We had heard food can be a bit iffy in the Philippines especially in Palawan, however, Port Barton broke any stereotypes we had. These are our top recommendations on where to eat in Port Barton.
We could go on and on about the food in Port Barton and how amazing not only the place is but the food too. We can highly recommend all of these wonderful places for you and your family to share some fantastic meals together. The standard is high for food and drinks even though the vibe of the whole town is pretty chill!
All of the food was super fresh, healthy and the portions were larger than expected. Every staff member at each place made us confident in the customer service, and all cooking areas were super clean and well looked after. We know this because a few had open kitchens or we had to run into them after Ollie. On occasions he seemed to think he was an apprentice chef, going in and out of the kitchen.. much to the amusement and encouragement of the staff!!
Bikini
Hello, smoothie bowls! Bikini was such a cool and hip spot that really reminded us of some cafes in Bali. The staff loved hanging out with Ollie, even the chef stopped and came out to play with him. They had the best smoothie bowls and they were massive, 2-3 times the usual size and super yummy. We even got to have a dirty chai frappe with cashew milk !! We visited a second time for breakfast and got the pancakes and English breakfast and loved every bite. We didn’t think we would find breakfast options like this here. It’s definitely the hippest place in the town and a sign of things to come.
Olive’s Crib
Olives Place is super clean and had such a warm atmosphere, whilst the staff and owner are amazing. They played with Ollie and become great friends. Oliver loved how similar their names where. Food was delicious and we could have easily shared one meal as they were massive. We got the Chicken Curry and Schnitzel Special (it is amazing trust us, think curry, chips and schnitzel all together) with a side of garlic rice. It was so nice and huge we went back for dinner another night and all shared the one dish and left well and truly satisfied. They also had the cutest cat called salt that Ollie loved! He followed the cat around everywhere meowing and hugging him.
Oasis
We are so glad that we found Oasis as we had lunch here twice! It’s super chilled and kid-friendly, however also has playing cards and a pool table so you could definitely come here and have a good time no matter your age. They were welcoming and friendly, made our coconut shake without sugar – we didn’t even need to request this. They even gave Ollie the leftover coconut water for hydration. The pancit (Philippine fried noodle dish) was huge and amazing, refreshingly it had loads of Veggies and chicken. Their chicken adobo was also one of the best we have had, even Ollie munched it up! Cheapest prices, super fresh food and yet again massive portions. So much so that we went back and all 3 of us shared a chicken pancit and left super full. They even played music and danced with Ollie.
Mojitos
Mojito was at the back of the town about a 15-minute walk from the Main Street. It had such a cool tropical forest feel with tiki torches everywhere. Their music playlist was amazing, we would go back just to sit and listen and sing along any day. They had welcome drink samples of their, yep you guessed it.. mojitos! We loved how they offered repellent and had loads of citronella candles, a must out here in the jungle. Good food thats a bit different to the usual Philippine offerings! We indulged in some yummy taco’s and sliders as well as a delicious teriyaki chicken bowl.
La Petite Table
We absolutely loved it here! The most beautiful lady runs the kitchen and the food is amazing. She even played with Ollie when he was getting fussy and over sitting with us. They specialise in things called ‘piadini’. They are in between a pizza and calzone however cooked on a hot plate and they tasted so so good! After how amazing they were we also had to try the dessert crepes and holy moly our taste buds were treated. We loved both of the options, we got one of the Nutella ones and a fruit ones. No word of a lie they were the best crepes we have ever eaten! If you visit Port Barton you need to eat at La Petite!
Kusinero del Barrio
We had heard this place had nice food so we decided to visit for lunch and we are glad we did! The place had a super chilled vibe and a choice to sit at the normal tables or at the lowered tables on comfy pillows. They have hammocks everywhere that Ollie loved jumping in and swaying about. We thought it was cool that the locals liked to come here to hang, play connect four and grab some lunch. James got the chicken adobo (as usual) and it had yummy roasted pineapple bits and came with our now favourite type of rice.. garlic rice. I got a banana smoothie as I wasn’t too hungry and it was by far the best banana smoothie we tasted in the Philippines.
Milano
We stopped here on our way to the bus stop before grabbing a van to El Nido as we wanted a coffee for the ride. This Italian owned cafe is the perfect takeaway coffee spot as it’s just 1-minute walk to the bus stop. They had some crazy cool coffee’s we have never even seen before. Being Italian owned and operated means you know your going to get a good brew of coffee! We definitely enjoyed our coffee frappes and the sandwiches in the window looked super amazing, unfortunately we didn’t try any as we have already eaten breakfast however we wish we did!
Did you visit Port Barton and try any of these places? We’d love to hear you comments and suggestions if you had any other great meals! By the way, nothing in this post was sponsored in any way and they are all totally suitable for all budgets!