Rediscovering El Nido as a Plant-Based Hotspot: Where and What to Eat in Town

The huge switch in my diet was an oath to my brother’s tragic battle with cancer. I left for my birthday trip in El Nido on his second last hospital discharges. He passed away a few days after that trip. I came back in town as a vegetarian of 22 months with a renewed excitement and a list of plant-based restaurants on my Notes app. Sanka's Beach Tote in blue. Also available in mustard. Here are spots around town that have vegan and vegetarian menu or offer plant-based options off my list and discoveries I highly vouch for: Big Bad Thai Calle Hama. Open daily, 8:00AM-midnight At the nocturnal Calle Hama, you ought to keep looking up for signs and markers. Stop when you spot an elephant holding an apple with his trunk; you’re in for authentic flavors of Northeast Thailand. Big Bad Thai is a three-story restaurant with a view of the El Nido Bay and a bar on its topmost floor. I was expecting to go nuts about the pad thai but it was the curries over the two visits that earned my big badass chai. Tip: Mild Spicy is not so mild. Already warned you. Café Athena Serena Street. Across El Nido’s nightlife district is the quieter stretch of intercontinental restaurants and more relaxed bars; one of which is Café Athena, a true head-turner for its Greek visual inspiration and that irresistible live frame of El Nido Bay’s limestone cliffs and a vegetarian-lover for its ambrosian menu, recommending with all my Herculean ability the vegetarian Moussaka and Rokka Zucchini Pasta. Tip #1: Try to be seated next to the window for that Mykonos dining experience. Tip #2: Swing by Tales of the Islands Cafe for dessert I promise you not too overly sweet and just a stone’s throw from Cafe Athena. Holy Smoke Calle Hama. Open 24/7. Mediterranean representation on Calle Hama. And, holy smokes, I definitely fell for their falafel. Tip: Their solo orders are good enough for two people; for Filipinos at least. They take orders via their social accounts with free delivery in town. Aubrie’s Town Square. Breakfast starts at 7:30AM. Neither time of the day is superior at Aubrie’s. Come in the day and you will be graced with a view of El Nido Bay’s famous limestone giants. Come for supper and you will be enchanted by the fairy lights blinking through Town Square’s prominent acacia tree. Pretty romantic, if you’re gonna ask me. But there’s nothing more romantic than seated in a restaurant where everything that lands on the table is plant-based. Hayahay Café & Coworking Vanilla Beach. Open daily, 7:30AM-9:45PM. Grab something healthy before dipping to Maremegmeg Beach or a post-workout meal after a high-performance session at Hieroglyph. Hayahay Café is a shared oasis for health buffs, digital nomads (their coworking space at the second level provides a well-ventilated environment and, of course, multiple sockets), vegans, and vegetarians. One of the signature dishes, Banana Blossom Sandwich, was a sumptuous surprise and the bowls and wraps being customizable sounds another level of healthy experience. PLNT+HRVST Lio Beach. 9:30AM-9:00PM. Lio Beach has some spots with plant-based options but what makes this restaurant more remarkable than being the only 100% plant-based restaurant on the beach is how its ingredients are grown hydroponically; hence, the restaurant name. Start your day at Lio Beach with PLNT+HRVST’s veganized Filipino breakfast, tapsilog and tosilog. Grounded Rizal St. Open daily, 6:00AM-11:00PM. There’s an unspoken truth about aesthetic coffee shops, especially in cities. This cafe throws that stigma into the grinder. All cups served to me were consistently full of taste (Cortado being the best) as its trendsetting, minimalist interior, all thanks to their default oat milk. And the pastries to match the coffee? All vegan. Fun fact: Wrote most of this article here. Its spot-free setting, flavorful coffee, sockets, and free WiFi (though for a limited time) helped big time. Other unsung spots that welcome vegans and vegetarians: Ciao by Sava (Calle Hama). I fell in love with El Nido the first time for its nightlife across Calle Hama. Sava is one of the chillest spots to be and Ciao offers vegan and vegetarian tapas, snacks, and pastas. Other clubs and bars include Baba (Rooftop) and Patron still on Calle Hama, and Maremegmeg Beach Bar. Momos (Rizal St. & Calle Hama). Authentic Nepali and Indo-Chinese cuisine such as steamed/fried momos, manchow soup, and Schezwan fried rice. Not So Thai (Rizal St.). Ask for tofu pad thai, thank me later. One of the best pad thais I have ever had. Green Thai Curry is also good, especially when you miss rice. Frida Ka (Serena St.). Vegetarian Mexican classics - burrito, tacos, and burger. Chao Chao (Calle Hama). Veggie spring rolls, veggie dumplings, vegetarian bao, vegetarian bo bun salad, banana Nutella bao. 3 Bros Falafel (Rizal St.) Plant-based diet is still deemed locally as a Western concept, ergo almost selectively followed by destinations in the country with predominantly Western tourists such as Siargao and El Nido. The former has turned not just a paradise for all but of tourists with diet restrictions. I ticked all the restaurants and food spots on my list to finally say the same for El Nido: a truly inclusive paradise. Story and photography by SANKA TEAM

Rediscovering El Nido as a Plant-Based Hotspot: Where and What to Eat in Town

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