A Cebu food trip, from the port to the hills.

The place

Why Cebu.

Cebu is famous for lechon, and the 2026 Michelin Guide Philippines gave the province its own list: six Bib Gourmand restaurants and twelve Michelin Selected. Many are plain, local places serving Cebuano cooking.

Pasil, the old fishing-port district downtown, is where tuslob buwa began — a neighbourhood meal of puso dipped into a sizzling pan of pork brain and liver sauce that became a Cebu icon.

Nine stops

Nine Cebu stops and what to order.

Michelin recognition is from the 2026 guide, as reported by SunStar Cebu.

The route

Downtown to the hills.

1. Pasil firstStart in the old port district with larang at Esmen and a pan of tuslob buwa. It is the most Cebuano hour of the trip.
2. Midtown paresAbli on A. Climaco, then pares on C. Rodriguez or N. Escario. Lechon pares and bone-marrow pares are both worth a stop — share one of each.
3. The lechon stopHouse of Lechon for the Carcar style, or Zubuchon if you are already at a mall. One order feeds a group.
4. Uptown and up the hillCebuano plates at Ato-ah in IT Park, then end at Lasa in Busay, above the city.

Getting there

How to do Cebu well.

• From the airport. Mactan-Cebu International Airport is on Mactan island. Take a Grab or taxi into the city, or MyBus, which ends at SM City Cebu.
• Mind the bridges. The Mactan-Mandaue and Marcelo Fernan bridges are slow at weekday rush hour; the tolled CCLEX can be quicker toward southern Cebu City.
• Use cars between stops. The route crosses downtown, midtown, IT Park and the hills — too far to walk, short by car.
• Lechon is a group order. One order shared round the table, with puso or rice.
• Bring someone brave to Pasil. Tuslob buwa is for dipping and sharing, not for one.

Copy this

Your Cebu checklist.

• ☐ Lechon — House of Lechon or Zubuchon, skin out of 5: ___
• ☐ Larang at Esmen — sour enough? ___
• ☐ Tuslob buwa — puso count: ___
• ☐ Lechon pares vs beef pares — winner: ___
• ☐ Palabok, crispy, at Lasa: ___
• ☐ Pork barbecue: ___
• ☐ Lumpia at Ato-ah: ___
• ☐ The view from Busay, with: ___

Keep the trip

From Pasil to Busay on one map.

Cebu trips tend to be packed and short. Snap each table in PlateDiary and the lechon, the larang and the pares each become a save, every stop becomes a moment, and the map traces the day from the port to the hills. Back home, your month’s Served story pulls out the dish of the trip and your new places.