Restaurants in Panglao are what we're talking about today. We've eaten at a wide range of restaurants on this Philippine holiday island - both fancy and basic - and here we share our tips, along with photos.
Table of contents
Restaurants in Panglao
There are plenty of restaurants in Panglao to choose from, whether you want to eat local, Asian or even European. Here are some of our favourites.
1. Udzuki
Udzuki is a small Japanese restaurant, which is a bit secluded (though within walking distance of the centre). Marina Point Bay Resort where we lived) but where people still go because the food is so good.
The restaurant is very cosy and the staff dedicated. We were here several times and ate so good. For example, we ordered fresh spring rolls, gyoza (Japanese dumplings), sushi and yakiniku. Everything tasted great!
2. peppers
Resraurang Paprika is located at the Donatela Resort, near the small beach of Tuba Beach. The environment is very nice with greenery, small bridges over water and views of the sea. The food is also good, but the prices are high.
Most dishes at Paprika were priced at 1000 peso (about 200 kronor), which is much more than we usually pay for a dish in this country. At least we ordered a meat dish for Peter for 1100 peso, but when the waiter asked "Do you accept the price Ma'am?" I looked again. It was not 1100 peso but ... 11 000 peso (2000 kronor)!!!
We choked and suddenly became very hungry for meat. Instead it was salmon with mashed potatoes for 1000 peso, which tasted Scandinavian and was very good.
3. Sicily Italian & Wood Fire Pizza
The Sicily restaurant is located along the motorway that runs between Alona Beach and the main island of Bohol. When we parked the moped by the road, we were almost unsure whether there was a restaurant, as the signs were so worn and sad, but when we walked inwards, a nice and well-run Sicilian travel restaurant appeared, with a lovely environment.
Here we each ordered a wood-fired pizza, which was so big that we could actually have shared one. But it was really good!
4. Wonderland Sayaw Thai Food
Wonderland Sayaw Thai Food is a Thai restaurant located along the main road, close to Alona Beach. The best thing about this restaurant is that it is so cosily decorated, the atmosphere is great and the staff is friendly.
Unfortunately, the food was not very good. We ordered fresh spring rolls for starters, but the difference from the spring rolls at restaurant Udzuki was miles away. At least we got plenty of vegetables, which you don't always get.
5th Precito's Restaurant & Beer Garten
Precito's Restaurant & Beer Garten is so recently opened that it doesn't seem to be on Google maps yet. The restaurant is relatively close to the Thai restaurant, but further away from Alona beach, opposite a petrol station.
This is a fairly simple place that serves Filipino and other Asian dishes, at good prices. We ordered chicken wings and yakiniku with rice, and everything was very good.
6. A Tavola
A Tavola is an Italian, or rather Neapolitan, restaurant relatively close to Alona Beach where you can mainly eat pizza and pasta. Very good pizzas and very good lasagne! Peter was especially happy because he could order a few glasses of good wine.
We have hardly drunk any wine at all on this trip, except at this particular restaurant. Often it is not available, and if it is, it can taste terrible, or be terribly expensive. Here was the wine very good. The bill is of course a little more expensive when you order wine, but it was worth it!
7. Trudis Place
Trudis Place is one of the many places located along the beach on Alona Beach. It has a great selection of seafood. We ordered prawns, squid rings and chips. You shouldn't expect any big surprises here, but seafood by the sea is still good!
8. Yuken Mari
If you instead stroll on Dumaluan Beach / White Beach, you can sit down for a snack at Yuken Mari. Here we had spring rolls and rice for lunch, and it tasted great. There was nothing wrong with the view either!
9th Zara's Café
Last but not least, we have to mention Zara's Café. This is indeed a café and not a restaurant, but it's not just any café. Zara's Café is located on a hill on Dayo Hill Road, in Dauis, not too far from one of the bridges connecting Panglao to Bohol. The café offers a breathtaking view of the landscape - and Swedish pastries!
Zara's Café is, surprisingly, a Swedish café where you can enjoy things like cinnamon buns and almond cake, or why not a Toast Skagen? There are also salads and sandwiches on sourdough bread, and we ordered one to take with us for a lighter dinner meal. So good to eat real bread! If you visit Panglao, don't miss this little gem!
More restaurants in Panglao
Are there more restaurants in Panglao? Yes, of course there are. For example, there is a Spanish restaurant called Bougainvillea, which serves tapas and paella, but it usually closed too early in the day for us to have dinner here. There are also many simple local eateries, more restaurants along the beach, hotel restaurants and fast food outlets such as McDonalds and Jollibee.
More tips for restaurants in Panglao?
Do you have even more tips for restaurants in Panglao? If so, let us know! Do you like to eat Asian food when travelling in Asia, or do you prefer Western dishes?
More to see and do in the neighbourhood
There is of course more to What to see and do in Panglao. We can recommend a relaxed time at the Marina Point Bay Resort. You can also visit the Hinagdanan cave or make excursions to . Bohol, with The chocolate hills, ghost animal and perhaps a boat trip on the river Loboc.
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Annar Aas says:
Nice pictures, but where is your beautiful wife. Nice to follow you.
09 April 2023 - 9:02
Helena says:
Yes, good question Annar! I (Helena) photograph, and then Peter ends up in the pictures, and Peter films, and then I end up in the films .... 😜. We think about it sometimes and switch, but then we forget us .. 😂 But promise that I (Helena) was there! 😀 Wishing you a continued nice Easter!!!
09 April 2023 - 11:01
Jonathan GDM says:
Saw that the restaurant Bamboo place had craft beer from Cebu, so everything seems to be available where you are 🙂 ! looks very nice !
09 April 2023 - 19:49
Helena says:
Very interesting! We missed that place (have had time to move on now). But yes, there is a relatively large selection on Panglao, because so many tourists come there. When it comes to beer, there are usually only a few varieties that apply: San Minuel (pilsen or light) and Red Horse. But of course there are places that have a different kind of selection as well.
10 April 2023 - 0:22
BP says:
Yummie, yummie I think. But 2,000 kronor for a piece of meat is ridiculous even here. Unless you choose the Japanese meat delicacy Wagyu, that is. Are there no cattle in the Philippines? I understand that they eat mostly seafood, fish and chicken. I think you also mentioned pork at some point.
Peter understands that he longed for a glass of wine. We did the same in Barbados. Wine was very expensive there. But there were litre bottles of rum everywhere. And rum was even cheaper than CocaCola... Maybe it's the same in the Philippines.
09 April 2023 - 20:10
Helena says:
Yes, that particular dish was crazy. It must have been something special, which we did not really understand. Then the price level at that restaurant was high in general, but the other dishes were at least possible to order 😉.
There are cows in the Philippines, but you only see an occasional one. Beef can certainly be found on menus, but it is not nearly as common as chicken and pork. Chicken (manok) is hugely popular here - at home, in simple restaurants, in fancy restaurants, everywhere. Pork (baboy) is also popular! Yes, we have learnt these two words because it is written (and talked about) everywhere 🙂 .
And yes, that's exactly how it is here! Rome is very cheap, and very popular.
10 April 2023 - 0:35
Lena - good for the soul says:
Hehe, interesting that you were asked to accept the price when it was Peter who ordered (or maybe I misunderstood). We usually want to eat domestic food when we are travelling. But I understand that you long for a little more western food after such a long time.
Hug Lena
11 April 2023 - 6:25
Helena says:
So yes, hehe, good comment! It was me (Helena) who ordered for both of us so that's probably why he appealed to me ... 😉 A little weird, I get it! 🙂 And yes, we are probably a bit like that too, we want to try the local, but during a long trip like this, we get hungry for western food from time to time 😉.
11 April 2023 - 14:03