Restaurants in The Visayas
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Bamboo Lounge
This new restaurant, part of the same compound as the boutique Freckles hotel, serves an interesting mix of food, mostly Asian, including dim sum, spare ribs, and Peking duck. It has a stylish dining area on the 1st floor and a bar open till 02:00 upstairs.
reviewed
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Mañana Mexican Cuisine
There are only three tables on the beach path here but the sombreros and terracotta plates tell you this is a Mexican restaurant. Serves big tasty dishes such as burritos, tortillas, and top-of-the-line fruit shakes.
reviewed
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Samyz Pizza Bar & Restaurant
An air-conditioned refuge in the middle of town, Samyz Pizza Bar & Restaurant has cable TV and a wide-ranging menu, even if the cheese on the pizzas seems suspiciously unnatural. Come here to use the internet with no obligation to order a meal. Look for the flight of stairs behind the rows of tricycles: you’ll find Samyz on the 2nd floor.
reviewed
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Persian Palate
A popular franchise dishing up generous helpings of reasonably authentic Indian and Middle Eastern food. It advertises spicy food, but even the ‘hot’ curries are quite mild. Its menu includes a rarity in Cebu City – a large vegetarian selection. Other branches exist at Ayala Center and Crossroads in Lahug.
reviewed
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B
Our Place
A favourite haunt of foreign blokes, Our Place is a grimy hideaway decorated with pub kitsch. There is a well-stocked bar and a good international menu featuring plenty of red meat.
reviewed
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Real Coffee & Tea Café
Real Coffee & Tea Café, next to the Bom Bom Bar, is a good place for fresh coffee and all-day breakfasts and omelettes.
reviewed
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Tinder Box
Just adjacent to Crossroads proper, the Tinder Box is a genteel delicatessen and restaurant. Make this the last place you visit in Cebu, lest you find yourself returning compulsively to browse for imported French vinegar, Australian gouda, cave-aged gruyère, Swiss yoghurt and Belgian chocolate. The Australian steak (P825) is extraordinary, as are the lamb shanks braised in cabernet sauvignon. Vegetarians will have to settle for the fancy cheese platters (P150 to P350). Groups of five or more should book ahead for a table in the atmospheric wine cellar room.
reviewed
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Mr A
Can be reached by following the road to Tops Lookout. A favourite with the well-heeled patrons of the Waterfront, it features a terrace with a sweeping view of Cebu City that is arguably superior to Tops. Unlike the view, we found the Filipino/international food nothing to write home about. (If it's the view you crave, a quiet drink will serve the purpose.) It's 40 minutes by taxi, which will cost you around P400 including the wait - or you can include it in your Tops itinerary.
reviewed
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Trattoria Uma
No doubt about it, this is the most sophisticated place to dine in Bacolod, with prices to match. The distressed country-kitchen-style tables and rustic outdoor dining allow you to enjoy top cuisine without feeling the need to dress up. In stark contrast is its sibling Cafe Uma (open 7.30am to 10.30pm) around the corner, with modern tables, a classy magazine display and the most decadent breakfast menu we’ve seen. Try the rib-eye tapa steak and eggs for a casual P800.
reviewed
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Village
For high-class, international-style dining you can't go past the two minimalls in the 'foothills' of the Waterfront Hotel, the Village and Crossroads. A metered taxi from Fuente Osmeña will cost you around P50 to around P60. The Village is a little downmarket of Crossroads. It features a range of schmick, look-alike restobars including Yo! Latino, with a Spanish/Mexican menu and live bands every night.
reviewed
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Driftwood City Restaurant
Driftwood City Restaurant is affiliated with Driftwood Village Resort at Sugar Beach, and serves up tasty Italian treats by the sea. It’s particularly famous for its pizzas. From here you can also organise boat service from Poblacion to Sugar Beach (maximum 10 people), which saves you the irritation of dealing with boat transport scammers. Book ahead.
reviewed
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Rai Rai Ken
Ayala Center is a shopping mall with a surprising array of decent food outlets. The most grown-up are in the Food & Entertainment Area, in the north wing of the mall. Enter by the door 50m south of the corner of Mindanao Ave and Bohol St to findRai Rai Ken a restaurant with contemporary Japanese cuisine.
reviewed
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Cyma
This is a terrific Greek restaurant with simply sensational salads and all the authentic tastes you could wish for, from flaming salty cheese to grilled lamb to eggplant dips and pitta bread. It’s at the top end as far as prices go, but worth every delicious mouthful. Service is slick and professional, and the Mediterranean-blue dining room is welcoming.
reviewed
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Dos Mestizos
A Spanish restaurant, favoured by local restaurateurs when they go out to eat. Authentic paella, bean soups and hearty stews make this quite a different taste sensation to most of the food on offer elsewhere on the island. Look out for the special P400 all-you-can-eat tapas nights. It’s just off the beach at boat station two, behind the Tourist Center.
reviewed
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Garden Cafe
A wonderfully fun cowboy-themed restaurant that employs deaf waiters. The menu – which includes a beginner’s guide to sign language – is chock-full of good ol’ Yankee fare, from fried chicken to onion rings and burgers. Choose your order and dial it straight through to the kitchen from tableside phones as you enjoy the decor and cheesy country music.
reviewed
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Don Henrico’s
Ayala Center is a shopping mall with a surprising array of decent food outlets. The most grown-up are in the Food & Entertainment Area, in the north wing of the mall. Enter by the door 50m south of the corner of Mindanao Ave and Bohol St to findDon Henrico’s which does decent pizzas and pasta.
reviewed
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Cainget Fish Grill
Something of a well-kept secret – continue about a block north of La Roca on Graham Ave and look for the small sign on your left. Follow the steps down to a simple platform out on the water, where you can choose fresh seafood from the display and tell the chef how you want it cooked. Try to arrive bang on 5pm, ahead of the sunset.
reviewed
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Casablanca
Run by a charismatic Austrian, Casablanca is fine dining minus the fuss. Healthy, creative dishes appear from the kitchen almost instantly, and there is a good choice of exotic beers to wash them down with. Pay attention to the specials board – whenever organic vegetables are obtainable, they end up here as something exquisite.
reviewed
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Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant
There is no better place to challenge an ambivalence towards Filipino cuisine. Chefs conjure up exquisite regional delicacies from all over the country, with an emphasis on Cebuano specialities such as manok halang halang (spicy chicken soup). Long tables and colonial-era lattice windows create an informal atmosphere.
reviewed
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Payag
Don’t like Filipino food? Prepare to be converted. Associated with the Jo’s Chicken Inato chain, Payag restaurant is in a lovingly renovated Spanish-era home with a few quirky additions, such as wall-mounted tropical fish tanks. Everything on the menu is excellent (we checked), but the sizzling gambas are to die for.
reviewed
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Bo's Coffee Club
The Philippine version of Starbucks, even down to decor, logo and cookies, this is one of the only places you'll find good espressos, and also a typical Americano range. Popular with young Filipinos, it's a good air-conditioned escape from the steaming streets. Other locations include Omeña Blvd and Ayala Center.
reviewed
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Sweet Greens Restaurant
Despite the evocative name this is not a vegie bar, but it still has a reasonable array of vegetarian salads and soups. The emphasis in this peaceful homely place is on good Negrense food with a contemporary twist. Try the Masskara Medley salad, which has chicken chunks, mango, lettuce and a native vinegar dressing.
reviewed
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Persian Palate
A popular franchise dishing up generous helpings of reasonably authentic Indian and Middle Eastern food, Persian Palate advertises spicy meals, but even the 'hot' curries are quite mild. Its menu includes a rarity in Cebu City - a large vegetarian selection. There are branches at Mango Plaza and on Gen Maxilom Ave.
reviewed
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La Reserve Restaurant
Foodies consider La Reserve, next to the Red Coconut Resort, to be the best restaurant on Boracay. It is certainly the priciest. It serves continental cuisine and seafood such as green lobster and royal king crabs, with a good selection of wine and champagne. Try eating outside in the charming garden area.
reviewed
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AA BBQ
Vegetarians have nowhere to hide at this popular outdoor chain restaurant where diners choose their own raw meat and have it charcoal grilled on the spot (let the staff know if you don’t want it slathered in spicy sauce). This is a top spot for a chilled beer after an evening stroll along Fort San Pedro.
reviewed
