Siargao has become one of the best places to eat in the Philippines. In a few years, General Luna has gone from a handful of surfer canteens to a small town full of cafés, wood-fired kitchens, plant-based restaurants and beach grills. Restaurants open and close quickly here, so we only recommend a place by name once our team has eaten there recently. This guide tells you what to eat, where to find it and how to eat well on the island.
When you travel with us, we send you our current favourites for your dates.
What to eat
- Kinilaw: the Philippines' answer to ceviche. Raw fish, usually tuna or mackerel, cured in coconut vinegar with calamansi, ginger, onion and chilli. On Siargao it is often made with fish caught that morning.
- Sinuglaw: kinilaw served with grilled pork belly. Fresh, smoky and very good with a cold drink.
- Grilled seafood: squid, tuna jaw, prawns and whole fish, cooked over charcoal and eaten with rice and a dipping sauce of soy, vinegar, calamansi and chilli.
- Lechon: whole roast pig, for celebrations and Sunday lunches.
- Fresh coconut, mango, pineapple and banana, everywhere and all day.
- Bowls and smoothie bowls: the surf breakfast of choice, with local fruit, granola and coconut.
Where to eat
- Tourism Road, General Luna: the island's main strip, between the town and Cloud 9. This is where you will find most of the cafés, bakeries and dinner restaurants, from casual to quite refined.
- Cloud 9: breakfast and coffee after the morning surf, with the boardwalk and the famous wave in front.
- Catangnan and the bridge area: small kitchens and bars, popular at sunset.
- General Luna town and the boulevard: local eateries (carinderias) with dishes of the day, and barbecue stalls in the evening. Cheap, simple and often delicious.
- The north, around Pacifico and Burgos: fewer options, slower and more local, perfect on a road trip day.
Vegetarian and vegan
Siargao is one of the easiest places in the Philippines for plant-based food. Many cafés in General Luna have entirely vegetarian or vegan menus, and most restaurants have several dishes without meat or fish. Outside General Luna, it is harder: ask for gulay (vegetables) and dishes with tofu, coconut milk or monggo (mung beans).
Practical tips
- Many restaurants close one day a week, and some close for part of the wet season. Check before you go.
- Card payments are increasingly accepted, but always carry cash for smaller places and for the north.
- Popular dinner spots get full in high season: reserve for groups and on weekends.
- Drink bottled or filtered water. Most cafés will refill your bottle.
- Tipping is not expected but is appreciated. A service charge is sometimes added.
Our advice
Eat one meal a day where the locals eat. A plate of grilled fish and rice at a carinderia, or kinilaw from a beach stall, will tell you more about Siargao than any brunch menu. Then spend the evenings in General Luna, where the island's new food scene is one of the most exciting in the country.
