Where to eat in Dumaguete

Where to eat in Dumaguete

1. Eat

   Allegre

   A large restaurant offering mainly Italian and Filipino dishes. Highest prices in town for pasta. Pool table downstairs, table is in better shape than at the one at Why Not? and there are usually fewer players competing for it.

2. Eat

   Ayla's Breakfast Restaurant

   Red tables

   A good variety of breakfast dishes, including some less common ones like eggs benedict or biscuits & gravy, plus a few other things like chile con carne. They rent the space from the municipality which sets limits on their prices, so they have the cheapest beer in the region at PHP 40.

3. Eat

   Bo's Coffee

   A national chain with several locations in Dumaguete, serving mainly coffee & baked goods. Prices are high by local standards.

4. Eat

   Cafe Antonio

   Fantastic wide-ranging menu, very reasonable prices, lovely chilled out studenty vibe and a great building to host it. Quite honestly a breath of fresh air in the Philippines. Wonderful coffee too!

5. Eat

   Cafe Mafioso

   Another Italian place, good quality and cheaper than most of the others, with pasta dishes around PHP 140.

6. Eat

   Cafe Racer

   A diner in the style of mid-20th century America. Decor includes some old cars and a gorgeous motorcycle; the bar is built inside an old VW van. Menu to match; decent burgers, small but excellent milkshakes, etc. Live music sometimes.

7. Eat

   Casablanca

   European food, elegant décor, and a good wine list. Their patio is above street level and has a wall, so customers here are not bothered by beggars or street vendors as often as at other establishments. There are several breakfast options starting at PHP 230, all including unlimited coffee and a glass of juice. The American breakfast at PHP 295 is bacon, two eggs, bread, and some fried tomatoes and onions. The Austrian owner/chef sold the place to Filipinos in 2021 and some say it has gone downhill since then.

   open for breakfast at 6:30AM

8. Eat

   Chin Loong

   Good Chinese (Cantonese) food, with reasonable service and prices. Large covered patio.

9. Eat

   Chow King

   A chain offering moderately-priced Chinese (mainly Cantonese) food. Pork or beef fried rice, with four shui mai (small noodle-wrapped pork items) and a soft drink, PHP 99.

10. Eat

    Fish153

    Korean restaurant and grocery store. Neighborhood has a few other restaurants and some guesthouses.

11. Eat

    Flip-Flops Restobar

    Large shaded patio, big TV with sports, live band Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Open mic on Tuesdays, acoustic performances or karaoke other nights.

12. Eat

    Food Net

    Food Net are a chain with several locations around town. They have cafeteria-style service, Filipino food, moderate prices and a largely student crowd. A basic meal — meat dish, veggie dish, rice, soft drink — is about PHP 90.

13. Eat

    GameOn Sportsbar

    Small and plain compared to other places, with no a/c but many fans, big-screen TVs for sports, sometimes live music.

14. Eat

    Gerry's Bar and Grill

    A fine old house renovated in 2018 to become a large restaurant. Part of a large chain with reasonable quality but some unreasonable prices.

15. Eat

    Gyro Monsters

    Cheap and tasty shawarma; the best seller is beef or chicken shawarma wrapped in pita at PHP 30, or 35 with cheese. The most expensive thing on the menu is shawarma rice for PHP 50; two of the sandwiches are a better buy.If you expect shawarma as you would find it in the Middle East, you will be disappointed here. For that, at slightly higher prices, walk a block north to Mediterranean Food (Turkish, listed at ) or go to Tarbush (Lebanese, ).

    Mon-Sat 10AM to 9PM

16. Eat

    Halang Halang

    Excellent Sichuan food, authentic so much of it is very spicy.

17. Eat

    Happy Jack's Restobar

    Restobar serving cold drinks and both Asian and Western food. Full meals plus a mix and match bar snack menu. Billiard and poker tables plus live music on a couple of nights.

    11AM-10PM

18. Eat

    Harbour City Dim Sum

    Many types of dim sum, plus various soups and rice or noodle dishes.

    PHP 40-90 per dish

19. Eat

    Hayahay Bar

    Large and popular. Often has live music, reggae every Wednesday. There are several separate places selling food within the complex; one has good pizza and another offers fine Jamaican food.

20. Eat

    Jo's Chicken Inato

    Part of a chain specializing in barbeque chicken. Favorite among locals and tourists.

21. Eat

    La Cocina by Beth

    Run by a Filipino chef who trained in Mexico. If you like flavorful food, there are Mexican dishes. Cold drinks and margaritas, fresh lemonades, the only air conditioned restaurant in the town with a perfect view.

    closed on Mon

22. Eat

    Lantaw

    A large place with upmarket Filipino food, much of it seafood. Popular with prosperous locals and with seafood-loving foreigners. Possibly the best place in town to take a Filipina out to dinner; she will probably both like the food and be impressed by the decor.

23. Eat

    MELs Cafe

    This place serves and advocates healthy food, has a certified nutritionist supervising the food. It is small and a bit difficult to find, but worth the trouble. Serves great four season themed salads, a variety of scrumptious sandwiches and unique rice meals like CoFFeeCHoP (pork chop marinated in coffee) or their cheesy delightful fish dish called 'cheesy dory' a favorite among the locals. You can also try their Butter beer in variety of flavors, including vanilla and banana. It is the only place in town that serves beer (non-alcoholic) to minors.

    PHP 30-100

24. Eat

    Mediterranean Food

    Good Turkish kebabs and donair. They have distinctly unexciting hamburgs for PHP 30.

    9AM-10PM·most dishes PHP 80-140

25. Eat

    Mifune

    Japanese restaurant. All-you-can eat buffet PHP 333, Tu & Sa evenings.

26. Eat

    Mooon Cafe

    The 3rd 'o' in the name is deliberate

    Part of a chain that advertises "Mexican-inspired" food. They offer that, various pizza and pasta dishes, and other western dishes; most of it is done competently. Good soups PHP 59, burrito PHP 139 (quite good, provided you tell them not to put lettuce in it!), pizza from PHP 165, small but good steak PHP 300. The best-buy drink is bottomless iced tea at PHP 58. Other dishes, such as the "nachos" (overpriced chips & salsa) or the "enchiladas" (a salad served in a tortilla), are distinctly unimpressive. Senior's discount 20% but you may need the Philippines senior's ID to claim it; sometimes they will take an ACR card, but not always.

27. Eat

    Octagon Sports Bar

    Big-screen TV mostly showing sports. Live music and PHP 250 all-you-can-eat BBQ on weekend evenings.

28. Eat

    Panda Ice Cream House

    Locally-produced fresh fruit ice cream. Try the fried ice cream! This is a chain with several locations in Dumaguete and a few in nearby towns.

29. Eat

    Paseo Perdices

    A building with two floors, built on the location of the Perdices family home; one family member was the provincial governor and has one of the town's main streets named for him. There are two levels, and the lower level has a large shaded central courtyard.

30. Eat

    Pasta King

    Pizza and many pasta dishes, done very well. Pasta in two serving sizes, around PHP 179 or 319. The small one will be enough for most people, perhaps with a soup or salad if you are quite hungry.

    Mon-Sat 11AM-9PM, Sun 4-9PM

31. Eat

    Poppy Coffee and Cupcakes

    In a Silliman University building called Portal West which also has a bank, Scooby's, and several other shops. They also have sandwiches and a breakfast menu.

32. Eat

    Roti Boss

    Indian and Malay food. Small, no a/c, a limited menu, and rather slow service. It is well worth putting up with these minor annoyances, though, since the food is good and prices moderate.

    PHP 50-150

33. Eat

    Sans Rival

    One of the oldest cake shops in the city. They occupy a pair of buildings on a corner with the cake shop in the smaller one on the side street and "Sans Rival Bistro" on Rizal.

34. Eat

    Scooby's

    Scooby's is a chain with various locations around town. Their brewed coffee at PHP 50 is both a larger serving and (at least for some tastes) better quality than most coffee offered on Rizal Boulevard at PHP 70-120. They also have all the usual variations on espresso, several types of herbal tea, a range of mostly western-style baked goods, and moderately-priced mostly Filipino hot foods. There is a seniors' discount if you have a Philippine senior ID. ACR card not accepted.For Western tastes, most Filipino spaghetti sauces are appallingly sweet, and many will find the spaghetti here downright ghastly. Order the lasagna here (PHP 55) or go to Filomena for a much better cheap (PHP 45) spaghetti. For excellent pasta at considerably higher prices, try Mafioso or Pasta King.

    7:30AM-10PM

35. Eat

    Tarbush

    Two Lebanese brothers running a small place for Middle Eastern food. Good shawarma and juices.

36. Eat

    Tom 'n Tom's Coffee

    Part of a chain, large with nice decor. Has good air conditioning, free Wifi, and a good selection of both baked goods and variations on the theme of espresso. Prices might be considered good by tourists but are high by local standards.

37. Eat

    Wah Crepe

    A small stand selling coffee, crepes, waffles & fruit shakes. All are freshly made and good quality; plum crepes and avocado shakes are remarkable. Best buy is a combo, shake plus waffle. It is only one of a group of food stands, so ordering a shake here and getting food elsewhere is possible. The place is popular with the town's resident foreigners; it gets more younger ones and fewer drunks than their other hangouts.

    9AM-6:30PM·PHP 50-80 for most items

38. Eat

    Why Not?

    One-stop shopping? Restaurant, deli, disco, karaoke, cyber cafe, billiard room, and travel agent under one roof. Beer here is sometimes among the cheapest in town, at PHP 42 in the restaurants in the afternoon, but higher at other times and PHP 90 at the disco.

39. Eat Not mapped

    7-Eleven

    Chain convenience store with a few tables; the best-selling item is a large soft ice cream cone for PHP 15. It also sells soft drinks, snacks and cigarettes; for those it is more expensive than supermarkets but cheaper than the bars. The chain is expanding; there are several other locations around town and more coming.

40. Eat Not mapped

    Bakery

    A range of espresso variants and baked goods, done well enough that the regulars include a group of European French speakers. One of very few places in town that sell bagels. Cheapest brewed coffee downtown at PHP 36, though some people prefer Scooby's at PHP 50 for larger cups and better chairs.

Browse all 109 places in Dumaguete

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Dumaguete (CC BY-SA 4.0).