Yoghurt House: everyone’s Sagada favorite

If you ask anybody who’s been to Sagada on where’s the best place to eat there, chances are you’re going to hear them recommend the well-loved Yoghurt House. Because yoghurt is, like, so uso like that. The prices are kinda steep for a restaurant in the mountains, but if you compare it to the food in Manila, it’s pretty affordable with generous servings to boot.

Don’t let the photo above fool you, since it’s probably the most popular diner in town, it gets full pretty fast and you’ll have to wait outside until seats become available. However, this is the perfect image to show you just how cozy and warm Yoghurt House is! Where else can you find an actual fireplace being used in a resto in the Philippines?!

The place is hard to miss because of it’s striking signage that stands out from the rest of establishments in Sagada. First floor is where the kitchen and counter is located, and on the floor above it, more dining tables and balcony seats can be found.

Oh hello there Roasted Chicken and Pasta!

But it’s not just the interior that makes this place worth visiting cause people actually come here for the food. Set your budget to mid-range and get ready to shell out around P150 – P200 for a complete meal. So if you’re staying in Sagada for several days and you insist on coming back to this place to eat like we did, I suggest you prepare a whole lotta moolah just for food. In fact, every time I go to Sagada, I spend more money on eating than the accommodation and tours combined! Just goes to show how awesome the food is in Sagada.

I would vouch for their pastas, and vegetable rice, and baked chicken… heck just order anything and I’m sure you will love it. Just writing about this post makes me want to go back there right now. Ugh. #Arte

Like I said earlier, servings are huge and can be shared by 2 people which might save you some cash. But I would go against it. BE SELFISH AND GLUTTONOUS! After all the trekking and climbing you did for the day, you deserve to indulge on a mighty meal! I tried sharing a dish with a friend and ended up feeling sad because I wanted more.

During our first night in Sagada, in an attempt to save some money, I ordered this Vegetable Rice with Tuna to share with a friend. I remember back in ’06, this dish changed my life and made me start eating vegetables because of how they cooked their greens. I despise veggies but this dish made me a believer and I’ve been eating vegetables since then and every time I go to Sagada, I make sure that this is the first dish I eat. It looks simple and generic but you’ll eat it up because of the fresh vegetables.

There’s a reason why I wanted to drag everyone here during the first night aside from the wonderful food. Since I would be celebrating my birthday in the next few days, I wanted to treat everyone for some yoghurt! Wooooo birthday! I treated them with any yoghurt of their choice that’s within the P85 price range because I’m still on a tight budget for this trip. I told everyone that if they wanted something over P85 then they should just pay the additional.

As for me, I got their house specialty and most expensive one. Hahaha! The Yoghurt with Strawberry, Banana and Granola. The taste is quite different from the ones we are used to here in Manila because this was home-made. It’s a little more sour and it’s not frozen, but still a nice treat after a hearty dinner.

You need to be warned though that it takes them an awful lot of time to prepare the food especially during peak seasons where the place is packed. So if you’re really hungry, I suggest you bring a cracker or two for everyone because it could take to an hour before your food gets served.

But they’re not the only ones like that. One common denominator about the restos in Sagada is that it takes them ages to prepare their food because everything is cooked fresh. The food is worth the wait, trust me.

You can even buy their home-made yoghurt and bring it back to Manila as long as you can keep it refrigerated for the trip. They also sell oatmeal cookies which you can bring as pasalubong but it’s also kinda pricey already.

This is the perfect place to relax and unwind due to its warm ambience. Back in 2010, me and my friends went here directly after arriving in Sagada and had a satisfying lunch before we checked in to our inn. Yoghurt House is also the best place to eat after you endure the Cave Connection, but for as long as you’re willing to wait.

I heard they also serve the best breakfast in town but I have yet to experience it. Will I see you again next year? :D

Photos by Byron Datinguinoo, Cai Abbass, and Marx Velasco.