Red Cactus Restobar: Magsaysay Ave., Naga City

Red Cactus Restobar 
Magsaysay Ave., Naga City 

We were supposed to dine at Anelle’s  but it was full packed, 
so we ended up in Red Cactus, its next- door neighbor. 

Red Cactus Restobar is a beautiful open air restaurant

that gives you a feeling that you are in a seaside cabana,

…where the stage backdrop had a panoramic image

of a serene coconut tree- lined seaside sunset scenery.

I was expecting a sultry desert oasis or western inspired

interiors, rather than the tropical beachfront ambiance, and

this made us wonder what the Red Cactus name stands for.

Since Red Cactus is positioned as a restobar and not a full-

dining restaurant, the menu was limited to three categories:  

Bar Chow, Pica- Pica (or finger foods) and Drinks.

They serve rice for those who wanted to dine though.

We ordered Crispy Maskara, which is a pork dish taken from

the pig’s face and fried to crispy perfection. It was very delicious,

but it was scary to eat as it was reeking with grease  and fat and

I could smell the delicious aroma of heart attack in a platter.

We were looking for a vegetable dish and there was none,

so we settled for the Sizzling Mushroom. My wife found

the dish salty. I didn’t notice it, since it was so hot and spicy

as it was cooked with both red and green pepper and I had

to eat it with lots and lots or rice to be palatable. It was good.

We all loved the Seafood Platter, that had Shrimp Tempura,

Crispy Breaded Fish, and Calamari, served with a perfectly

concocted Mayo Dip. We found the servings rather small and

limited and gobbled up every bits and pieces of the delicious dish. 

The Buttered Chicken was the best, as it was juicy and

tender and one would enjoy the buttery after taste in every

bite. Unlike other local briny versions of buttered chicken,

this Red Cactus version is so flavorsome and not salty at all.

We unexpectedly had a wonderful

dinner in Red Cactus Restobar,

…and I hope they would broaden their menu and go beyond

the bar chow and finger foods and include more dishes,

 

.... to give us enough reason to return
 to this wonderful new restaurant.