Places to Eat in Zamboanga

Due to its proximity to the ocean and its colonization by the Spanish, two of the best things to eat in Zamboanga are Spanish food and seafood. And of course, Zamboanga is still a great spot to taste authentic and delicious Filipino food.

Street Food

While it’s a delicacy everywhere in the Philippines, balut is especially popular in Zamboanga, where it’s one of the most enjoyed street foods. While it may look like a simple and harmless hard-boiled egg, it’s considerably more adventurous. Inside this innocuous looking egg is actually a partially developed bird, generally a duck or a chicken. It’s the perfect drinking food and is often served with beers. Although it might initially seem off-putting, it’s actually not that bad and if you want to win the respect of the Filipinos in Zamboanga, you have to try one!

If you’re looking for street food (and perhaps a balut or two!) the vendors tend to come out as the sun is going down and can generally be found along Cawa-Cawa Boulevard or Pershing Park. The normal street food advice applies, only eat things that have been cooked recently and try to visit the stalls that the locals are lining up for. These steps should keep stomach issues to a minimum although ti’s always a good idea to have Pepto Bismol on hand as well.

Local Food

If you feel like you haven’t yet had enough Filipino food on your visit, you can enjoy a nice meal at Greenfields Mano-Mano Resto, located on Gov. Ramos Avenue, a little bit outside the centre of the city. You should be able to take a taxi easily because it’s difficult to reach on foot and the taxi shouldn’t cost more than about PHP75. Here you’ll find all of the Filipino specialties like Lechon (PHP135), Dinuguan (PHP110) and Pinakbat (PHP80). The restaurant is famous for its fresh fruit shakes which also include some interesting flavours such as corn. Barbecue is generally the most popular thing on the menu to order and is what you’ll see the locals eating. This restaurant, which seems to be geared towards locals, has prices that reflect that fact. For two people, a dinner will cost somewhere around PHP300 so it’s certainly not a lace that will break the bank. Some people seem to think that the wait for the food can be long at times but if you go into it realizing that it’s not the same service you should expect from a five-star hotel restaurant, you shouldn’t have any problems and will probably enjoy your meal.

Western and International Food

If you find yourself with a hankering for Mexican and Spanish-style food, try Don Vicente Restaurante Latino. Situated in a lush garden in the centre of Zamboanga, try to find yourself a table outside. Chile con Carne is one of the specialties but it’s hard to go wrong with anything you order on the menu. Again, it’s a restaurant geared towards tourists, and as such it features tourist prices. A nice meal for two can be had from PHP 400 up to the PHP2000 range (7 course dinner package).

One of the most popular destinations in town is the Alavar Seafood Restaurant, which is located in the centre of town. Although it’s a bit more pricy than other restaurants in town (it does serve mostly seafood after all) by western standards it’s not bad at all. Two people can enjoy a meal for around PHP1500. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and squid, shrimps, crab, fish and a local shellfish known as cucaracha are the most popular menu items.