Home › Food tours › El Nido
Food tours in El Nido: what to eat and which tour to book
El Nido is a small fishing town on the northern tip of Palawan that grew fast on tourism, and its food reflects both sides. On one hand there is ordinary Filipino cooking: rice with every meal, pork adobo, sour sinigang soup, grilled pork belly and fish at carinderias (canteens) where you point at trays. On the other there is a long strip of beach bars and restaurants serving pizza, burgers and smoothie bowls at near-European prices. The best local food here is seafood: kinilaw (fish cured in vinegar and calamansi), grilled squid and fish, and the lunch cooked on the boat during island-hopping trips. Many visitors eat that boat lunch every day, so dinner in town is where choices matter.
Use this page to know what to order and where, with rough 2026 prices in Philippine pesos (PHP; roughly 63–66 pesos to the euro). The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked; confirm the price and inclusions on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in El Nido
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinilaw (Filipino ceviche) kinilaw | Raw fish (often tuna or mackerel) cured in coconut or cane vinegar and calamansi juice with onion, ginger and chilli. Fresh, sharp and a good test of how fresh a place's fish is. | Filipino restaurants and seafood grills in El Nido town; sometimes served on island-hopping boat lunches. | roughly ₱250–450 a plate (about €4–7) |
| Grilled seafood inihaw na isda / pusit (grilled fish / squid) | Whole fish, squid, prawns or shellfish grilled over charcoal and served with rice and a dipping sauce of soy, vinegar, calamansi and chilli. | The seafood displays on the beachfront road in town, where you choose from ice and pay by weight; also local grills away from the beach. | roughly ₱400–900 per person depending on what you pick (about €6–14); lobster and large prawns much more |
| Pork or chicken adobo adobo | Meat braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaf and black pepper until dark and tender. The most common Filipino home dish, always eaten with rice. | Carinderias and Filipino restaurants in town, especially on the inland streets away from the beach. | roughly ₱100–180 with rice at a carinderia (about €1.50–3); ₱250–400 in a tourist restaurant |
| Sour tamarind soup sinigang | A sour broth soured with tamarind, with pork, prawns or fish and vegetables such as water spinach (kangkong), radish and long beans. | Filipino restaurants and carinderias; usually ordered to share with rice. | roughly ₱200–450 a bowl (about €3–7) |
| Grilled pork belly and pork skewers inihaw na liempo / pork barbecue | Marinated pork belly or sweet, sticky pork skewers grilled over charcoal, often from small roadside grills in the late afternoon and evening. | Street grills and small eateries in town; ask locally where the evening grills set up. | roughly ₱20–40 a skewer, ₱150–250 for a liempo plate with rice (about €2.50–4) |
| Island-hopping boat lunch boodle-style lunch on the bangka | On the standard island-hopping tours (labelled A, B, C and D by the municipality) the crew usually cooks grilled fish, pork or chicken, rice, salad and fresh fruit and serves it on a beach or on the boat. | Included in most island-hopping tours sold in town; quality varies between operators. | usually included in the tour price |
| Halo-halo | Shaved ice with evaporated milk layered with sweet beans, jelly, fruit, leche flan and often ube (purple yam) ice cream; you mix it before eating. | Filipino cafés and dessert counters in town. | roughly ₱120–220 (about €2–3.50) |
| Banana cue and turon banana cue / turon | Saba bananas fried with caramelised brown sugar on a stick (banana cue), or wrapped in a spring-roll wrapper with jackfruit and fried (turon). Common afternoon snacks. | Street vendors and small snack stalls in town, mostly afternoons. | roughly ₱20–40 each |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
El Nido town beachfront (Calle Hama and nearby)
The road along the town beach is lined with restaurants, bars and evening seafood displays. Convenient and lively with good sunset views, but prices are higher and quality is uneven.
Inland streets of El Nido town
A few streets back from the beach you find carinderias, bakeries and small Filipino restaurants where workers and locals eat, at a fraction of beachfront prices.
El Nido public market
The town's wet market (palengke) sells fish, meat, vegetables and fruit to locals and restaurants; useful for seeing the day's catch and buying mangoes, bananas and other fruit cheaply.
Corong-Corong
A beach area just south of town, a short tricycle ride away, with restaurants and bars facing west over Bacuit Bay; popular for sunset drinks and dinner.
Nacpan Beach
A long beach about an hour north of town by road, with a handful of simple eateries and beach bars serving grilled seafood and Filipino plates. A day trip rather than a dinner spot.
Food tours in El Nido compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Nido: Filipino Cooking Class with Meal | 5 hours | from €52 per person | max 10 | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| EL NIDO: Sharing/Joiner Island Hopping Tour A w/BUFFET LUNCH | 8 hours | from €19 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| El Nido: Shared Island Hopping Tour C with Buffet Lunch | 8 hours | from €24 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| El Nido: Private/Exclusive Island Hopping Tour A BEST PRICE! | 8 hours | from €111 per person | private | Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them. | Check dates |
| El Nido, Sibaltan: Family Dinner, Bonfire and Karaoke | 5 hours | from €32 per person | — | Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark. | Check dates |
El Nido: Filipino Cooking Class with Meal
On GetYourGuide · run by KKJ TRAVEL SERVICES
- Length
- 5 hours
- Price
- from €52 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 8 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 10
- Included
- Hands-on cooking class Welcome drinks Ingredients 5 Dishes (2 starters, 2 main dishes and 1 dessert), English-speaking instructor Recipe book Shared meal of your dishes Transportation
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
- Starts
- will send the voucher with location
EL NIDO: Sharing/Joiner Island Hopping Tour A w/BUFFET LUNCH
On GetYourGuide · run by Beacfront Travel & Tours
- Length
- 8 hours
- Price
- from €19 per person
- Rating
- 4.3 ★ from 141 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- Beachfront travel and tours
El Nido: Shared Island Hopping Tour C with Buffet Lunch
On GetYourGuide · run by Beacfront Travel & Tours
- Length
- 8 hours
- Price
- from €24 per person
- Rating
- 4.2 ★ from 110 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- Beachfront travel and tours
El Nido: Private/Exclusive Island Hopping Tour A BEST PRICE!
On GetYourGuide · run by Poseidon Tours and Expeditions
- Length
- 8 hours
- Price
- from €111 per person
- Rating
- 4.4 ★ from 82 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- private
- Included
- Free Pickup within 1 km of Corong-corong Beach (By Tuk-tuk) Buffet Lunch Bottled Water Life Vest Licensed Tourist Boat Licensed Guide and Crew Hotel Drop off Fins/Aquashoes Gratuities Environmental Fee (400 pesos per…
- Suits
- Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them.
El Nido, Sibaltan: Family Dinner, Bonfire and Karaoke
On GetYourGuide · run by El Trinidad Organic Farm
- Length
- 5 hours
- Price
- from €32 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 4 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Traditional Filipino dinner Vegetarian and vegan options Drinking water Beach bonfire Cultural dance show Karaoke session Interaction with local family Social atmosphere Alcoholic drinks and soft drinks (available for…
- Suits
- Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark.
- Starts
- Efrena Beach
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Street food in El Nido is limited compared with Manila or Cebu: mostly evening barbecue grills, banana cue and turon, and fresh fruit. It is cheap and usually fine if it is cooked in front of you. The bigger saving comes from eating at carinderias, where a plate of rice and one or two dishes costs very little.
Sit-down meals
Sit-down restaurants range from simple Filipino places to beachfront restaurants with Western menus. For local food, look for places cooking Filipino dishes and fresh fish rather than pizza. Dinner is the main meal for visitors because most of the day is spent on boats; many kitchens close around 22:00. Service charges of 5–10% are sometimes added, so check the bill.
Cooking classes
A few Filipino cooking classes operate around El Nido and nearby resorts, usually covering adobo, sinigang, kinilaw or lumpia in about 2–3 hours. The selection is small and changes, so check recent reviews and whether ingredients are bought at the local market.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | ₱800–1,200 (about €12–19; carinderia meals and street snacks) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | ₱1,800–2,800 (about €28–44; Filipino or seafood dinners and a few drinks) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | ₱4,500+ (about €70+; resort restaurant or a big seafood dinner with cocktails) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Filipino cooking is meat- and fish-heavy, and even vegetable dishes often contain pork, shrimp paste (bagoong) or fish sauce (patis). Because El Nido has many foreign visitors, vegetarian and vegan options are easy to find in the tourist restaurants (curries, salads, smoothie bowls), much less so at carinderias. Ask for 'walang karne' (no meat) and mention fish sauce and shrimp paste.
Halal: Halal food is hard to find in El Nido. Palawan has Muslim communities further south, but in El Nido pork is everywhere. Seafood and vegetable dishes are the practical choice; ask whether pork or lard was used in cooking.
Gluten-free: Rice-based meals help: grilled fish, kinilaw and rice are naturally gluten-free. Soy sauce is in adobo, marinades and dipping sauces, and fried snacks use wheat wrappers, so coeliacs should bring a translation card and expect limited awareness outside the more international restaurants.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Seafood priced per 100 g or per kilo at beachfront displays, then a large fish or lobster is weighed and cooked without telling you the total. Ask for the weight and the total before it goes on the grill, and confirm whether rice and sauces are included.
- Cheap island-hopping tours that cut corners on the included lunch, or bundle extra fees you didn't expect. Ask what the lunch includes and whether the environmental fee and lagoon/kayak fees are inside the price. Read recent reviews of the operator rather than going with the cheapest stall.
- Card surcharges of a few percent, or 'cash only' discovered at the end of a meal, in a town where ATMs often run out of cash. Bring enough pesos from Puerto Princesa or Manila, ask about card fees before ordering, and keep small notes for carinderias and tricycles.
- Tricycle drivers quoting tourist prices for short rides to Corong-Corong or Las Cabañas restaurants. Agree the fare before getting in and ask your accommodation what the usual price is.
Top tours & activities in El Nido
Rent a car in El Nido
Compare rental cars from local and international companies, with free cancellation on most bookings.
Compare car rentals in El NidoPlan the rest of your El Nido trip
Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Is it safe to eat street food and drink the water in El Nido?
Freshly grilled food and fruit you peel yourself are generally fine. Choose busy stalls and food cooked in front of you, and be more careful with dishes that have sat out in the heat. Do not drink tap water; use bottled or filtered water, and many guesthouses and cafés offer refills. Ice in established restaurants is usually made from purified water, but if you have a sensitive stomach ask or skip it.
Is lunch included on island-hopping tours?
Usually yes. Most of the standard island-hopping tours (A, B, C and D) sold in town include a lunch cooked by the crew, typically grilled fish or chicken, pork, rice, salad and fruit, plus drinking water. Quality and quantity vary between operators, so ask what is served. Soft drinks and beer are often extra. If you are vegetarian, tell the operator when booking so they can prepare something separately.
How much should I budget for food per day in El Nido?
Eating mostly at carinderias and street grills, about ₱800–1,200 (roughly €12–19) a day is enough. A mix of Filipino restaurants and seafood dinners with a drink or two is roughly ₱1,800–2,800. Beachfront Western restaurants and resorts can cost as much as in Europe. Remember that island-hopping days include lunch, which lowers your food spend on those days.
Do I need cash, or can I pay by card?
Bring cash. El Nido has a few ATMs but they are known to run out, especially at weekends and in high season, and some charge high fees. Many carinderias, tricycles and small shops take cash only. Larger restaurants and hotels often accept cards, sometimes with a surcharge of a few percent. GCash and similar mobile wallets are widely used by locals but may not work with foreign accounts.
Do I need to tip in El Nido?
Tipping is appreciated rather than expected. Check the bill first: some restaurants add a service charge of about 5–10%. If not, rounding up or leaving 5–10% for good service is common among visitors. On island-hopping trips, a tip for the boat crew of a few hundred pesos per group is customary if they looked after you well.
What Filipino dishes should I try first?
Start with kinilaw (fish cured in vinegar and calamansi), grilled squid or fish, pork adobo and sinigang (sour tamarind soup), all with rice. For snacks try banana cue and turon in the afternoon, and halo-halo when it is hot. Look for these in Filipino restaurants and carinderias on the inland streets rather than the beachfront, where menus lean towards Western food.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.