San Juan has been surging in popularity in recent years for two reasons – the first for its surfing, and the second for its food. I don’t know how it all started but this unassuming stretch of beach in La Union province has emerged as a foodie destination. With all the exposure its been getting on social media, it seems that people are becoming as excited to come here for its food as they are for its surfing. That was definitely the case with me.

Just a 5-hr drive north of Manila, if you’re looking to visit San Juan to go surfing and food tripping, then here are 26 restaurants and food stalls for you to check out.

1. Olas Banditos – CLOSED

I don’t know what it is, but good Mexican food and surfing go really well together. There’s just something comforting about having sand between your toes and a burrito in your hand in a place like this. It’s perfect. For that reason, Olas Banditos was one of the restaurants I was most excited about in San Juan, and it didn’t disappoint.

An order of chicken quesadillas and a beef taco. They have Baja-style fish tacos and flautas here as well.

2. Tagpuan

This place surprised me. I was more excited to have burritos and hamburgers than typical Filipino food, but we wound up having one of our best meals here at Tagpuan. It’s located at the side of the Mad Monkeys burger restaurant.

Tagpuan has a focused menu. They specialize in Filipino rice bowls topped with favorites like tapa (thinly sliced marinated beef), pares (beef simmered in sweet soy and anise), and chicken adobo flakes.

3. Gefseis Greek Grill

Gefseis Greek Grill is one of the most popular restaurants in the area. You’ll find it on virtually every top ten “where to eat in San Juan” list. It’s located towards the beach, away from the main road.

A tasty starter of hummus with pita.

4. Mad Monkeys

Burgers are my ultimate favorite comfort food so I really wanted to eat here. In fact, it was the very first restaurant we went to soon as we arrived in San Juan.

5. Flotsam & Jetsam

As you can tell from the pictures, Flotsam & Jetsam is THE place to party at night in San Juan. It’s a hip and uber popular hostel that draws large crowds of millennial partygoers. At night, practically everyone vacationing in San Juan will be here.

We came here to enjoy a few drinks but the hostel has a full menu as well, offering a wide range of dishes from Filipino staples to international favorites like pizza and pasta.

Flotsam & Jetsam is fun. There were so many people here that we couldn’t find a place to sit. It’s a stylish place that brands itself as an “artist hostel” so the vibe is young and electric.

6. Halo Halo de Iloko

This is the only place in this list that isn’t actually in San Juan. Halo Halo de Iloko, as their name suggests, is a popular halo-halo restaurant in the neighboring town of San Fernando. It’s a great place to stop and enjoy halo-halo on your drive back to Manila. Unfortunately for us, many people seemed to have the same idea as the place was packed with big groups of diners waiting to be seated. We had a 5-hour drive ahead of us so we decided to save this for our next visit.

THE GREAT NORTHWEST PHILIPPINES TRAVEL STOP & VIEWING DECK

The Great Northwest Philippines Travel Stop and Viewing Deck is a mouthful of a compound that houses some of San Juan’s most popular eateries, including the iconic El Union Coffee which is without a doubt the most famous coffee shop in the area.

7. El Union Coffee

As described, El Union Coffee is one of the most popular places in San Juan. From what I understand, they’re a pioneer here and are often featured in articles and TV segments about La Union. They’ve become a San Juan institution so your surfing trip can’t be complete without enjoying a cup of coffee here.

El Union Coffee is famous for their cold brew coffee and horchata. Cold brew coffee is coffee brewed with cold (or room temperature) water over a period 12-24 hours. As the pundits claim, it’s a bit mellower and more full-bodied than regular iced coffee which tends to be more acidic.

Horchata, on the other hand, is a milky beverage made from ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, tiger nuts (chufas), or melon seeds. At El Union, you can get it either plain or dirty, dirty meaning spiked with coffee.

8. Great Gamble Seafood Shack – CLOSED

I love seafood so this was another restaurant I was super excited to try. Great Gamble Seafood Shack is known for their seafood sandwiches and rolls, particularly their Classic Quarter Pounder which is 1/4 lbs of crab, shrimp, and scallop in a brioche roll. They offer a few seafood pasta dishes as well.

Here’s the aforementioned Classic Quarter Pounder which tastes every bit as good as it looks. This was one of my favorite things to eat in San Juan. It’s soooo good. The seafood tastes fresh and the roll is nice and soft. There’s a good balance between the colder crab spread and the warm scallops too. If you like seafood, then you shouldn’t miss this.

9. Sabong La Union Fried Chicken

As far as I know, people don’t usually eat fried chicken for breakfast (or drink beer at 10AM), but rules fly out the window when you’re on vacation. As their name suggests, Sabong La Union offers different types of fried chicken, from Korean soy chicken to chicken glazed with honey and bagoong (fermented shrimp paste).

Behold the Elyu Original served with handcut fries and their own homemade banana ketchup. Bottled banana ketchup is too sweet for me but Sabong’s homemade version was perfect. It tasted of banana and tomato without being unnaturally sweet.

10. Papa Bear

Papa Bear has a focused menu offering different types of Asian dishes like pho, char kway teow, and sambal pork.

11. Layag Grille & Kilawen Bar – CLOSED

Layag Grille is a Filipino restaurant that serves inihaw (grilled food) and different types of kilawen. A specialty of Ilocos province, kilawen consists of goat, beef, pork, or fish that’s been “cooked” by the acidity of organic vinegar or calamansi. If you’re interested in trying regional specialties, then you should definitely try the goat kilawen.

12. Makai Bowls

Makai Bowls is another popular eatery in San Juan. From what I understand, they used to be located at Flotsam & Jetsam but they’ve since moved to their own location here at the Travel Stop.

215 URBIZTONDO ROAD

Like The Great Northwest Philippines Travel Stop and Viewing Deck, 215 Urbiztondo Road is a small cluster of restaurants offering different types of food.

13. Seawadeeka

Seawadeeka offers Asian specialties like banh mi, pad Thai, nasi lemak, and satay. From what I understand, Seawadeeka operated as a food truck for many years before finally settling at their permanent location here at 215 Urbiztondo.

These glasses of Thai iced tea were refreshing and delicious, perfect for the hot San Juan weather.

I had my heart set on the banh mi so I ignored the server’s recommendation of pad Thai. We tried the chicken banh mi and the beef banh mi.

BEACH BUM FOOD PARK

Beach Bum is the very first food park in San Juan. Food parks have been all the rage in Manila in recent years and they’ve proliferated in other parts of the country as well, including La Union.

Beach Bum Food Park offers an alternative watering hole to Flotsam & Jetsam. It isn’t nearly as stylish or hip but the beers here are decidedly cheaper.

17. Beach Bum BBQ

Beach Bum BBQ offers different types of inihaw or grilled Filipino street food.

Places like Beach Bum BBQ tend to be the most successful stalls at food parks, simply because Filipinos love snacking on grilled food while drinking.

18. Mang Enteng’s

Like Beach Bum BBQ, Mang Enteng’s offers popular Filipino bar chow like inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly), sisig, and crispy pata (deep-fried pork hocks).

23. K-Pop’s Diner

From their name, you’d think K-Pop’s Diner would serve only Korean food but they actually offer a wide variety of dishes.

26. Drinks Ahoy

This is where you’ll get your drink on at Beach Bum Food Park.

LOCATION MAP

Aside from Halo Halo de Iloko which is in the neighboring town of San Fernando, you shouldn’t have a problem finding any of the restaurants listed here.

San Juan is a small town with most of its eateries located within a central area, either by the main road or along the beach. It’s so informal that many of the establishments don’t even have addresses.

CONCLUSION

San Juan has been gaining popularity in recent years, especially with the temporary closure of Boracay. More and more people are flocking to San Juan over long weekends because of its cool hipster vibe and proximity to Manila. You can see this surge in popularity from all the establishments popping up in the area, from boutique hotels to coffee shops to cocktail bars and restaurants.

And these aren’t your typical provincial eateries either. Like Flotsam and Jetsam, many of these establishments are trendy, design-driven concepts that would probably fare just as well in Manila as they would here. With San Juan riding this wave of popularity, I wouldn’t be surprised if this list of 26 swells to 50 in a year’s time.

Thanks for reading and have an awesome time food tripping in La Union!

For travel tips to San Juan, check out our First-Timer’s Travel Guide to La Union, Philippines.

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