Cheap Food on Boracay

You can find plenty of cheap food on Boracay if you know where to look. You can even find good cheap food, and eat it in unique places like the top of a 3 story tree house!

It was important for us to find places to get cheap food on Boracay because food made up the largest part of our budget. Accommodation was a distant second, in part because we did a great job limiting cost by staying at an affordable Boracay beach resort.

Despite trying to stay on budget, we ate really well. There are Boracay restaurants catering to every taste and we enjoyed some one-of-a-kind experiences for reasonable prices.

Here’s our list of 11 Boracay restaurants where you can eat in style without breaking the bank. At most of them we fed our family of 4 for about $25 or less including food, drinks, tax, and tip.
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11 Top Picks for Cheap Food on Boracay

Station 3 Restaurants

The Station 3 area is definitely the spot to go for reasonable prices and relaxed family atmosphere. Most restaurants have tables on the sand and plenty of meals for 150-250 pesos ($3-6).

Tree House Restaurant

Tree House Restaurant was our favorite place to eat on Boracay. The kids are still asking to go back even though we’re now on a different island! The restaurant is on several levels of a sprawling tree house on the beach near Station 3. They have live music every night and a big variety of delicious comfort food on the menu.

We particularly liked the spaghetti with pesto sauce, spaghetti bolgonese, and the pizza margherita (which the kids devoured twice). Jasper had five slices of the pizza the first night we ate there! He’s only 3!

The best part of this restaurant is the top level dining area which you access by climbing a ladder just past the bar. There are three low tables, and you sit on the floor on cushions. There are candles and some 60’s style tie dye tapestries and fabric lamps.

Combined with the live music it made for a chilled out relaxing atmosphere, and we felt like we were hanging out in our own living room. We ate here twice. 1,320 pesos ($30) and 1,050 pesos ($24).

Shantal’s Resto

Shanta’s Resto is located on White Beach near Station 3. It’s right at the end of the path that leads back to Orchids Resort and several other resorts behind the beach. There’s a small stand where the bar is and a bunch of tables right on the sand. Shantal’s has a big menu too, but there are 2 highlights to know about.

The first is the most delicious mango pancake ever created. We plowed through at least a half dozen of these dinner-plate size treats between us during our stay on Boracay. Crispy around the edges, light and fluffy inside. Filled with tons of fresh mango. Can’t beat it.

After starting your morning with mango pancakes, stop back in for happy hour every day from 2 until 8 p.m. This is a perfect spot to watch a stunning Boracay sunset.

Happy hour beers are just 30 pesos (about $0.67) and there are several cocktails available for 40 pesos. Try the Caipirinha made with local calamansi fruit which are like tiny limes and rum (a slight twist on the Brazilian favorite). Food is pretty cheap at Shantal’s too. We often had a full meal for about 500 – 600 pesos ($11-14).

Hey Jude

Hey Jude is just down the beach from Shantal’s near Station 3 and was a favorite lunch spot of ours. They have tables inside as well as on the sand, though they don’t serve food on the beach before dinner time (the only place we found with such a restriction). Fried chicken and Hawaiian pizzas are delicious. They also do take-out pizza which we took advantage of once night in the rain.

Like Shantal’s another draw at Hey Jude is the drink special! They do buy-one-take-one cocktails all day every day. They have a list of four each day that are 80 pesos for two, and the options rotate. This is great for lunch when other places haven’t started their happy hour specials yet.

It’s also a great way to unwind after a long day herding 3 year olds at the beach! A bargain at about 1,000 pesos ($23) for dinner for parents and twins, including 2 shakes and 4 cocktails.

Mario’s Pizza

Ok, so we like pizza. Mario’s is all the way at the end of the beach road past Station 3. They have 4 nice tables on the beach with fun colored lights (Aurora was psyched that we were at the “pink” table – lit up by the pink light). Good variety of pizza styles and reasonable prices. 620 pesos ($14) for all of us.

Osom

Close to Hey Jude, Osom has fun teardrop shaped beanbag chairs around small tables on the beach.

We had a relaxing dinner here where the kids jumped on the beanbags and ran around in the sand while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the 2 for 1 cocktails.

They had a grilled fish on the menu and when we asked about it they actually just brought the whole fish to the table for us to inspect before cooking! When the food came the kids joined us at the table and everyone ate everything. Delicious dinner for 1,000 pesos ($23).

D’Mall Restaurants

While generally more expensive than Station 3, D’Mall does have some worthwhile dining options. We made the trek down specifically for these two.

Smoke Resto

If it was closer to where we were staying this might have been our favorite place to eat on the island.

Smoke Resto is a hole in the wall spot on the same road as the fruit and vegetable stands between D’Mall and the main road (keep going to the right as you walk through the mall from the beach). We’ve read that there are two other locations on the island but we only tried this one.

The food here was mouthwatering good. Pineapple chicken rice and Kao Pad were spectacular and cheap! 150 pesos each! Total cost for the four of us was 450 pesos ($10). This is seriously cheap food on Boracay or anywhere else!

Perfect for a quick bite. The service is fast and friendly and you can grab a fun dessert at the Halo Halo place across the road on your way home.

Cyma

Greek food in the Philippines!

This is another tiny place tucked away in D’Mall. If you find the Ferris wheel in the center of the mall area, Cyma is down a small side street off that plaza.

A fun specialty here is the flaming cheese appetizer. Beware of the loud “OPA!” when the waiter lights it though!

We also had a yummy arugala pesto that was a great twist on the typical basil pesto we’re used to.

A little pricey (by our Station 3 standards) but we still made it out for 1500 pesos ($34) for all of us.

Station 2 Restaurants

Paupatri

Paupatri is a splurge.

When you arrive at the restaurant you are asked to remove your shoes and walk along a long covered wooden bridge surrounded by jungle plants.

The restaurant at the end of the bridge “floats” over a series of ponds, amongst lush banana leaves and other tropical plants. The whole place is built of gleaming timbers with traditional thatched roofs.

Ask to sit in one of the private cabanas that spoke out from the central dining area. Each has a low round table and you sit on cushions on the floor. With the wind jostling bamboo chimes it’s a tranquil experience, even with two often loud 3 year olds!

We loved the Jackfish wrapped in banana leaves as well as prawns with yellow curry sauce. We ordered a side of green beans, which was delicious in a soy garlic sauce, but definitely didn’t need the extra food. Portions are enormous (and prices match).

Fried caramelized bananas for dessert were a huge hit. Save room!

Paupatri is a bit difficult to find. From White Beach look for the Deparis and Mandarin Resorts. There is literally a tunnel between them that leads back behind the buildings. After going through the tunnel follow the path straight back for another 100 yards or so and look for a large fancy-looking hotel on the left. The entrance to Paupatri is just to the left of the hotel. If you hit the main road you’ve gone too far.

We paid about 2,500 pesos ($55) for our meal here, which is extravagant by our budget standards. But compared to a regular night out at home, this totally one-of-a-kind experience could certainly be considered an example of cheap food on Boracay!

Paradise Garden Buffet

We went to three all-you-can eat buffets on Boracay, and two out of three were at Paradise Garden Resort because it was so good.

For 550 pesos ($13), kids 3 and under free, you get a huge selection of food. There’s fresh roasted organic pork, sushi, grilled meats and vegetables, tempura, pasta, crepes, and more. The dessert station alone is worth the price of admission.

Free lemonade and iced tea are also included. There’s seating both on the beach and under a canopy when the weather is nice. If it’s raining everyone is under the canopy.

The buffet would be worthwhile just for the food, but to top it off there is a fire dancer show every night. These guys and girls are great performers and interact with the guests to make for some terrific photos.

D’Talipapa Market

D’Talipapa is a fish market with rows of vendors selling everything from prawns to octopus. There are also a few stands selling vegetables.

The idea is you pick out your fresh seafood and veggies, then bring them directly to one of the many small restaurants surrounding the market where they will cook your food to order.

The twins got a huge thrill out of seeing all the sea critters. There were colorful reef fish, urchins, dried fish of all kinds, and even huge squid. It’s a bit of a madhouse with everyone trying to lure you to their stall, but it’s part of the experience.

The cost can be a little on the high side if you’re on a tight budget. It’s a unique experience though and we felt it was worth indulging.

Total cost for the 4 of us was 730 pesos for crabs and veggies (700 of which was for the crabs) and 605 pesos for the restaurant to cook them, including a couple of drinks as well.

So for under $30 we picked our own crabs at the market and had them delivered to our table deliciously prepared a few minutes later, complete with sides of veggies and rice, a couple beers, and fruit shake for the kids.  Not bad.

Diniwid Beach Restaurant

Spider House

What a view.

Spider house clings to the cliffside overlooking Diniwid Beach. You access the restaurant either through a cave-like tunnel through the rocks, or by swimming to a bamboo ladder and climbing up from the ocean!

We enjoyed some delicious chicken adobo and masala wrap sandwiches from our perch over the water. The kids split a giant pancake.

After lunch the kids loved playing on the bamboo raft that’s anchored a few feet from the bottom of the restaurant’s ladder. There were also lots of tropical fish hanging out below the raft, which were fun to spot through the gaps in the bamboo deck.

Lunch was 900 pesos ($20).

Puka Shell Beach Restaurant

Puka Grande Restaurant

Usually restaurants on isolated beaches serve average food and charge high prices. The Puka Grande Restaurant at Puka Shell Beach definitely bucks the trend.

The food is delicious, with big portions of fresh fish sinigang and other local specialties. Fruit shakes are also the best price around at 50 pesos apiece.

The restaurant is right next to the beach where the main road ends. Definitely worth a stop for lunch when you visit Puka Shell Beach.

We had two lunches here. Both times were 675 pesos ($15).

Amazing Cheap Food on Boracay

We were blown away by the food options on Boracay. There is something for everyone and it can all be had for really reasonable prices. Even the expensive meals are a bargain compared to what we’re used to in the US.

Ready to visit Boracay? Find an awesome resort on Agoda, but don’t forget about Orchids if you’re looking for a budget option.

Our comprehensive Boracay Family Travel Guide has tons more info for your trip, and a video too!

Also check out our other Boracay posts, including:

How to Get to Boracay

Orchids Resort: Boracay Beach Resort on a Budget

Boracay Oceanarium

Boracay White Beach and Beyond

Boracay to Kalibo Airport Transfer – Not a Fan of the Van

Stay in touch and follow our adventure!

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