The best restaurants Mindanao

Cooking specialities.

Traditional cuisine.

Located on a hill, Paradiso Restaurant offers a superb 180-degree view of White Island's famous sandbar. It's awe-inspiring! The spot is already an excellent place to watch the sunset, and with a mango milkshake in hand or a cocktail, it's even better. As for the food, the Italian owner offers the great transalpine classics: wood-fired pizzas and pasta. The pizzas are really excellent!

Italian specialities are served in a charming setting. The service, like the kitchen, is very good.

The same principle as the restaurant cited above, cheaper.

Cugman serves delicious Philippine cuisine and seafood. This restaurant, which is unique, is highly appreciated by Filipinos for the gallant meetings.

Granted, it doesn't look like much, yet this simple, popular roadside restaurant serves an acclaimed local specialty: tuna kinilaw, a kind of raw fish or, more nicely, ceviche (tuna marinated in a sauce of vinegar, ginger, radish and onions). Cheap and delicious! Try bagaybay (fish gonads) too. For meat lovers, we serve a very good braised chicken. Don't be surprised, there's no menu: you order directly from the waiter, who will tell you what's available!

Marlyn, the owner, brings the coffee beans from Bukidnon. The restaurant is well decorated and there is a small collection of books (gifts are welcome) that can be consulted while enjoying a cereals or a calamansi juice. The owner has long worked as a guide in caves. She is very kind and a source of endless information about Camiguin. She climbed the seven volcanoes of the island and can help you find a guide.

It is renowned for its service and good atmosphere. The kitchen is in a wooden house with a single tree.

Located in the hills, the Jack's Ridge restaurant is renowned for its superb view of Davao and its gulf. It's no surprise that the place was garrisoned by Japanese forces during the Second World War, when the Americans landed. The restaurant retains some elements of this history in its decor. On the plate, varied and delicious Filipino cuisine: grilled tuna, sinigang, lechon... Also ideal for an evening drink.

Expensive but high quality. It is possible to order any Philippine dish.

Located on the fourth floor of a shopping mall, this is one of the best restaurants in town. It serves authentic Mindanao cuisine. It's actually a chain of restaurants, and this one has no particular decoration, it's more like a stall in a food court. Don't miss: the homemade soup, sabaw ng mandaragat, with blue crab, shrimp, shellfish and fish fillet. A real delight! Fresh fish, kinilaw and squid galore. Authentic, high-quality dishes at reasonable prices.

Think of a canteen, but it's a very popular place.

Established for many years in Zamboanga, Mano-Mano is a very good popular restaurant! With its bamboo and nippa roof, it always seems to be crowded. People come here mainly for seafood and fish, but you'll also find all the Filipino specialties based on pork and chicken (adobo, crispy pata, pancit...). Dishes are served on bamboo plates covered with large banana leaves. The al fresco veranda lets in a gentle breeze that's not to be sniffed at!

This is undoubtedly one of Zamboanga's most popular restaurants. The establishment is renowned for its bagoong and curacha (endemic shellfish), as well as for its seafood platters arranged on banana leaves, in the Filipino fashion known as boodle fight. They are as beautiful visually as they are tasty. You can dine al fresco, in the shaded patio at the back. Service can be a little slow, but no one's in a hurry, right?

They serve fine Japanese dishes.

Situated on the main road, with a lovely elevated terrace, Siargao Corner is both a café and a restaurant. You come here for delicious waffles - rumor has it that this is the place to eat the best waffles on the island - sweet and savory, accompanied by a cup of coffee. And when you see the long list of coffees (vanilla frappé, flat white, Vietnamese iced coffee, caramel latte...), it would be a shame to settle for an espresso. As for waffles, we really like the bacon-avocado-egg waffle and the fruit waffle. A real treat!

Part bakery, part tea/coffee shop and part restaurant, this establishment has been renowned in Dipolog for many years. Their specialties are first and foremost pastries (trompe-l'oeil cakes, mango-caramel cake, carrot cake, halo-halo, ice creams and, of course, a host of milkshakes). On the savoury side, you'll find all the classic Filipino dishes, as well as a wide selection of salads, pastas and well-stocked sandwiches at low prices. You can also have breakfast here. A no-frills, low-cost address.

Here, you can eat indoors or on wooden pontoons directly on the lagoon (you'll have to pay an extra 150 PHP), local style! As a seafood restaurant, fish is king here. You'll find almost anything depending on the catch of the day (squid, crabs, prawns, various grilled fish), and the freshness of the produce is undeniable! The more adventurous can take a zip-line ride while waiting for their meal, while others can admire the view and sip an excellent buko, the national coconut drink.

Located on the first floor of the Red Planet Hotel, this is a restaurant that celebrates fresh seasonal and mainly local produce. Breakfast is excellent. You can choose from juices and smoothies to fill you up with vitamins, or homemade waffles with bacon and fresh fruit. As for the food, it's more of a Western cuisine, with a selection of pastas, burgers, fish and chips, as well as meats and seafood. We like the cosy atmosphere and the designer interior.