Isabelo's is located along a narrow street in Marikina. (Photo by Jo Avila)

Portia Dee left the glamorous world of advertising to start her own restaurant and indulge her passion for cooking.

But that’s not news. Every other entrepreneur leaves something to start something else. What is news is that Dee’s restaurant, Isabelo’s Garden, goes against some of the basic rules in business you’d have to wonder why the owner even bothers.

First rule is location. You have to be where the people are. Isabelo’s Garden isn’t. It’s in Marikina, and you’d have to find as in a quest. “We are located in a narrow street [Isabelo Mendoza Street, hence the name]. No signage. We’re at the back of some old compound. Our gate looks like something from a dilapidated factory,” says Dee. She is not kidding.

Second, the customer is always right. At Isabelo’s he is never if he just walks in as it’s a strictly-by-reservation-only “personal service” restaurant. And even if he did call, she won’t give the address; she will send him Avilaa map after he’s made his reservation. “Some clients don’t understand the whole dinner-by-reservation concept. They get irritated when I don’t give the address!” Portia exclaims. “I am very strict with my no walk-in policy. Why? Because I only buy the ingredients in the morning of your reservation and most of my dishes are pugon (stone oven)—baked for four to six hours. I don’t want people to travel all the way to Marikina and have nothing to eat [because they just walked in].”

Otherwise, Isabelo’s Garden is indeed a dream, both for Dee and the epicurians she cooks for. It’s where the pursuit of pleasure always comes to a satisfying end because the cook—Dee herself—makes sure the osso bucco beef bourguignon is slow-cooked to perfection, the signature roasted pork crackling really does give that sensation in the mouth, and the grilled pizzas never taste like they came out of a box. She’s made the restaurant truly rustic for that authentic home-cooking ambiance. It’s Dee being there the whole time. “I’m there to greet them when they arrive. They see me cook their dinner. When they leave I’m there to say goodbye. In other words—I’m a mega-butler!” Dee says.

The Risk

Dee graduated in 2001 at Assumption College with a degree in advertising and PR. She was employed in an ad agency for two years before setting up her own, which ran for a good five years. Then she quit cold turkey.

“I did not care. All I knew was I just had to get out of advertising. I wasn’t happy at all, I just had too much of it at a very young age,” she recounts. “But even then it was very clear to me that I was willing to start from scratch, that I could be happy in my heart if not in the pocket.”

Eventually she found that in cooking. It helped that the Dee family matriarch was a sort of legend in their part of Marikina, famous for her home-cooked meals and her lavish way of entertaining guests. She took off from there. Otherwise she says she is completely self-taught.

“I didn’t go to any culinary school. I just kept on reading recipe books, culinary books and Googled every possible question about a particular dish or ingredient including how to put up a restaurant, how to train waiters, kitchen layout, the works!” Dee says.

So in September 2008 Isabelo’s began, which Ondoy immediately decimated in an instant. It took three months to rebuild and slowly the word got out. “I remember the early years—I wouldn’t have any customers for two weeks. If there were, I’d only have one couple; a family of 20 would have been better to cover my entire week!” Dee recalls.

But all that has paid off. Now the food blogging community is talking about Isabelo’s, excited to tell but keep the secret at the same time. Dee’s effort not to be found easily has made her place a bounty hunt of sorts.

True Labor of Love

In Dee’s case, it wouldn’t be a cliché to say that what she’s doing is a labor of love. However, while it sounds all warm and fuzzy, the whole idea of doing business doesn’t always take to the feeling, especially when costs and profits come into play. Which is why Dee doesn’t recommend her efforts to everyone.

“It won’t bring in big money right away. In my case it took two years before people really started to discover the restaurant. You have to be prepared for that. If you’re not much of a risk-taker, stay on your job, but don’t let that stop you from doing what you love. Make your passion a business on the side. If it picks up and you think you’re ready to set out on your own, then do so,” Dee says.

To inquire or reserve, go to www.isabelogarden.com.