Beyond the Puerto Princesa Underground River the Restaurants That Surprised Me

Beyond the Puerto Princesa Underground River the Restaurants That Surprised Me

Why Stop in Puerto Princesa

Most travellers treat Puerto Princesa as a transit point. They land, sleep, and leave for the Underground River or El Nido. The city itself, the reasoning goes, has little to offer beyond logistics. That reasoning is wrong. Puerto Princesa has a food scene that justifies a deliberate overnight even if you have already seen a dozen limestone caves. You just have to know where to eat and what to skip.

The Underground River Morning

Book your permit through the PPSRNP online booking system at bookings.undergroundriver.com.ph 2 to 6 months ahead if you travel between November and May, when the daily cap of 900 persons fills fast. The 2025 permit costs PHP 500 for foreign adults, PHP 250 for Philippine residents, plus a PHP 150 environmental fee. Add PHP 175 for the round trip boat transfer from Sabang wharf to the cave entrance. A DIY trip from the city runs PHP 1,500 to 2,000 total, including van transfer, and takes 7 to 8 hours door to door. The cave itself is 45 minutes inside a world class karst formation. The transit, queuing, and waiting consume the other 6 hours. It is worth it only for geology completists or anyone with no alternative karst experience. Everyone else should know that the scripted tour with mandatory life vests, hard hats, and audio guides is a box-ticking exercise, not a transcendent experience.

By 2:00 PM you are back in the city, hungry, and free. That is when Puerto Princesa becomes interesting.

The Restaurant You Book Two Days Ahead

Kalui Restaurant

Kalui Restaurant at 369 Rizal Avenue, Barangay San Miguel, is the best meal in Palawan. That is not a casual claim. The dining room is an open air garden compound with bamboo furniture, no electric lights at dinner, and a set menu format that changes daily. You do not order from a long list. You sit, they bring courses, and the quality is consistent. The 2025 main dishes run PHP 400 to 800. The reservation requirement is essential for dinner. Book 1 to 2 days ahead or eat lunch between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM when walk ins are easier. The kitchen is closed Sundays.

Do not dismiss Kalui as a tourist set menu operation. It executes that format better than almost any restaurant in Palawan. The grilled fish is never overcooked. The kinilaw arrives properly acidic. The vegetable dishes change with the market. It is the one place you should not skip.

Kinabuchs Grill and Bar

Kinabuchs Grill and Bar, 348 Rizal Avenue, is the counterpoint. Where Kalui is refined, Kinabuchs is rowdy. The specialty is tamilok, woodworm harvested from mangrove trees, served raw with calamansi and vinegar. It tastes like brine and ocean. The crocodile sisig is the other signature, chopped and sizzled with chili and egg. Dishes run PHP 250 to 600. This is a genuine local institution, not a tourist trap dressed as one. Go for dinner. Order the tamilok for the story. Stay for the grilled pork belly.

Badjao Seafront Restaurant

Badjao Seafront Restaurant on Abueg Road, Barangay Bagong Sikat, sits on a boardwalk over the mangrove flats. The atmosphere outclasses the food. You eat seafood while crabs skitter below the slats and the sunset turns the water gold. The 2025 prices run PHP 350 to 700 per dish. The menu is broad but not brilliant. Skip the grilled squid if it looks thick. Order the sinigang or the garlic butter prawns instead. Go for the setting, eat well enough, and treat it as a scenic meal rather than a destination kitchen.

The Baywalk Grills and the Bakery I Returned to Twice

The Baywalk Grills

The baywalk along Rizal Avenue fills with grills after sundown. Vendors set up charcoal braziers and plastic chairs. You pick raw skewers from a cooler, hand them over, and wait. A full meal of pork barbecue, chicken inaso, rice, and a liter of water costs under PHP 300. The quality varies by vendor. Look for the stalls with the longest queues of local families, not tourists. That is your signal.

The Bakery Without a Sign

The bakery worth returning to is tucked off the main drag. It has no sign in English, no social media presence, and no reason to attract foreigners. Inside, a glass case holds ensaymada, pandesal, and a sticky rice cake called suman. The pandesal comes out of the oven at 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Buy six pieces for PHP 25. Eat them warm. That is the food memory that competes with the cave.

What To Skip

Honda Bay island hopping is a pleasant local beach day. The standard route visits Starfish Island, Luli Island, and Cowrie Island. The 2025 boat cost for a shared boat of 6 to 8 persons is PHP 1,300 to 1,800, plus PHP 150 environmental fee and PHP 225 to 300 in island entrance fees. The tour takes 6 to 7 hours from Sta. Lourdes wharf, 25 minutes north of the city. Cowrie Island is a lunch stop sandbar with mediocre food. Starfish Island has clear water and abundant starfish but limited shade. Luli Island disappears at high tide. Do not compare it to El Nido. It is not a poor man's Bacuit Archipelago. It is a different thing entirely: a relaxing day on the water with no pressure. Skip it if you have limited time. Eat instead.

How to Make the Overnight Work

Where to Stay

Arrive in Puerto Princesa by midday. Drop your bag at Sheebang Hostel on Manalo Street if you are on a budget. A 2025 dorm bed costs PHP 350 to 450. A private room runs PHP 800 to 1,200. For midrange, book Hue Hotels and Resorts at Km 3 on Puerto Princesa North Road for PHP 2,500 to 4,000 per night. For upscale, Princesa Garden Island Resort and Spa on Caniguiran, Barangay Bancao Bancao, runs PHP 6,000 to 12,000 per night.

The Itinerary

The same afternoon, walk to Kalui for a late lunch. Reserve dinner at Kinabuchs for that evening. The next morning, eat pandesal from the bakery and catch the Underground River tour. Return by early afternoon and catch a van to El Nido. Lexxus Shuttle, Daytripper Palawan, and Fortwally run hourly vans from San Jose Terminal between 5:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The 2025 fare is PHP 600 to 900 per person for the 5 to 6 hour drive. The AirSWIFT flight is faster, 1 hour, but the 2025 one way fare runs PHP 3,500 to 7,000 and only operates 1 to 2 flights daily. The van is the practical choice.

This page is for the traveller who has one extra night and wants to eat. It is not for the person racing from the airport to Sabang to El Nido in a single day. That person will miss everything that makes Puerto Princesa worth stopping for.