Our Favourite Places to Eat & Drink After 4 Days in General Luna, Siargao
A big part of what makes Harry & I fall in love with a place is the food. Give us great coffee to start the day, somewhere to refuel after a surf, and a spot for a sunset beer, and we’re happy.
General Luna absolutely delivered.
After four days exploring the town, we definitely didn’t eat at every restaurant or café. But these are the places we kept coming back to, recommended to other travellers, or wished we’d discovered sooner.
From the freshest ceviche we had in the Philippines to smoky Filipino BBQ, incredible coffee, homemade gelato, and our favourite sunset drinks, these were the food spots that made our time in General Luna even more memorable.
Hopefully you enjoy them as much as we did. 😊
CEV: Ceviche & Kinilaw Shack
Budget: $$
What We Ordered: Pacifico Ceviche & General Luna Kinilaw
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
A Filipino-Latin American fusion restaurant serving incredibly fresh seafood, creative dishes, and colourful plates in a groovy, laid-back setting.
This was hands down the best meal we had in Siargao. In fact…we went back twice.
One of the things I loved most about CEV was the Filipino and Latin American fusion. We’ve only travelled to Mexico once, but completely fell in love with the culture while we were there. Weirdly enough, we felt little reminders of it throughout the Philippines, so this restaurant really struck a chord with us.
Every dish that came out was absolutely beautiful, both in terms of the ingredients and the presentation. I also loved that it introduced me to a new Filipino dish —Kinilaw.
If you’ve never heard of it before, ceviche is traditionally cured in citrus, whereas kinilaw uses coconut vinegar instead. Both dishes were incredible, but my favourite was definitely the General Luna Kinilaw, which came with a side of garlic rice that was honestly to die for.
The restaurant itself also has a really distinctive brand. From the decor to the menus and even their merch, everything feels thoughtfully designed – Harry bought a t-shirt!
We visited twice for lunch and had no problem walking in, but I’ve heard dinner can get busy, so I’d recommend making a reservation if you’re planning to go in the evening.
Lunch was perfect here. The seafood is light and refreshing, making it ideal after a morning surf. We shared two dishes with a side of rice, which was the perfect amount of food.
Our bill came to around $16 USD. That’s definitely towards the expensive end for us while backpacking, but we both agreed it was worth every cent.
While CEV isn’t as cheap as a traditional Filipino restaurant, the quality of the food, the creativity of the menu, and the overall experience made it one of the best restaurants we visited in General Luna.
If you’re only splashing out on one meal in Siargao, make it this one.
Catangnan BBQ
Budget: $
What We Ordered: BBQ pork skewers, pork belly & ½ chicken
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
A no-frills Filipino BBQ spot serving freshly grilled meat until it sells out. Delicious, affordable, and one of the most fun dining experiences we had in General Luna.
If you’re looking for authentic Filipino food in General Luna — or simply somewhere that’s cheap and seriously tasty — I can’t recommend Catangnan BBQ enough.
This place first caught our attention because every evening there was a queue of people waiting at the grill. It was packed with both locals and tourists, which always feels like a good sign.
Naturally, we grabbed a plate and joined the line.
The concept is simple. You queue at the grill, choose whichever meats catch your eye, they pile everything onto your plate, add a serving of rice, and you’re good to go.
Part of what makes this place so much fun is watching the team constantly grilling fresh BBQ while music blasts through the speakers. The atmosphere is lively, chaotic, and feels like exactly the kind of local experience we love finding when we travel.
Dinner for both of us, including drinks, came to just $9 USD, making it one of the best-value meals we had in General Luna.
Cheap, delicious, and a genuinely fun experience — we’d go back in a heartbeat.
Cumin
Budget: $$
What We Ordered: Taco Birria Masala, Beef & Chicken Kebab, Tofu Tikka Masala & Roti
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
A Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant with great options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. Relaxed beach café vibes and great value for money.
I honestly wasn’t planning on including Cumin in this list.
But when I asked Harry what his favourite meals in General Luna were, he immediately said, “You have to include Cumin. It was sooo good.”
So…here we are.
For a bit of context, I’m mostly pescatarian (although admittedly a bit more flexitarian these days), so I ordered the tofu tikka masala. It was nice, but probably not something I’d rush back for.
Harry, on the other hand, ordered the Taco Birria Masala along with the beef and chicken kebab, and absolutely loved both.
He couldn’t stop talking about how juicy and tender the meat was, how well seasoned everything tasted, and how incredible the freshly made roti was. I can definitely back him up on the roti—it came with my curry too and was honestly one of the best parts of the meal.
Dinner came to around $17 USD, which we thought was very reasonable for this style of food.
Cumin isn’t somewhere I’d describe as a romantic date-night restaurant, but it also doesn’t feel overly casual or sterile. The atmosphere sits somewhere between a café and a restaurant, making it a great choice when you’re simply after really good food without the higher prices or fuss.
If you’re travelling with meat lovers, I’d definitely put Cumin on your list.
White Beard Coffee
📍Location (I’ll link the one we went to but they have 4 on the island)
Budget: $
What We Ordered: Iced Lattes, Open-Faced Sandwich & Chocolate Muffin
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
A laidback and local coffee shop serving a mix of western and Filipino breakfast options and wonderful coffee at a good price.
This was our first coffee on the island and it didn’t disappoint! Firstly the sandwich was so fresh, delicious, and a generous size. It was brioche bread with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, rocket, and balsamic vinegar. All of the ingredients were incredible. The coffee was wonderful and then we topped it off with one of their muffins (also 10/10). They also sell iced lattes to-go in a bottle!! So we took one of them for the road.
After a few days, we realized there are actually several White Beard Coffee locations dotted around the island. We also learned the story behind the brand – it was started by a local who began by growing his own coffee before turning it into the island favourite it is today, with four cafés across Siargao. Love the story, love the food, and love the coffee! All of above is just a winner for us.
Halika
Budget: $
What We Ordered: Salted Caramel Oreo Gelato
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
A Siargao-born gelato shop serving creative, creamy flavours that make the perfect post-dinner treat.
Halika is a local business in General Luna, Siargao serving deliciously creative and creamy gelato. This is a perfect post dinner treat! Always busy – so prepare to queue but it’s worth it.
BARREL
Budget: $$
What We Ordered: Draft Beer, Jalapeño Poppers, Falafel Shawarma Wrap, and the Burrito
Our Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
A laid-back beachfront sports bar with affordable draft beer, good food, and one of our favourite sunset spots in General Luna.
We actually stumbled across BARREL while searching for somewhere with WiFi and a sunset beer. We never found the WiFi, but we did find one of our favourite places to watch the sun go down in General Luna.
BARREL describes itself as a beachfront sports bar, which initially confused me. We headed straight into the beautiful garden overlooking the ocean and couldn’t work out where the sports bar part was. It wasn’t until later that we realised we’d walked straight past it.
Inside, there’s a huge sports bar complete with pool tables, plenty of seating, and a really fun atmosphere. Outside, you’ll find a peaceful garden overlooking the water. I loved that you can choose whichever vibe you’re after.
We found it kinda hard to find cheap draft beer in Siargao, so we were delighted when BARREL delivered on that with some cold San Miguel’s! Plus they had Jalapeño poppers that were delicious (my fav & one thing I miss from the States).
We also came back another evening for dinner and were really impressed. This isn’t somewhere you’d book for a fancy date night, but if you’re after good-value western food, Filipino options, affordable drinks, and a relaxed place to spend a few hours at sunset, BARREL is a fantastic choice.
Final Thoughts
General Luna has an incredible food scene, and after just four days, we feel like we only scratched the surface.
These were the places we kept coming back to, still talk about, and would recommend without hesitation to anyone visiting Siargao. Whether you’re travelling on a backpacker’s budget or looking to treat yourself to a great meal, there’s something here for everyone.
If you discover somewhere we missed, let us know – we’ll happily add it to our list the next time we’re back!
Thank you for reading & for being here. We hope you get the opportunity to try some of our favorites on the island and love them just as much as we did.
Cheers and safe travels,
Julie & Harry
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