Staying in the town of Cabangan in Zambales means you’d have to eat there too. Most food places in the province really isn’t located there—it’s far from being the food capital of Zambales—still, there are a handful of unique places you can dine in when in Cabangan. And during the past years, as tourism started to bloom in town, the number of places to eat in Cabangan started to grow too.
Here are a few of the most interesting food places in Cabangan. These range from roadside stands and food shacks, to swanky cafes and full blown restaurants. These made the list because they’re somewhat unique, have good food, are institutions in Cabangan, or simply because I’ve personally tried them and found them to be worthy, naks.
LC’S STOP & CHOW
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, STO.NIÑO, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 10AM-8PM • CONTACT NUMBER: (0949)155-1998 • GPS MAP: 15.145499, 120.051938
LC’s, as Cabangaeans dub it, is one of the foremost restaurants in town. It started off as a small unassuming eatery near Bayan and has since expanded into a full and proper restaurant, complete with an outdoor eating hall. Before the pandemic, they even have a stage where you can watch acoustic bands perform. LC’s Stop & Chow serves classic Filipino favorites and Western dishes.
21ST BEAN CAFE
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, STO.NIÑO, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 9AM-8PM • CONTACT NUMBER: (0919)095-7723, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.156161, 120.054262 • MENU
If cafes are your thing, 21st Bean Café is perfect for you. Conveniently located right along the highway, they serve pastas, sandwiches, nachos, tacos, quesadillas, and of course, drinks and coffee. You can have it hot, over ice, or as frappes. If you’re missing your Starbucks while in Cabangan, head over to 21st Bean.
MAMI MADZ
ADDRESS: COASTAL RD., SAN ISIDRO, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 6:30AM-12NN 4PM-8:30PM • CONTACT NUMBER: (0909)460-1392, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.169287, 120.035812
Our go-to place after swimming at the San Isidro portion of Cabangan Beach. Mami Madz is a simple open-aired mami and goto place that serves, well, mami and goto. They have recently updated their menu and now serve street foods—kwek kweks, proben, isaw, tokwa, lumpia, among other fried things—pares, and silog meals. Perfect for that after-swim cravings.
ARYA’S CHILL & GRILL
ADDRESS: SAPANGBATO, MABANGLIT, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 9AM-8PM, CLOSED MONDAYS • CONTACT NUMBER: (0969) 067-4200, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.201726, 120.028874 • MENU
Besides serving mostly Middle-Eastern dishes, the unique thing about Arya’s Chill & Grill is its location. To get there you’d have to cross a small river using a balsa or raft—worry not, you won’t get wet. The restaurant itself is open-aired, with chairs and tables set al fresco and on open huts. Wines are available, so is a videoke machine, lol.
UPDATE: Arya’s Chill & Grill has recently transferred location to Barangay Mabanglit, their very unique balsa-entrada is now a thing of the past. And while they do still offer Middle Eastern dishes, their menu now mostly consists of Filipino favorites.
1ST STREAT SNACK BAR
ADDRESS: MENDIGORIN ST. SAN ANTONIO, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: ??? • CONTACT NUMBER: (0995)296-9792, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.160167, 120.054638
As its name suggests, 1st Streat serves mostly homemade dishes and sandwiches plus a few more, like pita and chicken wings, pizzas, burgers and fries, to name a few. The best thing about this restaurant is their bilao take-outs. If you’re with a big group and planning a picnic at Bangan Pier, Dapya River, or Cabangan Beach, this is the place to order on.
~ PHOTO FROM 1ST STREAT FB PAGE
RĀMENSHAKKU
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, SAN RAFAEL, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 11AM-10PM • CONTACT NUMBER: (0977)807-4794 • GPS MAP: 15.185169, 120.042915
The only Japanese restaurant this side of Zambales. Well, it’s not really a full ramen restaurant but more a shack. But yes, Ramenshakku do serve ramen, gyoza, and maki—and at a really affordable prices too. As of the moment, they’re only open during Fridays and Saturdays and have limited serving quantity—when they’re gone, they’re gone. Call first before going.
UPDATE: As of May 2024, Ramenshakku Cabangan is temporarily closed.
KOPI KUBO KOLLECTIVE CABANGAN
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, SAN RAFAEL, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 24 HOURS • CONTACT NUMBER: (0977)807-4794 • GPS MAP: 15.185169, 120.042915 • MENU
Right beside Ramenshakku sits Kopi Kubo Kollective, a 24-hour café serving extremely affordable locally brewed coffee from the Cordilleras, Batangas, Bukidnon, and other coffee growing places in the Philippines. How affordable? Like ten-peso affordable. If you happen to have your own cup with you, five pesos. As its moniker suggest, it is a café in a simple kubo—like a literal hut. They have branches across Zambales, but the one in Cabangan offers more—like Latin American coffees.
4D’s IHAW IHAW
ADDRESS: RIZAL ST., DOLORES, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: AFTERNOONS • CONTACT NUMBER: (0948)936-3504 • GPS MAP: 15.158610, 120.056699
One of the best street foods I tasted while in Cabangan was at 4D’s Ihaw Ihaw. Located on an unassuming front yard somewhere along the backstreets of Cabangan Municipal Hall, it’s just your basic roadside ihaw-ihaw with a table you can eat on, if you wanna sit down with your tuhog goodies. They serve excellent sticks of barbecued isaw, pork meat, betamax, adidas, balun-balunan, and pork taba. Bring your own cold bottle of Coke (and rice!) or pair your inihaw with their halo-halo.
WOODS PIZZA
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, STA. RITA, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 1PM-5PM, CLOSED ON MONDAYS • CONTACT NUMBER: (0915)450-3045 • GPS MAP: 15.173817, 120.051323 • MENU
Who would’ve thought that there’d be gourmet grilled pizzas using hand-kneaded dough and sauce sourced from local tomatoes and herbs in Cabangan? Well, at Woods Pizza, they have just that. Located on an outdoor garden setting overlooking farmlands, they have the usual pepperoni, sausage, cheese, Hawaiian, and bacon and mushroom pizzas—and the more unique shrimp scampi and breakfast pizzas.
~ PHOTO FROM WOOD’S PIZZA FB PAGE
YOU-HAN’s K-BAP RESTAURANT
ADDRESS: HI-WAY, STA. RITA, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 10AM-9PM • CONTACT NUMBER: (0921)347-6060, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.176521, 120.048944
If you’re craving for Korean food and you’re in Cabangan, YOU-HAN’s Kbap Restaurant is literally the only place to go to. They have ramyun, kimbaps, japchae, jjapageti, bibimbaps, dumpling, bulgogis, tteok-bokki, and more importantly, unli samgyeopsal. And let’s not forget the soju. And if you want your picnics Korean-style, they have bilao take-outs too.
~ PHOTO FROM YOU-HANS K-BAP FB PAGE
DASHA’S RESTOBAR
ADDRESS: BRGY. DOLORES, CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 2PM-10PM, DAILY • CONTACT NUMBER: (0912) 365-1121 / (0916) 402-4869 • GPS MAP: 15.159260, 120.055970 • MENU
With tables made from paleta-wood crates and loose crushed-gravel floor, Dasha’s Restobar is an open-aired rustic-industrial themed restaurant that serves above average bar-chow with their beers. Besides Filipino dishes—their crisply-done dinakdakan is a must try—they also serve Thai food, like tom yum.
CASA BARAKA
ADDRESS: PUROK 1, BRGY. SAN ISIDRO., CABANGAN • OPENING HOURS: 8AM-10:30PM, DAILY • CONTACT NUMBER: +63 (939) 710-9226, DELIVERIES AVAILABLE • GPS MAP: 15.162014, 120.045557 • MENU
Casa Baraka offers top-notch Filipino comfort food on a café surrounded by farmlands. These dishes are prepared by a veteran Boracay-based five-star hotel chef. Be sure to try their bestselling tapsilog, Baraka Burger, and kare-kare bagnet.
