van gogh is bipolar

the best in maginhawa. quite pricey but the taste proves it deserves to be priced that way. i love the theme ( very rustic). this is a definite must try.

if you're looking for something different, organic, and healthy chow, or warm customer service, go find van gogh. thank you google map by the way 😀

healthy and weird. the food feels really clean, healthy and expensive. but however great the food is, you really go to this restaurant for the experience. hated tho how you have to clean up after yourself and serve yourself and pay so much. the staff were delightful. the space felt cramped and dirty but it was verrrry clean. i'm always happy, but this place makes the happiness more definite.

i have been going to this sanctuary since 2011. not one experience has disappointed me. except extraneous factors like traffic.

moving on. the dining experience is something to savor. no menu is the same as it evolves over time based on jetro's experiences, crops in season, and the diner's choices and preferences. everything is customized after all.

the restaurant's vibe is one of a kind. eccentric but welcoming. much like the menu, the interiors are constantly evolving with new knickknacks from travels and contributions of fellow cuckoos.

service is at a slow pace but each dish is made to be savored. worth the wait. and yes, self-service from the window.

i have been coming back here for years. i would recommend visiting as often as possible.

my friend and i had dinner here last night. it's not my first time around this compound (in 154 maginhawa) but it's my first time to eat in this restaurant. without reading much about this place, i felt that figuring out how to get in was already a struggle (in a good way, though), which i won't divulge anymore because, i think, this is part of the experience, too.

with a very rustic theme and a whole lot of quirk (hence, the reference to van gogh and actually the whole name itself), this is definitely a one-of-a-kind restaurant. i've mentioned in a past review how i appreciate a restaurant pulling off its intended theme and i think this is the epitome of nailing one!

the food was amazing, the diy mood-altering tea section, the soup and the dessert (we had the sinful, btw) were all new to us and we loved it!

since this isn't a typical budget-friendly restaurant along maginhawa, i think this is definitely a go-to place if friends or couples do not just want to eat out but experience dining in a different level -- the van gogh level.

place is great. food is great. people are great. everything is great about vgib. not much to say. just try it. you will never regret that you did😊

super eccentric place. you get to put hats on and their tea is amazing. they gave us their "welcome tea" and it was served in a tiny cup in an intricate metal sleeve. it was a heavenly citrus cup of tea.

we got their omnivore option 3 course meal. it comes with being able to make your own tea! they have so much kinds of tea, even mango leaf tea. the servings were huge. it was lamb with brown rice covered with pink petals, mangoes, lettuce and banana chips. it looked so bizarre but it's so good. i got mine medium rare so it was tender, my friend got well done (out of fear) so he didn't enjoy it as much.

for dessert, we were asked if we wanted naughty or nice. we got naughty and it was cayenne pepper with absinthe and chocolate. they burned the pepper and the absinthe in a pit and it was the best shot i've had in my life. you get to dip the dark chocolate in the peppery shot. funny it was so strong it actually killed my bad breathe. it's so good!! get the naughty. (edit: it's sinful)

the place is so arty and they have cats. you can write on the cr walls. it's really like being inside van gogh's head, a little crazy but it's so profound.

this place is very special and i suggest you go here at least once in your life.

what a "van gogh" experience! i really wanted to visit this place and finally, had a chance to. its the perfect place for friends who wanted to dine with a whole lot of trivias, activities, healing teas, chitchats, and surprises 😍 food was really healthy and delicious with big servings. i personally recommend the 'experience' set menu. i chose the mid spicy fish meal. ambience was so relaxed and calming. place was clean and gave a 'at home' feeling (take your shoes off!)
i thought i was in wonderland. price was reasonable (food+service+ambience+entertainment). definitely my chill place.
p.s. i loved their tea pots 😍

i’m willing to bet that almost everyone has heard of this resto and those who have actually eaten here would rave about it being the best meal they've had. at least that's how we felt after a super satisfying, delicious and interesting meal and an equally interesting conversation with the chef owner of van gogh who told stories about his backpacking days in europe. i’ve read maybe one or two reviews that feel otherwise. but those hard to please people are not important.van gogh seems like the perfect dining experience.

the owner doesn't take life and himself too seriously. but he's thankful for the life he has now. according to him, moods can change with an addition of a certain ingredient. and almost all can be dressed up or down with a hat. he has a collection of hats, berets, fedoras and other head pieces.

there are so many things worth mentioning but perhaps making my own tea is on my list of things i’d like to take on after my visit here.

thanks for the free soup and dessert that you lovingly made for my daughter. we'll be back soon.

sorry for the blurry photos.

it was one restaurant visit i’ll never forget and live to share for a very long time. van gogh is bipolar goes beyond food and incorporates a full experience of self healing as well. its self service and they give you a handbook on what to do. still the personnel around you doesn’t leave you behind especially for first timers like me. i got to pick my own hat, my choice of tea and even write a letter to my ‘beloved’ on top of a picking your food.

i went all the way from the south just to try this restaurant i've been hearing about for a long time. i'm glad i did because it was an unforgettable experience! i got the experience meal which had the notable egg shot which was the most adventurous meal in the resto according to jetro (yeah of course i had to take a picture with him). i loved everything they served: soup, salmon with forbidden rice and salad, and the sinful dessert!

perfect place to dine if you're on a date 😊 share the experience with someone special. you won't regret it!

prologue
i wanted to hang out with a couple of friends, and decided to go with them to this restaurant, which i heard was very good.

food 4/5
the food is excellent, albeit foreign (it included french chocolate and alcoholic beverages), and it was nice to see how they catered to various tastes including fish eaters and vegans. better prepare your wallet though, and don't be surprised if they don't have a price list, as the purchase is on a per-course rather than per-item basis.

service 5/5
we had an excellent chemistry going on with the crew, from the lady attending to us, to the cooks.

ambience 5/5
the restaurant's ambience really took me to a different land, and the overall experience was excellent.

total score 4.3 out of 5

epilogue
you pay for the experience, first and foremost. and for the experience alone, i highly recommend van gogh is bipolar. add to that the food, i see no reason for anyone to not try this place at least once in their lives. must go! 😊

it was a different kind of experience dining at van gogh is bipolar. i've seen alot of positive reviews about the place that's why we chose to celebrate our valentine's dinner at vgib.
when we got there, the place was full so we had to wait in the garden (no reservations needed that time). we never mind waiting because we're too busy doodling art and we were also offered with a welcome tea called holy water.
we tried the experience feast that is with soup, appetizer, main course, dessert and drink. i've also read that there's a free organic tea on the menu but we never had any.
i'm just kinda sad because they forgot to serve us the soup :( we also forgot to inform them since we're too much overwhelmed with the food and ambience of the place.
above all, the food was great!!! i love the organic ice cream and would love to try it again and again and again. 😄 sir jetro rafael was also there when we visited so a major bonus for us. 😁 they were very accommodating and we love how they tell stories about sir jetro, the place and the food we ordered lol. we would definitely come back to try other offers on the menu.

i got to visit van gogh is bipolar (vgib) with my date in sikatuna village, quezon city recently and i would say that this restaurant visit is something i'll never forget and would rave about to people for a long time. van gogh is bipolar goes beyond food and dining services, as they encourage their customers to experience self healing while inside their restaurant.

here at vgib, customers must do self service. their staff would first provide you with a handbook that will guide you on what to do while inside their restaurant. in spite of the "self service" rule here, their personnel would assist you, especially if it's your first time in their resto. here, i got to pick my own hat and tea, and even got to write out a letter to my "beloved one," aside from trying out their food.

i had my serving of delicious hot soup, which is for me, the best item on their menu which i had the chance of getting my hands into. aside from their pescetarian and vegetarian meal offerings, i opted to have something with meat. so i had one of vgib's entrees, which has red rice, veggies, flower petals, and well-marinated chicken.

besides eating, there was this sort of ritual which we had to do in vgib, and it involves drinking two cocktail shots. one has an egg yolk in it while the other one was just pure alcohol. just before having them drinks, i muttered "nostrovia," which is a russian word for "cheers!" and had a toast with my date.

vgib also has a museum. to add to that, they also have this eccentric, dark room which happens to be a comfort room, ant it surely looks creepy. i even told vgib's staff that their loo just scares the hell out of me.

this lovely experience at vgib was ended with a hug from their personnel. i felt very much at home at vgib, given the warm accommodation their friendly staff has provided me. i was fascinated with a lot of things at vgib, and i hope that by reading this blog of mine, you get to be encouraged to also visit this place.

cheers to self healing! :-)

i don't know how to describe the total experience of dining in this pretty interesting place. we tried out experience (set meal at 999) where in we got served with an appetizer, soup, main course and dessert with drinks of course. they let you choose from non spicy - mild spicy to spicy, then if you are veggie person or a meaty person. i am a non spicy meaty person. the appetizer was interesting where they used an egg yolk with a kick of italian liquor. then we had soup which tasted like a fusion of arroz caldo and lugaw. i had beef for main with salad and black rice. then our life server asked us for dessert, i opted for wholesome where i got coconut ice cream while the rest from our table ordered the sinful which involved some absinthe with a dark chocolate chaser. i guess i was really in it for the experience and the ambiance. good job!!!!