Best Restaurants in Cebu

[Faluango 119]

A place where you can get good quality European foods is at William Ninoys Payag, it's not a top restaurant but just a British bar with restaurant space and comedy bar. It's the only place I know in Cebu city where you can eat lambs meat with potatoes and vegetables. They also serve REAL thick potatoe fries

[willcodeformoney 0]

So far the best dishes I've tried here in Cebu are (atleast the ones I still remember)

 

Pollo al Ajillo @ Ipars Restaurante Y Bar de Tapas

Baked Scallops with Cheeze & Garlic @ Oyster Bay

[Experienced 385]

That's a great list Dark Knight... I see a number of places on there I still want to try (when I can catch my wife in an adventurous mood!).

 

I really have only one rating I'd take serious issue with:

 

Hotel food: Marco Polo CAFE (lunch til 2:30 or so) is terrific food and also pretty good value for money. Their buffet isn't bad, but lousy value unless you're taking someone who's never been to a high-end buffet before and you just want them to have the experience. The attraction of a buffet is not quality (obviously, but MP's buffet food is at least respectable) and it's not quantity (OK, that's ONE attraction!), it's variety... a chance to try lots of things you might not have a chance to taste otherwise and experiment with different combinations. Try the Wynn in Las Vegas if you think a buffet can't offer true gourmet quality food.

 

Also, your list needs Olio on it somewhere... they are very innovative. I would also add La Bella Napoli's wood-fired pizzas (pioneering for Cebu) and the adjacent (on Gorordo) Koa sisig to the Italian and Filipino categories, and Ching Palace to the Chinese (though I'd agree Choi City is better in every regard).

[Headshot 27,762]

So far the best dishes I've tried here in Cebu are (atleast the ones I still remember)

 

Pollo al Ajillo @ Ipars Restaurante Y Bar de Tapas

Baked Scallops with Cheeze & Garlic @ Oyster Bay

 

My wife and I went to Oyster Bay Restaurant on Plaridel in Mandaue for Valentines Day. We enjoyed it a lot. The seafood is VERY fresh there (as in a lot of it is in big aquariums until you order it). It is definitely a restaurant we would go back to.

[jtmwatchbiz 30,938]

wow some very good reviews and suggestions in this thread and i hope it continues! i would like to add vienna cafe house on mango, as elio the owner is pure italian, and he knows how to cook a number of good dishes in many styles, from italian to german and other. his pizza is very thin crust and always fresh. his beef goulash is fantastic! he also makes some very interesting deserts that we and our 4 yr old love!

 

i agree with headshot on david's steak house. i had asked about the place a number of months ago in another thread and heeded his and other's advice and tried it out back in april. great steak and very pleasant interior...nice and subtle with low light and simple decor. the food was fantastic and we plan to go there again just as soon as we are in the mood and can afford to splurge.

 

i am interested in the viet restaurant that dark knight is referring to as it is in our guadalupe locale. mr. knight:: where exactly is the place? we would love to try it.

 

chateau busay was a place we had often seen but never tried until steve matrix's wedding. are they indeed open for general dining, and does anyone besides our banned member exlax go there for dinners? i would like to try it out as well.

 

fred

 

guadalupe

[jtmwatchbiz 30,938]

i do not agree with you some you have mentioned are crap or you looking for cheap meal too fill up you belly hes not my type at all i only go for very very tasty gourmet food cook too perfection if not i never come back, the other day i have been recommended a restaurant good for they curry ,so did order they curry was shock the curry was a chicken leg over plenty American rice then a tomato curry sauce not red curry was yuck couldn't believe a bad was?????????????i still looking in CEBU too eat a very good RISSOTO once in EUROPE did eat the best RISSOTO with smoked salmon and brie cheese woww so juicy the best i never had, i cook for my self now for special occasion.

 

i see you are in banawa...we are in the banawa-guadalupe area as well. janice my wife is always experimenting in dishes and cooks for a hobby. if you would like to brain storm and try out some cooking here locally, then contact us as janice would like to learn and experiment more in cooking!

Edited June 20, 2012 by jtmwatchbiz

[willcodeformoney 0]

My wife and I went to Oyster Bay Restaurant on Plaridel in Mandaue for Valentines Day. We enjoyed it a lot. The seafood is VERY fresh there (as in a lot of it is in big aquariums until you order it). It is definitely a restaurant we would go back to.

 

Ah yes, not to mention you get a chance to watch the shark feeding (forgot about the time though).

[Experienced 385]

i am interested in the viet restaurant that dark knight is referring to as it is in our guadalupe locale. mr. knight:: where exactly is the place? we would love to try it.

 

If the food is half as well executed as the web site (or the chef) we are in for a treat... menu looks a lot more authentic than anything else in town for either cuisine. Can't wait to try the pulled pork in a Vietnamese baguette!

[dark knight 2]

The thai /viet place is on abellana extenstion in between V rama and Abelllana, next to the Barangay hall in Guadalupe. The site had a good map of the spot. The crown regency hotel and fooda are about a 2 minute walk.There are these chinese orange lights outside. Make a reservation as they are starting to get packed and it's not the biggest place in the world. Owners told me they might expand a bit more soon.

[Headshot 27,762]

Chateau de Busay was a place we had often seen but never tried until Steve Matrix's wedding. Are they indeed open for general dining, and does anyone go there for dinners? I would like to try it out as well.

 

We have been there both for lunch and for dinner, It is an excellent place to eat. The covered outdoor patio portion of the restaurant gives a wonderful view of the city, and the food is quite good. We were there during a rain storm one day, and it was very refreshing (the breezes keep it cool always, but especially when there is rain). It makes for a very romantic dinner date, and it isn't really expensive either.

Edited June 21, 2012 by Headshot

[jtmwatchbiz 30,938]

It makes for a very romantic dinner date, and it isn't really expensive either.

 

for sure i'll ask janice out for a date, and if she is free and has the time then i'll bring her there!

 

perhaps ian will also be inspired by this and pop the question to art out on the patio?

[John Doe 13]

Anzani is a very solid pick, romantic and the ambiance is EXCELLENT.

 

I would replace the overpriced and not so authentic ''Taste of India'' by ''Mr India'', located in Country Mall. Clean and sharp, not fine dining but probably the best indian food you can find around.

[Experienced 385]

Seeing this thread bumped reminds me to follow up on the Little Saigon / Big Bangkok post above... we went a little over a month ago and it did not disappoint. The menu is different every day so you get what they are cooking (see the chalkboard), but I suspect they always have the favorites. Both Thai and Viet dishes were fantastic... these guys know what they're doing. Special mention for the pulled pork BBQ, which was simply amazing! The owner (a New Yorker) has fabricated a custom barrel smoker with separate fire box and it is BITCHIN' cool! He was excited to be getting a big American brisket in that weekend and looking forward to smoking it... I told him he should start catering real Texas BBQ to the expat community - it's that good - give him a call if you're looking for that sort of thing. The place was packed when we were there, so do make a reservation. We'll be returning soon.

[ozbuckley 4]

Seeing this thread bumped reminds me to follow up on the Little Saigon / Big Bangkok post above... we went a little over a month ago and it did not disappoint. The menu is different every day so you get what they are cooking (see the chalkboard), but I suspect they always have the favorites. Both Thai and Viet dishes were fantastic... these guys know what they're doing. Special mention for the pulled pork BBQ, which was simply amazing! The owner (a New Yorker) has fabricated a custom barrel smoker with separate fire box and it is BITCHIN' cool! He was excited to be getting a big American brisket in that weekend and looking forward to smoking it... I told him he should start catering real Texas BBQ to the expat community - it's that good - give him a call if you're looking for that sort of thing. The place was packed when we were there, so do make a reservation. We'll be returning soon.

 

To be honest L.S.B.B didn't impress me. The place had a nice ambience but after doing a lot of travel in Thailand and Vietnam the food was a big let down. The massamam curry beef was tough and chewy... not the 'fall apart' slow cooked beef it should be. The Pad Thai was a sticky combination of all kinds of sauces mixed together... didn't taste like any pad thai I've tried through Thailand or anywhere for that matter. The Pho was ok. The broth was very murky though and not that nice clean crisp broth you expect in a Vietnamese soup.

 

So all in all I was very dissapointed after hearing quite a few good reviews on it.

 

I won't be going back there.

[ozbuckley 4]

Went to the Radisson Blu Buffet last night (approx 1100p per person).

 

Its my first buffet in the Phillies Ive been to so I can't compare it to much (except to what I saw in Boracay) but I gotta say I was VERY IMPRESSED!

 

A really nice selection of foods. Italian, philippino, Grill, Chinese (Peking Duck was YUM!!!), Cheese, Yum desserts (Bread and Butter Pudding!!! Delish!!), etc.

 

The seafood selection was a little on the small side so dont go here if you're after mainly seafood.

 

But the rest was great. Suckling Pig was A1. Beautiful steamed fish dishes. Wonderful salads... not alot of choices but what they had was very nice.

 

I recommend it! In fact, Im going back again soon!