Vista Del Lago - Laoag

Beautiful hidden gem of a resto at the border of the paoay lake. good traditional Ilocano gift for cheap trips. closes at 8 o'clock, so it's a deal breaker. the pinakbet with bagnet is a must order. also has a coffee shop with a look deck with a look at paoay lake, so I think it has beautiful vistas since we never have the chance to try it as it was already dark and almost 8pm.

The day and nightime view of Paoay Lake especially in the 2nd floor veranda is very refreshing. More so in the late afternoon where you can appreciate the shape of the mountains and the lake.The Ilocano cuisine was fine especialy their Laoag crunchy paper thin ukoy. The owner Sam Blas is a very friendly guy and owns three other restaurants one in Laoag and one beside Paoay Church. Its worth including this place when you visit Ilocos Norte.

The restaurant and its dishes are great. The traditional food that Paoay offers are served with Mexican twists. It also has a panoramic view of Paoay Lake, hence the restaurant's name (Vista means view while del lago roughly means of the lake).

Great view on Paoay Lake. Not so good on cooking. (Overcooked Pinakbet)

The restaurant has a good atmosphere and friendly service, but the food is overly salty. The ygado and bagnet kare kare were both very salty, to the point where we didn't even need to use the bagoong alamang for extra flavor. The kare kare tasted more like salty ginisang gulay with bagnet and lacked the traditional aroma and taste of roasted nuts and rice. It would be helpful for the kitchen staff to taste the food before serving it. Our visit was yesterday around 1pm.