5 Budget Restaurants in El Nido — Cheap, Filling, Delicious!
Did you know that almost half of all restaurants in El Nido are super cheap? Like, you can easily have a meal under P200 ($4) to even as low as P50 ($1)! But if you want to know which ones stand out with homey comfort food that after eating, makes you just want to lie down and enjoy the sight of swaying coconut trees, here are five budget restaurants to look out for in El Nido:
Giovan’z Beef Stew Hauz and Grill
Calle Hama, Brgy. Buena Suerte, El Nido (see map)
Open daily, 7 am – 12 mn. Budget is around P150 ($3).
This is one of the very few restaurants that locals themselves eat frequently because it serves amazing food at a cheap price! Returning customers usually go for its outrageously tasty noodle soup. If you’ve had a couple of beers and are looking for something delicious to warm your belly, this is something you should go for! Three other dishes that are also flavorful and unforgettable include beef bulalo (beef knuckle soup), crocodile sisig, and chicken sisig.
Photo from Giovanz’ Tripadvisor page.
Tambok’s El Nido
Taytay-El Nido Highway, Sitio Lio, Brgy. Villa Libertad, El Nido (see map)
Open daily, 7 am – 10 pm. Budget is around P250 ($5).
Located in Lio, about 15 minutes north from the Town Proper, Tambok’s serves southern Filipino comfort food. Some of its best-sellers include chicken inasal (chicken roasted in calamansi, vinegar, and annatto), buko pansit (coconut noodles), or the dessert okoy (flat shrimp cakes). Other than its fool-proof tasty and filling dishes, the restaurant comes with fast internet connection–something rare in El Nido! You can also get some cheap unlimited brewed coffee or calamansi juice in the morning. Sweet!
Photo from Tambok’s Facebook page.
BoodleFight Restaurant & Bar
Taytay-El Nido Highway, Brgy. Corong-Corong, El Nido (see map)
Open Mon – Sat, 7:30 am – 11 pm; Sun, 2 pm – 11 pm. Budget is around P200 ($4).
If you want to experience Filipino culture through food, this restaurant is pretty extraordinary. Though it’s not anything fancy, it features Filipinos’ way of celebrating family ties or togetherness—by sharing a large banana leaf full of tasty local food and eating with your bare hands! Try the BoodleFight way of eating, which is good for four people. Otherwise, some of the yummiest dishes to try include chicken adobo (marinated chicken) and sinigang na baboy (pork in sour soup).
Photo from BoodleFight’s Tripadvisor page.
Angel Wish
Serena St., Brgy. Buena Suerte, El Nido (see map)
Open daily, 7 am – 10 pm. Budget is around P150 ($3).
Here’s a simple diner that serves affordable dampa-style seafood by the beach. The raw seafood are laid out before the restaurant for you to choose and order. These can be cooked in various ways. Fresh, tasty, and cheap fish, shrimps, crabs, mussels, oysters, etc.–what more can you ask for? Angel Wish also has some cheap alcoholic drinks for sunset hours!
Photo from Angel Wish’s Tripadvisor page.
Kina Pards Resto-Bar
Taytay-El Nido Highway, Brgy. Corong-Corong, El Nido (see map)
Open daily, 10 am – 10 pm. Budget is around P200 ($4).
Here’s a typical kambingan found on most roadside stops in the Philippines, serving slow cooked and tasty kambing or goat meat. Locals and travelers who go here usually pair up different goat dishes with ice cold beer. If you’re here for a meal though, the best dishes to try are the goat curry and papaitan (goat innards in sour soup). But if you don’t like goat, you can go for sizzling bulalo (beef knuckles on a sizzling plate, a must-try!), seafood curry, or tuna kebab.
Photo from Kina Pards’ Tripadvisor page.
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Palawan, Philippines