Hole in the Wall Restaurants in Cebu Worth Checking Out

What does a hole in the wall restaurant mean?

The Collins Dictionary defines a hole in the wall as a business (especially a restaurant) operating within a small space. They are typically located in rundown, out-of-the-way areas of a bustling city. 

Hole in the wall restaurants are beloved because of the surprising quality of their dishes served in the most unexpected places. They become secret hideouts that are so good, you’ll be tempted to gatekeep them. 

Finding these spots, especially in Cebu City, is done by accidentally stumbling upon them or through recommendations from locals. This article aims to achieve the latter. 

There are plenty of hidden restaurants in Cebu, mostly marketed through word-of-mouth and are often more familiar to locals than tourists. This allows you to learn more about the city’s culinary scene.

Here are five hole in the wall restaurants with a variety of cuisines and services that are worth a visit. 

RECOMMENDED HOLE IN THE WALL RESTAURANTS IN CEBU

• Cebu Lumpia House 

Location: Manalili Street, Downtown Cebu City

Operating Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, closed on Sundays 

Bestsellers: Ngohiong, fresh vegetable lumpia, kikiam, steamed rice, siomai

Nestled deep within the bustling Carbon Market is an almost 70-year-old eatery with Filipino-Chinese favorites, Cebu Lumpia House. Despite its longevity and prime location, it’s rarely brought up in conversations when it comes to some of the best restaurants in Cebu.  

The eatery focuses on a turo-turo (Filipino word for point) style service, where customers simply point at the dishes they want to eat. This decision is not an easy one because of the sheer amount of choices in their menu. 

Each dish has a certain home-cooked quality, somewhat reminiscent of your mother or your grandmother’s cooking, only with Filipino-Chinese dishes. They have several variants of the Filipino spring roll, as well as a bunch of rice toppings. 

• Itchoy Batchoyan 

Location: C. Rodriguez Street, Central Cebu City

Operating Hours: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM 

Bestsellers: Pares with bone marrow, stuffed scallops, pares batchoy, tofu sisig

A few minutes away from Fuente Osmeña Circle is Itchoy Batchoyan, a beloved hole in the wall restaurant famous for its elevated takes on Filipino comfort food served at affordable prices. 

Their beef pares (braised beef stew served with garlic fried rice) has been their bestseller ever since. The restaurant pairs this with other Filipino dishes like bone marrow and lechon kawali, with a generous serving of chicharon. 

First created by a Manila native who moved to Cebu, the restaurant had a streetside carinderia-like design before being renovated into a low-profile indoor air-conditioned restaurant.

• AJ Street THAI FOOD

Location: 32F Gorordo Avenue, Ayala Access Road, Cebu Business Park

Operating Hours: 10:30 AM – 8:00 PM

Bestsellers: Pad thai, tom yum soup, kra paw moo sab

Arguably the best Thai street food place in Cebu, AJ’s has made quite a name for itself, expanding with more branches around the city. Their original branch, with its home-style interiors, is still one of the city’s most beloved hole in the wall restaurants. 

The store is located by the jogging area of Cebu Business Park, behind several sari-sari stores and houses. You must pass through the road right next to the Sister Laguarta Food House.      

A Sunstar article claims that the owner worked in Bangkok for over 20 years, so you can bet that their dishes are as authentic as they can be. (2021) They have one of the best recipes for pad thai, the national dish of Thailand. 

• Papa Chalupa 

Location: El Dorado Subdivision (right next to Banilad Town Center) 

Operating Hours: 

Wednesday and Thursday: 4:00 PM – 9:30 PM 

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 4:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Bestsellers: Carne (beef) chalupa, pollo (chicken) chalupa, desayuno (breakfast) chalupa, the lord’s chips

El Dorado Subdivision is a peaceful residential area with several hole in the wall restaurants like Pukot Kitchen and Funky Monkey, both located inside the Flying Fish Hostel. However, deep within the subdivision is also a tiny Mexican restaurant known as Papa Chalupa. 

As their tagline goes, they serve not tacos, but chalupas, which traditionally have a crunchier shell made up of corn dough. The restaurant offers a special order where you can mix in two meats (choice of chicken, beef, pork, and chorizo) in one shell. 

Located across from El Dorado’s basketball court, non-residents of the subdivision can only access it through the front entrance along the main highway. The place is small and unassuming, but easy to get to because of the wayfinding found around the area. 

• Southside Chicken Wings 

Location: San Antonio Village, Humabon Street, Apas

Operating Hours: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Bestsellers: Cajun glazed wings, white garlic parmesan, inferno! wings

Chicken wing restaurants are all the rage these days, many located within residential barangays. In the uphill neighborhood of Apas, Southside Chicken Wings stands right in front of its owner’s house, a few minutes from Gaisano Country Mall. 

The dining area is cozy and home-like, with several antiques and a high ceiling giving it an ancestral house type of vibe. All meals are cooked from the family kitchen, giving their dishes a home-cooked flavor. 

They are pretty affordable, with a six-piece plate of their chicken wings costing less than Php 200. Their servings are also not unlimited, so you won’t be easily intimidated.