The economy of Baguio relies heavily with the student population in the area. Saint Louis University alone has a total population enrollment of 34,687 from elementary to high school.
It would be safe to say, that the economy of Baguio invests heavily in catering to the needs of the students day in and day out.
Every year, there is a new restaurant or canteen opening in Baguio, some survive for only 2-3 years and evenly close down, while some are able to withstand the test of time because they were able to get the loyalty of Baguio residents.
Here are some of the best local restaurants and canteens as well as snack houses in the city of Baguio. I have only written about places that I have actually tried, and place that have high recommendation from locals of Baguio.
1. Good Taste Café & Restaurant
Good Taste will always be on top of the list, almost everyone in Baguio knows what this restaurant is all about. If you have decided to eat with 8 or more people and you are on a tight budget then this is the best place to go.
The 160 half Chicken can already feed 4 people, the P150 vegetable can also be extended to 5 people.
Your P1, 000 can go a long way, when you are in Good Taste.
The new location near Burnham Park is also very clean and well-maintained. Good Taste was able to retain its good name because they were able to retain what people love about them, which is low prices with huge servings.
Good Taste is also offering cakes and other pastries and have recently introduced a fresh tasting drink called Cucumber Juice that I will highly recommend.
* Photo of the famous Good Taste Rice only 95php
2. Mamita’s Bulaluhan- this restaurant is located at Marcos Highway, and it is making a good name for itself. The restaurant just opened last month but it was able to get a good number of clients due to the taste of the food and the prices.
The best thing about Mamita’s is that it looks like a really expensive restaurant, but the prices are affordable. For P150 pesos you can get a decent meal.
What I love most about Mamita’s Bulaluhan is the fact that their soup is not made of boiled water with Magic Sarap unlike other restaurants and Carinderia. You can tell that you are serving you the genuine thing.
I especially love their melon, honey lemon and rose citrus inspired drinks.
I can say that they are one of the best restaurants here in Baguio because of the price of the food, the quality, the presentation, the taste of the drinks and the overall service. I also love the fact, that they are able to serve some of the best tasting cakes I have ever tried in Baguio City.
Mamita's Cakes especially the New York cheesecake is the only one that can level with the French pastries served at L'amifrenchy a genuine French Restaurant in Baguio City.
If you want to impress your foreigner friend or visitor, you need to bring them here at Solibao in the Heritage Mansion hotel.There are 3 existing Solibao restaurant branches, 1 in Session road and 1 near Burnham Park however, this is the best branch.
The third branch has a better way of serving their food, they offer a wider variety of dishes compared with the two branches.
They also offer a better ambiance, the staff at Session Road Solibao might offer a better service compared with Heritage Mansion Solibao brach but you have to consider that the chef at this branch cooks better and knows how to do a better food presentation when compared with the others.
One of the best dishes that they offer or the best seller is the Kare-Kare with Bagnet, they also offer an array of fruit juices and good-tasting ice tea.
The only downside when it comes to the beverage is that most of the time they lack fruits for their fruit juices. I was not impressed with their version of Green Mango fruit shake.
However if you are looking for a delicious cake, this is the perfect p lace.
This branch offers sumptuous chocolate and blueberry cheesecake ( 57-85 pesos a piece).
The cakes won`t necessarily taste better than what Veniz grill has to offer, but it is still one of the best cakes I have tasted in Baguio. In fact it tastes better than the cakes that I tasted in Thailand.
The ambiance is mellow, it is perfect for dates, family dinners and business transactions.
Solibao also has a good parking spot for clients.
You can stay and have a meeting for a very long time, the staff will not mind, they are in fact very accommodating.
4. Central Park Restaurant
I still consider Central Park as one of the best Chinese restaurants here in Baguio City.
The place is located at Carino St, Baguio, Benguet
You can taste genuine dumplings and tofu dishes here in this restaurant,they also have one of the best Honey Glazed Chicken in town.
Although a bit expensive when compared to other fast food restaurants like Chowking, the ingredients are made from the finest ingredients.
Not to mention, the unlimited Ceylon tea you can have while waiting for your order and even after finishing your meal.
The prices will usually start at P150, but the dishes that will be served to you is good for 2-4 individuals making it a budget worthy restaurant to go into.
(c) Pork dumplings ( https://foodscrapbook.wordpress.com/tag/baguio/)
5. Green Pepper Restaurant
Located inside the Ketchup Community-:Mines,View Pacdal
A lot of tourists are not able to check this amazing location because it is a bit far from the Central Business district.
But I assure you it is one of the most interesting place here in Baguio City. It is a combination of restaurants that offer unique recipes including Thai-inspired dishes.
I especially love Green Pepper because of the chocolate cake, while there are some bakers who can probably create a better tasting chocolate cake...this cake will still get an A+.
I have tried so many chocolate cakes and this one gets my seal of approval..
Green pepper has 3 amazing chefs who strive to create healthy food, they offer Cordilleran Bacon...most of the food they serve contain very little amount of salt.
If you want to have a low calorie meal and still include meat in your diet this is the restaurant for you.
Prices of the meal will usually start at 150-350, a bit expensive but worth it.
You can also explore other nearby shops after Green Pepper. You are going to love the bamboo inspired designs.
(c) http://www.eatsnowornever.com/top-10-restaurants-baguio/
If you still want to experience the old Baguio feel...go here.
The top 5 restaurants I have written I consider as some of the best restaurants in the city, the next 5 places I will mention are canteens or snack houses that I frequent in.
The place was able to withstand the test of time due to the interesting dishes they serve.
They offer Lomo Ribs for P150, this will include a generous serving of BBQ ribs together with their own Caesar salad version. They also serve french fries that taste like that of what Jollibee and McDo usually serves.
5. Hot Off the Stove: Nico's Restaurant located at the Slaughter Compound. Slaughter compound is famous for having an array of affordable canteens, turo-turo and restaurants in the area. Nico is one of the best areas to grab good eats when you are at the slaughter compound.
They offer dinakdakan, sinanglao, innards soup, baboy or inihaw na liempo and dinuguan. Customers can aslo try the sinampalukang kambing and you can always ask for unlimited soup. Your P300 can get you a king's meal here at Nico's Restaurant.
If you still want to experience the old Baguio feel...go here.
6. Hodori Restaurant-
I still consider this Korean restaurant one of the best Korean restaurants in town due to the fact that the appetizer they serve look simple yet classically delicious.
Although I have to admit they need some serious upgrade...they have only 2 waiters serving which can mean lots of time wasted for the customer.
Although this might not be the cheapest Korean restaurant around I still recommend it because of the taste of the food.
It is often crowded so it would be best to avoid rush hours from 12 until 2pm.
The only thing I dislike about this restaurant is the expensive coffee and tea.
You can get something better for P50 at other restaurants, they have to find a way to reduce the price.
The Omu Rice is also very tasty.
Price Range is from 150 to 800 good for 3 to 8 people.
I highly recommend the Kani Salad, it is refreshing and very satisfying.
Although I have to admit they need some serious upgrade...they have only 2 waiters serving which can mean lots of time wasted for the customer.
Although this might not be the cheapest Korean restaurant around I still recommend it because of the taste of the food.
It is often crowded so it would be best to avoid rush hours from 12 until 2pm.
The only thing I dislike about this restaurant is the expensive coffee and tea.
You can get something better for P50 at other restaurants, they have to find a way to reduce the price.
The Omu Rice is also very tasty.
Price Range is from 150 to 800 good for 3 to 8 people.
I highly recommend the Kani Salad, it is refreshing and very satisfying.
The top 5 restaurants I have written I consider as some of the best restaurants in the city, the next 5 places I will mention are canteens or snack houses that I frequent in.
I can guarantee the freshness and cleanliness of the food.
C1. CA. Chia's Fastfood
This canteen located at M.H Del Pilar Street, Baguio City is not really frequented by the student population, considering that the place is not located near a school.
But this is the perfect canteen for families and individuals who are undecided on what they would eat for that day. C.A Chia’s has a wide range of Filpino foods from Adobo, Pinakbet, Chopsuey, Bulalo, Afritada, Pansit Bihon and more.
I have considered them one of the best canteens in town, because the place is clean, the rest room area is well-maintained. You also have a number of foods you can choose from, and one of the major indications that these canteen deserves the best canteen award is the fact the Mayor of Baguio himself Mauricio Domogan, along with Vice Mayor Edison Bilog and other councilors frequent the area.
There are a number of canteens and snack houses as well as restaurants near the city Hall and in the entire Session road, but here is a place where officials in Baguio, people who can actually afford to eat expensive dishes have decided to go to Chia’s.
The only downside of the place, is that you would have to wait in line for a very long time during lunch time, otherwise I cannot see any major mistake with their service. The owners of the place have also considered an ample parking lot space for customers.
2. Silungan Eatery - located beside the DSWD silungan center and the PNA building in Upper Session Road. This is frequented by people in the area, because it offers a cheaper alternative compared with the restaurants and snacks houses inside SM City Baguio.
For P60, you can get a sumptuous Bulalo, other food selection would include Chicken sisig, dinakdakan combo meal for only 50 pesos. You can also do a half order for P25, making it really budget friendly. They are also offering crispy pork, igadu and giniling. Your P200 pesos would be able to buy you a good meal at this place.
You can also ask for unlimited sabaw, and you can also ask them to put sauce on the rice.
3. Marosan's Rice-
This restaurant is located in Bonifacio St. near Saint Louis University, Marosan's is like Good Taste Rice and Jack's Rice only cheaper. Marosan's is one of the longest running student canteen in Bonifacio and almost every college graduate in SLU knows where Marosan's establishment is. For P 60 you can already get a hearty meal, with chicken, slices of pork, chopsuey and egg. Best of all, the food will be served to you warm.
4. Canto Bogchi Joint- this place is located near 97-A Engineers Hill talipapa, look for a 7-11 nearby and right across the entrance you will see the place.