Where & What to Eat in Cebu City: Best Restaurants & Must-Try Food

10. Larsian BBQ

Larsian BBQ Sa Fuente comes highly recommended for anyone going on a Cebu food trip and is the first place that comes to mind when visitors ask locals where to eat in Cebu. This open-air eatery is the best place to eat in Cebu for first-time or seasoned travelers looking for a casual ambiance and delicious barbecue cooked over coals on a grill.

• Read our article on the best Cebu tourist spots and activities

Here are some of our recommended places to eat when you're in Cebu City: 

Located in the center of Cebu City in Fuente Osmena Circle along Don Mariano Cui St., it is open 24 hours every day, but most stalls begin grilling between 10 in the morning until 2 AM

This market-style dining strip features numerous stalls offering ready to grill food on a stick such as pork, chicken, squid, and other seafood. Other food stalls also serve larang (fish stew), desserts, colas, and drinks to go with your grilled barbecues. There are canteen-style tables and seating available at the center to enjoy your food.

9. Manna Sutukil

Photo by Manna Sutukil

Manna SuTuKil is located in Punta Engano Road, Lapu-Lapu City, right beside the Mactan Shrine. The two-story building has a great view of the shrine from the top floor and is a great place to stop by after visiting the famous tourist attraction.  It is where visitors can have a budget-friendly seafood feast with a scenic view of the shrine.

“SuTuKil” is a portmanteau combining three words from the Cebu dialect: “sugba” (grill), “tuwa” (broth), and “kilaw” (ceviche style seafood). It is a quintessential Cebuano traditional dining style where visitors choose the seafood they want to eat and have it cooked however they want to. 

They can have the cook prepare it with broth as a soup, grilled over coals, or turned into “kilaw” where the seafood is cured in citrus and vinegar. Seafood is served fresh from the market; the sheer variety is mind-boggling, making it a must-try Cebuano food experience for first-time visitors. 

8. Entoy’s Bakasihan

Photo by Entoy’s Bakasihan

Entoy’s Bakasihan is an open-air diner specializing in a native dish called ‘linarang na bakasi’, a type of sour stew mixed with saltwater eels sautéed in green mangoes, soy sauce, fermented beans, and tamarind. It is located in the sleepy seaside town of Kampai Beach in Barangay Buagsong, Cordova off the tip of Mactan island, about 10KM away from the Cebu Airport. The ‘bakasi’ or reef eel is plentiful in the area owing to the grassy, muddy environment where the sea creatures thrive. 

The diner was established by a fisherman named Entoy Escabas. It began when he put up the simple seaside diner offering his wife’s recipe on the menu. It soon became so popular that tourists started pouring in, prompting Entoy’s family to expand their enterprise. The restaurant was featured in a Netflix Street Food Asia show and gained more widespread popularity among brave travelers looking for exotic dishes. 

7. The Pyramid

Photo by The Pyramid

With its see-through triangle-shaped exterior reminiscent of the Louvre in Paris, The Pyramid is one of the most eye-catching restaurants in Cebu City. Located in West Geozon Road in the city’s IT park, the restaurant serves international fusion cuisine and well-loved Italian, Filipino, Korean and American dishes. 

Photo by The Pyramid

Crowd favorites include grilled baby back ribs, 3- cheese pizza, and crispy pata (deep-fried pork knuckle), while their extensive selection of milk tea flavors is perfect for cooling down on a hot day. 

• Check out list of the best Cebu hotels and resorts

The Pyramid is not just one of the best restaurants in Cebu City to visit, it is also a dining and lifestyle hub with an events venue. It has an on-site art gallery and a space allotted for Yoga classes, so make sure to include it in your list of where to eat in Cebu on your next Cebu food trip. 

6. Top of Cebu

Photo by Top of Cebu

This Filipino restaurant offers an unobstructed view of Cebu City, providing guests with an unforgettable outdoor dining experience while enjoying an amazing view overlooking the city’s skyline. Located on a mountain top in Barangay Busay, Top of Cebu is one of the restaurants in Cebu City with an ambiance conducive for romantic dinners and special occasions.  

Photo by Top of Cebu

The restaurant offers local fusion cuisine with a local twist that’s popular among local diners. Some crowd favorites include the Sinigang sa Miso (meat with sour broth), sizzling gambas (saucy shrimp), and breaded salmon fillet with mango sauce. 

There’s also the Pancit de Cebu, a dish consisting of stir-fried noodles with seafood, local vegetables, and pork, and finished with a bed of crispy fried noodles, eggs, and native chicharron (pork cracklings). Make room for a dessert sampler of native delicacies that features local rice cakes and sweets, the perfect ending to a hearty Filipino meal. 

5. La Vie in the Sky and La Vie Parisienne Cebu

Photo by La Vie in the Sky

La Vie in the Sky is a French-themed restaurant located in the city’s outskirts along Barangay Busay, a town known for its steep roads and scenic views of the Cebu skyline. The restaurant is perched on a hill 6,000 meters above sea level and features cozy, chic interiors inspired by 19th century Paris bistros. The view, coupled with a fine selection of food and wine pairings, makes it the perfect venue for romantic interludes in a French-inspired setting. 

Photo by La Vie in the Sky

La Vie Parisienne Cebu is a restaurant and wine bar with the same French sensibility as La Vie in the Sky and transported at the heart of Cebu City in Gorordo Ave., Lahug. They serve traditional French cuisine and have an authentic Parisian bakery and deli shop on site.

Photo by La Vie in the Sky

It has a garden area with teepees and luxurious dining areas that match their elegant food and wine offerings, with the Shanpelino wine coming in highly recommended. 

4. Casa Verde Cebu

Photo by Casa Verde

This family-owned chain of restaurants in Cebu serves American-style dishes in a casual setting. Casa Verde Cebu is best known for Brian’s Ribs, pork ribs marinated in their signature barbecue sauce. Their menu includes American staples like burgers, fried chicken, french fries, milkshakes, and desserts. 

Photo by Casa Verde

They offer huge portions, with their pasta and steak perfectly sized for sharing with a group. Personal family collectible items and knickknacks are grace the walls and corridors, lending a homey ambiance to the restaurant.  

The main branch is located inRamos, Lim Tan Teng St. in Cebu. It has a fine dining restaurant called the Suite Room that offers high-end cuisine. Guests may order food from the Suite Room while dining in the adjacent Casa Verde restaurant at the main branch. Aside from the appetizers and main dishes, Casa Verde’s Bliss O Berry and Divine by Chocolate ice cream cakes are crowd favorites. 

3. Circa 1900 Casa Uno

Photo by Circa 1900

This fine-dining place is one of the top restaurants in Cebu City that serves international cuisine with a local flair. Located along Sanjercas Road inside a peaceful, illustrious neighborhood, Circa 1900 Casa Uno is sprawling property dotted with charming colonial period houses that harken back to the old world elegance of days past. It features an imposing frontage and a sprawling garden that has hosted countless alfresco weddings and special events. 

Photo by Circa 1900

The stately Casa Uno restaurant is on the right side of the property; across it is Casa Dos, another restaurant serving the same upscale menu in an equally regal setting. They are known for having an attentive waitstaff that perfectly complements the experience of casual refinement at Circa 1900.

The menu is regularly updated and changes with the season or whenever the chef is so inclined. Even so, crowd favorites include the truffled squid and prawn risotto, roast crunchy pork belly ribs, and the pistachio encrusted salmon. 

2. Lantaw Native Floating Restaurant

Photo by Lantaw Native Floating Restaurant

If you’re craving Cebuano food or looking for where to eat in Cebu to complete the ultimate Cebu food trip, look no further than Lantaw Native Floating Restaurant. This popular restaurant in Cordova offers stunning seaside views and excellent local cuisine in an Asian-themed setting filled with bamboo furniture and wooden accents. 

Photo by Lantaw Native Floating Restaurant

They specialize in delicious seafood dishes, with the baked scallops, tuna ‘panga’ (grilled tuna jaw), and buttered shrimp as perennially crowd favorites. Other bestsellers include Filipino specials such as crispy ‘pata’ (deep-fried pork knuckles) and crispy ‘kare-kare’ (peanut stew with deep-fried beef).

Sunset is the best time to reserve a table if you want to enjoy stunning seaside views while having a delicious Filipino feast with friends and family. Don’t forget to order refreshing mango shakes and end your meal with dessert staples like Filipino dessert Lantaw Halo-Halo (a mixture of sweet ingredients with crushed ice and milk) or buko (coconut) pie.  

1. Cebu Lechon Restaurants

Photo by Rico's Lechon

Cebu lechon is the consummate Cebuano food, so no Cebu tour package is complete without visiting a lechon restaurant. It is the ultimate pork dish where the pig is slowly roasted over a charcoal spit until the skin turns into a crispy delicacy. The meat is juicy and infused with a combination of local spices. It is so flavorful that it doesn’t need extra sauce when eaten.

Photo by House of Lechon

Rico’s Lechon is known as one of the best lechon Cebu restaurants in town. They use local, organic pigs stuffed with native herbs and spices like lemongrass, vinegar, and tomatoes. Another local favorite is House of Lechon, known not just for its tasty lechon but also for its classy interior and elegant dining experience in the air-conditioned restaurant.

Budget-conscious visitors looking for the best lechon Cebu will find it in Carcar market, an open-air public marketplace that sells various food items and is a great place to buy value-for-money lechon. 

Discover the Best Food and Restaurants in Cebu City

Besides the seafood and lechon, adventurous eaters should also try local street food delicacies typically offered at nondescript roadside diners. 

Some local street food favorites include Siomai sa Tisa (steamed pork dumplings), Pungko-Pungko (assorted fried street food), and Tuslob Buwa, a dipping sauce made of pig brain paired with Puso (hanging rice). There's also the ngiohiong, deep-fried, five-spice seasoned rice rolls made of minced vegetables and ground meat. Another local favorite is a bulalo or beef dish called Pochero that is served either on a sizzling plate or as a soup broth. You can also explore Cebu halal food restaurants if you have dietary restrictions. You can also make the most of your time by booking a Cebu food and historical tour.

Cebu province offers many attractions and activities in Philippine travel packages with unique itineraries. One of these is the Cebu canyoneering tour, a trip that brings you on a spelunking adventure by canyoneering in Cebu. There's also the Cebu tour package with a whale shark experience where you get to swim alongside these gentle creatures in their natural habitat.

For your vacation in the Philippines, join Philippine travel packages for the full experience, and don't forget to include a tour package for Cebu.