Mactan Alfresco offers a vast selection of meals at Lapu-Lapu's premier business hub.
Mactan Newtown, the premier business hub of Lapu-Lapu City, is home to several sophisticated cafes and restaurants. This gives you plenty of options to dine and chill while taking in the cool breeze of the nearby sea.
The best food trip spots, however, are eateries that offer outdoor dining. Luckily, this business hub is also a culinary wonderland, and your most ideal option for an open-air dining experience would be at the Mactan Alfresco.
This Mactan food park uses a gazebo-style structure for outdoor dining.
This gazebo-style food park has a collection of international and local meals that will get you salivating. You may even be familiar with some stores from exploring the prestigious culinary industry in Cebu.
THE NAME AND ATMOSPHERE
The food park borrows its name from al fresco dining, which means to eat outdoors. It uses this concept by putting the food park inside a large open-air gazebo with an open field covered in tables and chairs.
The entire pavilion is round, with all the food stalls situated inside, particularly in the middle. You can find wooden benches and tables within the vicinity and still have ample space to walk around and see the different stores available.
The open-air atmosphere allows you to feel the cool breeze, which makes for a more relaxing ambiance. You will also be able to see the infrastructure projects within Mactan Newtown.
Like other food parks in Cebu City, Alfresco has provided tables in an open field directly outside the pavilion. However, if you want a more unique dining experience, you can eat inside one of their jeepney-inspired dining booths.
These stalls have small tables inside. They basically look like traditional jeepneys used for public transportation in the Philippines. They serve as private dining areas where groups of families or friends can enjoy their meals. You will still be able to feel the wind come in through the open windows, giving you a new kind of al fresco dining experience.
Another part of the food park is the Lechon Pit. Stall owners use this area to roast their suckling pigs. It is also where organizers hold the live roasting of the yearly Lechon Festival.
You can find all kinds of snacks and delicacies sold at Mactan Alfresco.
WHAT CAN YOU EAT AT MACTAN ALFRESCO?
Among the different options of food you can try at Alfresco is a wide selection of popular Filipino food favorites as well as snacks and meals that are famous delicacies from all around the world.
As soon as you enter the establishment, you will see Choobi-Choobi, a seafood restaurant famous for its breaded shrimps. They also offer pork, beef, and chicken meals inspired by other Filipino recipes.
The food park also promotes the food culture in Cebu through several food stalls like Charcoal Boy, Manang Sayong, and Hukad Kafe. These stalls offer popular Filipino food favorites like Tuna Panga, Scallops, and Lechon Manok.
Speaking of Lechon, Ayer’s is the top choice if you want to indulge in the best suckling pig in the world. Many locals regard this restaurant as one of the best places to eat Lechon due to its taste and affordability. They are also famous for serving some of the best Boneless Lechon on the island.
Another famous brand in Alfresco is the Queen of Cebuano Delicacies, Titay’s. Cebuanos know this bakery because of its sweet ring-shaped biscuits called the Rosquillos, which has become a symbol of the town it originated in, Liloan.
The Titay’s kiosk offers a handful of its most popular treats, including Polvoron, Sudlan, and, of course, Rosquillos.
The food park serves as the venue for the yearly celebration of the Lechon Festival.
LECHON FESTIVAL
Just recently, the food park hosted their yearly Lechon Festival, which took place from August 4 to 7, 2022. The annual celebration gathers several Lechon makers from around Cebu to serve their delicious versions of the suckling pig to the masses.
The festival celebrates Lechon, as it is one of the most iconic food items in Cebu, gaining massive international attention from foreign chefs and food reviewers alike.
The celebration consists of a live roasting, where Lechon makers roast pigs on rotisseries over a live fire. The slow process gives customers a fascinating look at how this iconic dish is prepared.
Aside from the food, the festival also features cultural dance performances from locals of Lapu-Lapu City.
Many food offerings at the business hub are quite expensive. Luckily, this Mactan food park also offers affordable options that any Cebuano can enjoy. The relaxing ambiance makes it perfect to visit any day of the week, not to mention a special event you can look forward to every year.
Mactan Alfresco upholds Cebu’s fascination with outdoor dining food parks that offer both familiar and foreign flavors, which instantly make them go-to hangout spots. Lapu-Lapu City residents now have a new location to dine, chill, and relax, all while taking delight in the cool summer breeze.
HOW TO GET THERE
Exact Location:
Mactan Newtown, Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City
Operating Hours:
10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- BUS
To commute to Mactan Newtown, you can ride a bus at IT Park going to Mactan. Look for the line or ask where the line for the bus going to Mactan is. The ride will take about 30 to 45 minutes and will have its last stop at Mactan Newtown.
