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Food tours in Manila: what to eat and which tour to book
Filipino food is sour, salty and rich rather than chilli-hot: adobo braised in vinegar and soy, sinigang soured with tamarind, sisig sizzling on an iron plate, whole roast lechon, and halo-halo for dessert. In Metro Manila it is eaten everywhere from carinderias (canteens with trays of the day's dishes) and street grills selling isaw and fish balls to big family restaurants and malls. Binondo, founded in 1594 and often called the oldest Chinatown in the world, adds dumplings, hopia and Chinese-Filipino noodle dishes, while the weekend markets in Makati and the seafood 'paluto' markets show how locals eat out.
Use this page to know what to order and where, with rough 2026 prices in Philippine pesos (about 63–67 PHP to the euro). The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked; confirm the price and meeting point on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in Manila
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobo | Chicken or pork braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaf and black pepper; the unofficial national dish, cooked differently in every household. | Carinderias, Filipino restaurants and mall food courts. | roughly ₱80–150 at a carinderia with rice; ₱250–450 in a restaurant |
| Sinigang | Sour soup of pork, prawns or fish with tamarind, tomato, radish, kangkong (water spinach) and long beans. | Filipino restaurants and carinderias. | roughly ₱120–200 at a canteen; ₱350–600 for a sharing bowl in a restaurant |
| Sisig | Chopped grilled pork face and ears with onion, chilli and calamansi, served sizzling on an iron plate, often with a raw egg stirred in. Originally from Pampanga. | Bars, grill restaurants and food stalls; a classic beer snack. | roughly ₱150–350 |
| Lechon lechon (baboy) | Whole spit-roasted pig with crackling skin, eaten at celebrations and sold by weight. Lechon kawali is pork belly deep-fried until crisp. | Lechon specialists and restaurants; La Loma in Quezon City is known for its lechon shops. | roughly ₱700–1,000 per kilo by weight; ₱200–400 for a plate |
| Street grill and fried snacks isaw, kwek-kwek, fishball | Isaw is grilled chicken or pork intestine on sticks; kwek-kwek is quail eggs in orange batter; fishballs are fried and dipped in sweet or spicy sauce. All eaten standing at the cart. | Street carts near universities, transport stops and markets, especially in the late afternoon and evening. | roughly ₱10–30 a stick or skewer |
| Halo-halo | Shaved ice with evaporated milk, sweet beans, jellies, jackfruit, ube (purple yam) jam and leche flan, sometimes topped with ice cream. Mix it before eating. | Dessert shops, Filipino restaurant chains and mall food courts. | roughly ₱90–250 |
| Chinese-Filipino snacks hopia, siopao, lumpia, kiampong | Hopia are flaky pastries filled with mung bean or ube; siopao are steamed buns; fresh lumpia are spring rolls with a soft wrapper; kiampong is a savoury fried rice. | Bakeries and old eateries on Ongpin Street and the side streets of Binondo. | roughly ₱30–80 per piece; ₱150–350 for a dish |
| Kare-kare | Oxtail and tripe stew in a thick peanut sauce with vegetables, eaten with bagoong (fermented shrimp paste) on the side. | Filipino restaurants, often as a weekend or family dish. | roughly ₱400–750 for a sharing portion |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Binondo (Chinatown), Ongpin Street
Founded in 1594 and often called the world's oldest Chinatown. Ongpin Street and its side lanes are lined with tea houses, dumpling shops, bakeries and hawker-style stalls; the area is the classic setting for a food crawl.
Quiapo
Next to Binondo, around Quiapo Church and the Golden Mosque, with street food, market stalls and the Muslim quarter where Maranao and other Mindanao dishes and halal food are sold.
Salcedo Saturday Market and Legazpi Sunday Market, Makati
Weekend markets in Makati's business district parks, with prepared Filipino and regional food, lechon, grilled seafood, kakanin (rice cakes), fruit and baked goods. Popular with families and expats.
Seafood paluto markets (dampa)
Wet markets where you buy fresh seafood by the kilo and take it to a nearby restaurant that cooks it for a fee per kilo ('paluto'). The Seaside market area by Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay is the best known.
Maginhawa Street, Quezon City
Long street near the University of the Philippines lined with small, cheap restaurants, dessert shops and cafés run by young owners.
Poblacion, Makati
Dense old quarter of Makati with bars, small restaurants and late-night eating, from Filipino grills to international food.
Food tours in Manila 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manila: Food Tour! Cooking Class and Local Market Visit | 5 hours | from €56 per person | — | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| Manila Street Food Tour Experience: Eat Like a Local | 2 hours | from €41 per person | max 10 | First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go. | Check dates |
| Manila Meals Food Tour with 15+ Tastings | 4 hours | from €39 per person | max 8 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Manila: Sightseeing and Food Walking Tour with Tastings | 6 hours | from €58 per person | private | Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them. | Check dates |
| Manila Street food and Night Market Tour | 2 hours | from €56 per person | — | Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark. | Check dates |
| Makati Street Food Tour Experience | 2 hours | from €54 per person | max 10 | Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark. | Check dates |
Manila: Food Tour! Cooking Class and Local Market Visit
On GetYourGuide · run by Manila local experience
- Length
- 5 hours
- Price
- from €56 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 6 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Visit to a local market Cooking class in a local's house Preparation of authentic Filipino dishes Riding local transportation like jeepney and tricycles Alcoholic drinks are
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
- Starts
- church of Saint Jude
Manila Street Food Tour Experience: Eat Like a Local
On GetYourGuide · run by Mstartours
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- from €41 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 156 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 10
- Suits
- First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go.
Manila Meals Food Tour with 15+ Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by A Chef's Tour
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €39 per person
- Rating
- 4.5 ★ from 73 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 8
- Included
- 15+ food tastings included, more than any other Manila food tour Moveable feast with 6-7 stops around the streets of old Binondo Max 8 exclusive guests, smallest group size in Manila Led by professional foodie guides…
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- We'll meet at the historic 1919 Grand Cafe in the heart of Binondo, your local guide will be waiting inside, ask for the 'Manila Meals' tour name.
Manila: Sightseeing and Food Walking Tour with Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Abraham Tours Philippines
- Length
- 6 hours
- Price
- from €58 per person
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ from 69 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- private
- Suits
- Couples, families or friends who want the route and pace set around them.
- Starts
- Depends on the selected option
Manila Street food and Night Market Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by V.S Tour Services
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- from €56 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 23 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark.
- Starts
- Tutuban Center
Makati Street Food Tour Experience
On GetYourGuide · run by Mstartours
- Length
- 2 hours
- Price
- from €54 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 23 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 10
- Included
- Filipino Street Food (Dinner) Local tour guide Welcome drink water and local beer Pickup at the meeting point: Filling Station Cafe and Bar, Makati Photo-shot souvenir
- Suits
- Evening eaters who want dinner and drinks rolled into one, plus the city after dark.
- Starts
- Filling Station Bar And Cafe
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Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Street food is cheap and everywhere: isaw, fishballs, kwek-kwek, banana-cue, taho (soft tofu with syrup) in the morning, and balut for the brave. Choose carts with a queue and food cooked in front of you. Malls are the default air-conditioned food court for many locals.
Sit-down meals
Filipino meals are shared: order several dishes for the table with plenty of rice. Carinderias let you point at trays and pay per dish. Mid-range restaurants serve classics like kare-kare and sinigang in family portions, and a service charge of about 10% is often added.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes in Manila usually cover adobo, sinigang, lumpia and a dessert, sometimes after a wet-market visit. They are less common than in other Southeast Asian capitals, so check exactly where the class is held, as traffic can make travel time long.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | ₱600–1,000, about €9–15 (carinderia meals, street snacks, a mall food-court dinner) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | ₱1,800–3,000, about €27–45 (sit-down Filipino restaurants with drinks) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | ₱5,000+, about €75+ (modern Filipino tasting menu or top hotel dining) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Difficult in traditional places. Pork is in a large share of dishes, vegetables are often cooked with bagoong (shrimp paste), pork bits or fish sauce, and 'vegetable' dishes may contain meat. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants exist in Makati, BGC and Quezon City; ask for 'walang karne, walang isda' (no meat, no fish).
Halal: Pork is everywhere, but halal food is available in Quiapo's Muslim quarter around the Golden Mosque, in Mindanao-style restaurants and at halal-certified outlets in some malls. Ask about lard and shared cooking equipment.
Gluten-free: Rice is the staple, which helps, but soy sauce (in adobo and marinades), oyster sauce, breadcrumbs and batter are common. Grilled fish, sinigang and plain rice are relatively safe; ask about soy sauce and carry a note in Filipino or English.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Paluto seafood markets where vendors overweigh the catch, swap the fish you chose for a smaller one, or quote per-100-gram prices that sound like per-kilo prices. Confirm whether the price is per kilo, watch the scale, keep an eye on your seafood until it reaches the restaurant, and agree the cooking fee per kilo before ordering.
- Friendly strangers who invite tourists for a drink or meal, then drug the drink and rob the victim; widely reported in Manila. Don't accept food or drinks from people you have just met, and never leave your drink unattended.
- Taxis refusing to use the meter or quoting a flat fare to restaurants or Binondo. Use a ride-hailing app such as Grab, or insist on the meter before getting in.
- Service charge already included in the bill, then a tip expected on top. Check the bill for a 'service charge' line; if it's there, any extra tip is optional.
Top tours & activities in Manila
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Do I need to tip in Manila?
Many restaurants add a 10% service charge, so check the bill; if it's there, leaving small change on top is enough. Where there's no service charge, about 10% is appreciated. Leave a few pesos at carinderias if you like, and round up for drivers. A tip for a good food-tour guide is welcome but not required.
Is street food in Manila safe?
Choose carts with steady queues and food cooked hot in front of you, such as grilled isaw and fried snacks. Avoid ice of unknown origin, raw dishes and food sitting in the heat. Don't drink tap water in Metro Manila; bottled and filtered water are cheap and everywhere. Malls are a safe fallback.
What is balut, and do I have to try it?
Balut is a fertilised duck egg with a partly developed embryo, boiled and eaten with salt or vinegar, sold by vendors in the evening. It is a well-known street snack but many Filipinos don't eat it either. Try it if curious; nobody will be offended if you pass.
When are the Makati weekend markets on?
The Salcedo market runs on Saturday mornings and the Legazpi market on Sunday mornings, both in parks in Makati's business district, from roughly early morning to early afternoon. Go early for the widest choice and before the midday heat. Check current days and hours, as they can change around holidays.
How much should I budget for food per day?
On a tight budget, about ₱600–1,000 (€9–15) covers carinderia meals and street snacks. A comfortable day with sit-down Filipino restaurants and a drink or two is roughly ₱1,800–3,000. Modern Filipino tasting menus and hotel restaurants start around ₱5,000 per person. Malls in Makati and BGC price somewhat higher than the old city.
How do I get around between food areas?
Traffic in Metro Manila is very heavy, so plan by area: Binondo and Quiapo in one trip, Makati's Poblacion and markets in another. Ride-hailing apps are the easiest way to move between them. Allow plenty of time, especially on weekday evenings and Friday afternoons, and on rainy days.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.