Places to Eat in Pagudpud

Despite its reputation as a rising premier tourist destination in the region, the options for dining out in Pagudpud are quite limited.

Some resorts have on-site restaurants but even those from the low end spectrum are on the pricier side and the servings are small. Most dishes would cost somewhere between PHP200 to PHP300 and the quality is kinda hit and miss.

Budget

However, there are food joints located along the road and near the local market where you can get a full meal at a more reasonable price. Papa Nard’s has always been popular for their local dishes like bagnet (deep fried crispy pork belly) and papaitan (bitter goat stew).

Ayuyang Balay Panganan is another good alternative for their sizzling bangus sisig and sizzling chicken feet.

Casa Consuelo is where you can sample Ilocandia's version of nori, a black seaweed called gamet which is harvested from the shorelines of Burgos.

If you want to eat like a king while staying within your budget, you can always buy freshly caught seafood from the fishermen each morning and have it cooked at your accommodation. Granting all this, we've rounded up a few notable restaurants in the area to help you along.

Traditional Food

Tucked at the end of the beach, Kapuluan Vista Resort Restaurant (Sitio Baniaran, Barangay Balaoi, Pagudpud) offers a relaxing dining experience away from the crazier side of the Blue Lagoon. This place is actually quite famous for their cocktails and happy hour but their extensive menu does not disappoint too. They have an organic garden so they have healthier options compared to other restaurants in the area. We couldn't pass up on local dishes here so we had their bagnet and dinuguan (pork blood stew) and both are really delicious. What can we say, the lovely ambiance and even lovelier staff really made everything a splendid experience.

La Cocina de Consuelo at Casa Consuelo is another go-to restaurant when it comes to Ilocano specialties such as poqui-poqui (roasted eggplant with tomatoes and eggs), longganisa (Filipino style sausage), pinakbet with bagnet (mixed vegetables with bagnet), and dinengdeng (fried fish with mixed vegetables). If you haven't noticed it already, the Ilocano people love whipping up vegetable dishes so we always look forward to every meal. Their home cooked dishes really suited our taste and the staff were accommodating. Lovely ambiance too with messages from previous guests written on paper bills and posted all around the restaurant.

Western and International Food

Been gorging on the same traditional home cooked dishes for days? Worry not as BergBlick Restaurant (Sitio Salucag, Barangay Burayoc, Pagudpud) offers something different on the table courtesy of their German chef. We had a platter of their German sausage as well as their jagerschnitzel with mushroom gravy paired with an authentic German wheat beer and boy, did that hit the spot! The view is another welcome change as the restaurant sits just across a rice field so we had a nostalgic view of the mountains and the plantations. And oh, make sure to order their dragonfruit shake, it has a distinctly rich taste and is totally refreshing.

Tartaruga’s Hotel and Restaurant (Brgy. Saud, Pagudpud) specializes in fusion dishes and gives what's already familiar a new twist. We loved their lechon kawali (crispy pork belly dish) with an Italian twist, the Indian curry, and their chili crabs. We also didn't have to wait long for our food and the staff knows how to deliver excellent service with a smile.

Cafes and Coffee Houses

Sadly, Pagudpud is not big on coffee culture and you won't find any of the big coffeehouse chains here. The aforementioned restaurant, Tartaruga, does boast a Rancilio Italian Espresso machine while Kapuluan Vista Brazil has an aeropress coffee maker so perhaps you can go there for your caffeine fix.

The Internet famous Kang Kang Windmill Cafe (Brgy. Baruyen, Bangui) which was featured on the government sponsored tourism ads, also serves a really good iced Kangkang Brew from Kalinga.