My Favorite El Nido Town Restaurant

You’ve planned your trip to El Nido. But now you want to know what the restaurants in El Nido town have to offer? After a long day of excursions, I promise you to make that little extra effort to venture into town. I’ve had some of my favorite seafood in my entire trip to the Philippines in El Nido, and believe everyone should enjoy what they have to offer.

#1 – Barakuda Seafood Restaurant

Don’t worry, this restaurant doesn’t bite. Barakuda was easily my favorite meal in Palawan, and perhaps all of the Philippines. Think elevated seafood options and fusion dishes with familiar Filipino tastes.

To get in, we walked up a very unassuming flight of stairs in the middle of souvenir shops. But when we got upstairs I immediately felt like I was transported somewhere else, in the best way. This felt like a little escape within El Nido: ‘Mabuhay’ was shouted from all of the staff as soon as we got upstairs and the decor – from the wallpaper with flower motifs and the rattan chairs, made this feel like a curated hotel restaurant, but with a distinct local charm. Plus, the open kitchen blasted us with heat when fish hit the grill and the smells permeated the whole restaurant.

So, a little spoiler: I actually loved this place so much, I came back twice during my three night trip in El Nido. So the following reviews of the food will be an amalgamation of both trips.

Some highlights included:
– Poached Palawan Mangrove Oyster: This was different from any oyster I’ve had before, and I’ve for sure never had a mangrove oyster. And seeing all the mangrove trees here, I knew I had to get it. The taste was distinctly Filipino: there was an emulsion spiced with pinakurat (a Filipino vinegar) and there was a creamy, almost umami sauce made with eggy yolk and lato (sea grapes or seaweed). The oyster was bold, even for an oyster, and I recommend it because the sauces enhanced the taste, while managing to take away an overly fishiness from the food.

– Palawan Fish in Sinigang Glaze: The fish exuded a buttery aroma I’d expect with a pan sear with an ever so small hint of sourness from what I assume was tamarind glaze artfully put on the plate. The skin was crispy, the fish was crispy, and the vegetables were sautéed in a super light garlicky sauce which was perfect since the glaze was so intense already. The menu said there was also Don Papa Rum in it, so I assume it was used to amp up the sourness of the glaze, to truly give it that sinigang flavor.

-Fish Maranao: This for me is the absolute must order. First of all, the presentation was unique to me, even as someone relatively familiar with Filipino food. It was steamed and wrapped in a banana leaf, which I have only been used to seeing in Indonesian or Thai preparations of fish. However, the Filipino taste of this really made this a unique curry. From what I understood from the waitress, this curry is from southern Philippines. The bites were coconut-forward, shallot heavy, and notes of turmeric and garlic. I absolutely inhaled the whole fish. While it was amazing taste-wise, I was just happy I found a curry (my favorite food) without curry spices or powders, and was a different, and unique taste on its own. It was served with ‘kuning rice’, which I thought was them leaning into fusion using an Indonesian rice style, but after asking, I was told it’s typical rice preparation of the Maranao people in Mindanao.

-Ube Canelé: Coconut glaze, Toasted Coconut and Palawan Honeycomb served with Coconut Ice cream. The surprise with this one, was that it wasn’t too sweet, as I’m used to Filipino desserts being
-Cheska’s Saba: Named after the head chef was an ever so light sesame and banana frozen custard layered with a Palawan cashew band (like a brittle), miso pound cake, and dehydrated milk foam

I hope I was able to convince you to not use lose free nights in El Nido at the hotel or eating the plethora of international food in the town. You’re at the beach, and you’re in Palawan. Definitely capitalize on the regional cuisine from the area and make sure you do it right by eating seafood so close to the source