Coron and Culion in northern Palawan have become some of the country’s most sought-after tourist destinations, drawing visitors with their limestone cliffs, turquoise waters, diving sites and island-hopping routes.
But beyond the beaches and lagoons, both destinations are also home to a growing food scene, from casual town restaurants and cocktail bars in Coron to curated dining experiences inside private island resorts in Culion.
At Coron: Italian plates and late-night cocktails
Coron’s dining scene is no longer just about island-hopping stops and quick meals between tours.
For dinner, Gran Italia has become a go-to for Italian comfort food in the town proper, serving familiar pasta and pizza dishes that lean into rich, bold flavors meant for sharing after a day out at sea.
After dinner, the pace shifts a few streets away at Elevated Cocktail Bar, a speakeasy-style spot that opens late into the night. The bar blends Filipino and Spanish influences in its cocktail list, offering a quieter space to wind down once the tour groups and day crowds thin out.
In Culion: dining inside the island
On Naglayan Island in Culion, Sunlight Ecotourism Island Resort (SETIR) turns dining into part of the stay itself, with multiple in-house concepts spread across the property.
Mornings start at Mangrove Restaurant, which serves buffet breakfast before transforming into a Filipino dining space later in the day.
For something more interactive, Hikari offers Japanese cuisine with teppanyaki cooking and live fire performances by the chef, turning dinner into a small show.
Dinner and a show?
At Hikari in SETIR, chefs bring Japanese teppanyaki to life with live fire performances, turning an ordinary meal into an experience. pic.twitter.com/2M4jMK24iR
— Interaksyon (@interaksyon) June 14, 2026
Along the shoreline, beachside dining setups also bring a more laid-back take on local cuisine, with Filipino and local Palawan-inspired dishes served against the backdrop of the sea, especially during sunset hours when guests are often drawn closer to the water.
Other dining spots include Xiang Hotpot and KBBQ for shared meals, Poolside Patio for casual comfort food, Ric’s Place for drinks and cigars, Café Adlaw for afternoon tea and Cerveza Reál for house-brewed beer and laid-back evenings.
Together, these spaces reflect how dining in northern Palawan now moves between two worlds: the growing food culture of Coron town and the curated, all-in-one island experience of SETIR in Culion.
