBQ, Italian, and French cuisine and thinking about opening a small restaurant or carry-out...I live in Baguio City now...but moving to Angeles/Clark area in April 2013...and want to know the best locations, the cost of renting/leasing a commercial space.


----------



## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

Yesterday I went to rainbow burger. A friend of mine wanted to go there but could not find it. It does have good BBQ if you can tolerate the down side of this restaurant! It is owned by the father of Dennis Rodman. One can see where Dennis got his ego! His current wife said they are closed but might open soon. I stop gong there because it was hard to enjoy my meal while the owner bragged about his fathering 29 children by 16 mothers and all his accomplishments like writing several books. If you HAVE to try it (when and if it reopens) try calling to order your meal and eat it at home.

https://sites.google.com/site/rodmansrainbow/history

» Dennis Rodman’s Dad Owns A Restaurant Called “Rodman’s Rainbow Obamaburger”? Barstool Sports: Boston


----------



## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

I forgot the main link:
https://sites.google.com/site/rodmansrainbow/home


----------



## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Phil_expat said:


> Gene, I have to agree with jon1. It used to be a great place! Last time I went there with only one friend to see if it had changed. I wanted a dish with short ribs but they had none so ordered something else. They served a small flavored loaf of bread with butter as a appetizer before the meal come. The bread was not warm as usual and the butter was frozen! My mash potato tasted like instant potato! My friend potato salad was not all cook! I am hoping someone like happyhawaiian1 buys the place and brings the quality back to what it was. I once ask the owner how he does it since his Filipino staff is not use to this kind of food. He said he said everything is prepared in advance and he taste and tell the cook what it needs. We are not returning unless it is sold!


Have your tried TGI Friday's for baby-back ribs? We went to the one at Marquee Mall and sure has good food. Trouble is, the prices are quite high at or just over P1,000 for the ribs. Now I just go to Jollibee and pretend-Hahaha


Gene


----------



## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

Gene and Viol said:


> Have your tried TGI Friday's for baby-back ribs? We went to the one at Marquee Mall and sure has good food. Trouble is, the prices are quite high at or just over P1,000 for the ribs. Now I just go to Jollibee and pretend-Hahaha
> 
> 
> Gene


Gene that is a great place! Because of the distance I do not get to marquee mail that often (I am near SM). I try to stay away from fried food and eat healthy, especially after having a stroke. There is too much fried food here and a lot of fat expats!


----------



## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

*Foods*



Phil_expat said:


> Gene that is a great place! Because of the distance I do not get to marquee mail that often (I am near SM). I try to stay away from fried food and eat healthy, especially after having a stroke. There is too much fried food here and a lot of fat expats!


I agree with the fried food thing. Over the last 10 years I have adjusted to much of the local foods. The ones that are not fried and that are low in salt. I still like my wifes fried chicken once a week or so but usually stick to the more healthy foods. Having kids too, it's important we feed them what is good for them most of the time.

We do get to SM once a month or so but our family prefers Marquee as it seems to be more family oriented for the most part. We drive a motor-trike and Marquee takes about 30 minutes (depending on traffic) from the house. Going to SM is about the same but we end up taking an express jeepney as I hate the traffic in Dau.


Gene


----------



## qitagaytay (May 22, 2015)

*please help*



happyhawaiian1 said:


> I am a retired chef from the US and specialize in American BBQ, Italian, and French cuisine and thinking about opening a small restaurant or carry-out...I live in Baguio City now...but moving to Angeles/Clark area in April 2013...and want to know the best locations, the cost of renting/leasing a commercial space.


I'm new here and I can't create a new post to ask this question. My family are going to Tagaytay and I wanted to ask if anyone in here knows a good restaurant in Tagaytay. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks


----------

