Are you traveling through the Philippines on a budget but still want to eat delicious food? Then this is the post for you!
I also traveled through the Philippines on a pretty tight budget. I was on month 10 of a “Year Long Honeymoon” when I visited General Luna so I could not afford to eat just anywhere. Luckily there are plenty of option that won’t break the bank.
Here are my top choices for cheap restaurants near General Luna, Siargao! (Prices are accurate as of 2023.)
Local Filipino Food in General Luna
Pare's Paresan
Pares is a local Filipino food consisting of braised beef stew served with garlic rice and a clear soup. Pare’s Paresan is a new restaurant serving up this delicious dish and you can even order yours with a side of roasted bone marrow!
They also have the pares mami variation (what I ordered) which is pares served with a hard boiled egg over noodles instead of with a side of rice.
Price: 189 PHP ($3.50 USD) for standard pares, local beer is 99 PHP ($1.80 USD)
Location: Google Maps
Catangan BBQ
Luckily this delicious and affordable BBQ restaurant was located right across the street from our accommodation in Siargao. We went twice in a week and it’s so delicious. They serve a variety of barbecued meat skewers and have a veggie skewer too.
Once you get your bbq, head upstairs to the dining area and you can order rice and drinks. This was our cheapest meals on the island and one of the best!
Price: 25 PHP per pork skewer, 35 PHP per veggie skewer, 20 PHP for rice, 60 PHP for local beer; around 100-200 PHP ($1.80-$3.60) for a meal depending on how hungry you are
Location: Google Maps
Kurvada
Kurvada is a popular restaurant serving their food “turo turo” style, meaning point at what you want. There are many restaurants like this on the island but this is certainly one of the most popular. They have a variety of local and Western dishes and the menu changes every day.
Go for lunch or an early dinner because they can sell out of their food quickly! Once you have your plate, take a photo of it before you eat. You will show the cashier your photo to pay before you leave.
When I went I had a chicken wing, a fried meatball, lumpia (fried spring roll), a scoop of rice, veggies, and veggie curry. My husband had pasta, veggies, a chicken schnitzel, and a fried veggie pakora.
Price: depends on what you order, my plate cost 270 PHP ($4.86) and my husbands was 220 PHP ($4)
Location: Google Maps
Catangan Pares
The pares here was good, but I preferred the one at Pare’s Paresan. This restaurant has other options too, like fried chicken which was very delicious.
The restaurant is located just off the main tourist road, but it’s behind the Kanaway Surf Shop so you might miss it if you aren’t looking for it.
Price: 170 PHP for pares and rice, 150 PHP for fried chicken and rice
Location: Google Maps
Catangnan Fried Chicken (CFC)
While they have many styles and cuisines of fried chicken, I’ll still file this under “local cuisine.” Filipinos sure do love their fried chicken, and who can blame them, right?
This restaurant serves up classic Filipino fried chicken, Korean style fried chicken, and a variety of fried chicken sandwiches. I had the Mexican style fried chicken sandwich and it was so tasty (deep fried jalapeños anyone?!) My husband ordered the Korean style wings and they were also delicious.
Price: 200 PHP ($3.60) for a chicken sandwich, 180 PHP ($3.20) for 5 wings
Location: Google Maps
Other Cuisines in General Luna
On the whole, the restaurants in this section are more expensive than the local food spots. However these places can still be budget friendly depending on what you order.
Siargao Hawker
This Singaporean restaurant was just opened in January 2023 by a Singaporean man. They serve authentic Singaporean rice dishes, noodles dishes, and dumplings.
I had the char sui noodle dish and fried dumplings and I loved both of them.
Price: around 250 PHP ($4.50) for an entree, 110 PHP for an order of dumplings and 90 PHP for local beer
Location: Google Maps
Outer Cafe
I’m not kidding or exaggerating at all when I say the bacon I had at Outer Cafe was the best bacon I’ve ever had outside of the United States.
I find that Western style breakfasts can be quite expensive in Asia, but I think Outer Cafe has a reasonable price, quality food, and the breakfast items include a coffee! They also have an English breakfast option if you prefer that.
Price: 280 PHP ($5) for a filling American breakfast including coffee, 300 PHP+ for lunch/dinner entrees
Location: Google Maps
The Bliss
The Bliss serves up Filipino Western fusion in a beautiful airy setting, close to Cloud 9. While the lunch and dinner options aren’t the cheapest around, you can find breakfast options starting at 200 PHP.
I chose one of the 200 PHP breakfast options and it came with a big bowl of rice served with a fried egg, bacon, and half a mango.
Price: 200-300 PHP ($3.60-$5.40) for breakfast entrees, 80-150 PHP for coffee drinks, 300-500 PHP for dinner
Location: Google Maps
Shaka Cafe
Now this is pushing the boundaries of “cheap” but for the quality that you get, I think this place is still worth visiting during your stay in Siargao.
Shaka is a vegetarian cafe with vegan options available. Their speciality is smoothie bowls but they also have coffee, regular smoothies, desserts, and a few sandwich options.
They are located right on the beach next to Cloud 9, so you might be able to watch people surfing while you enjoy your smoothie bowl!
Price: 300 PHP ($5.40) for a smoothie bowl, 270 PHP for a vegetarian sandwich
Location: Google Maps
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Dining Tips for General Luna
- While still affordable by Western standards, I found the food in the Philippines more expensive than other Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand and Vietnam.
- Check restaurant hours on Google, most of the restaurants close on day per week, typically Sunday, Monday or Tuesday
- Dining hours are on the earlier side in Siargao. Some restaurants close for lunch by 2pm. Most dinner restaurants close by 9pm and can run out of food much earlier than that.
- Almost all of the restaurants we went to in the Philippines have free, self-service filtered water.
- Even if you order your food at a counter, generally you pay for your food after you eat, not after you order.
- Tipping in the Philippines is not expected, but you can tip 5-10% if you feel like it. Most casual restaurants might have a tip jar on the counter, or you can tip your waiter at a sit down restaurant.
- “Taxis” in General Luna are tricycles built around a motorbike. They are affordable to ride anywhere around General Luna. A ride should cost just 50 PHP ($1) during the day and can be up to 100 PHP later into the night. So even if the restaurants on this list are far from where you’re staying, you still might save money by taking a taxi to one of the restaurants instead of eating at an expensive place next to your hotel or hostel.
Looking for more restaurant inspiration? Click on one of my other food guides below!
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