End your trip to Burnham Park with a meal featuring the best of Baguio City’s delights!
It’s been called “the mother of all parks” in Baguio City, and it’s been synonymous to the Summer Capital since the city was founded – Burnham Park continues to define what a trip up north should be. Resting at the heart of the city, it’s peaceful, picturesque, and a perfect destination for a hushed escape, with hectares upon hectares of nature about.
Exploring hectares of sceneries, though, is bound to make any traveler hungry. Good thing there are plenty of restaurants near Burnham Park where you can have a lazy meal. Read on to know where you can find the best restaurants near Burnham Park!
1. Good Taste Café and Restaurant
Where: Cariño Street corner Otek Street, Baguio City, Benguet;
Just a 1-minute drive or a 3-minute walk from Burnham Park
Operating hours: Open 24 hours
Recommended budget: PhP250 to PhP450 for a meal
Good Taste Café and Restaurant’s menu options are the perfect balance of appetizing and affordable.
Image: @pao.adriano and @lmtyoph
The oldest and perhaps the most popular restaurant among Baguio locals, Good Taste Café and Restaurant’s sumptuous legacy speaks for itself. The 24-hour Chinese-Filipino restaurant serves staple fusions like beef chopsuey (stir-fried vegetables), crispy pata (pork knuckles), shanghai rolls, sweet and sour tilapia, fish shrimp tofu, and many more. Servings are generous too, so you can share the feast with friends and family.
First-timers should sample their famous buttered chicken, either the regular sort or the hot and spicy, or the garlicked variant for more flavor. Pair this with their equally famous Good Taste fried rice, and you have yourself a hefty but budget-friendly banquet!
July 2020 Update: Good Taste’s Main and Otek branches are open for take-out only from 5AM to 8PM.
2. Canto Bogchi Joint
Where: 32 Kisad Road, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 1-minute drive or a 3-minute walk from Burnham Park;
Operating hours: Mondays to Thursdays, 10AM to 9PM; Fridays to Sundays, 10AM to 10PM
Recommended budget: PhP250 to PhP450 for half or whole slabs of Lomo Rib; PhP150 to PhP250 for a meal
Pair your famous Canto Bogchi Lomo ribs with a side of their hearty salad.
Image: @janealdelcruz
Their name may mean “street food” in witty wordplay, but Canto Bogchi Joint’s food offerings are just as good as any restaurant in Baguio City, if not greater. The name deceives, as its high ceiling, pure white interiors, and nature-rich al fresco dining space speaks sophistication.
But diners don’t drive by for the space. It’s actually for their famous Lomo Ribs: a plate of saucy and succulent pork loin ribs paired with soft either fragrant rice or mashed potato and a side of fresh herb salad. They also serve other Fil-American favorites like beef pochero (tomato stew), cascade salad with fresh Baguio greens, grilled chicken on pita or buttered rice, and plate-sized pizzas.
July 2020 Update: Canto Bogchi Joint is open for take-out and delivery.
3. Oh My Gulay Artist Café
Where: 5/F La Azotea Green Building, 108 Session Road, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 5-minute drive or a 15-minute walk from Burnham Park;
Operating hours: Daily from 11AM to 9PM
Recommended budget: PhP200 to PhP250 for a meal
Oh My Gulay Artist Café ensures your entire lunch is prepared with environmental-friendly ingredients.
Image: @kg_pancho
Vegans rejoice! Oh My Gulay Artist Café serves vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and organic food choices perfect for even the pickiest health-conscious eaters. The place is a visual treat too: aside from the artist’s oasis in the penthouse, there’s also a koi pond, a wooden stage for cultural shows, and tropical and indoor foliage plants for a soothing space.
Some of these fresh selections include the OMG Salad, made of Benguet’s best greens with herb honey mustard dressing; talong parmigiana, which has eggplant over whole wheat bread plus pesto; and OMG Rice, made with brown rice and ten different vegetables topped with tofu, omelet, and rich Mongolian sauce. Flush these down with a fresh glass of dayap (lime) iced tea, or mangga fresh, a blend of mango puree and brewed tea.
July 2020 Update: Oh My Gulay at Ili-Likha Artist’s Village has resumed operations. It is open from Monday to Saturday, 11AM to 5PM. The restaurant also offers delivery via FoodPanda.
4. Camping Date Chicken & Pizza
Where: 2/F 363 Legarda Road, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 2-minute drive or a 6-minute walk from Burnham Park;
Operating hours: Monday to Wednesday, 2PM to 1AM; Thursday to Sunday, 12PM to 1AM
Recommended budget: PhP400 to PhP950 for pizzas, serves four, six, or eight; PhP300 to PhP650 for shared meals
Camping Date’s indoor tents can fit up to a handful of hungry friends looking to feast on Korean food.
Image: @hannahnercua
It may not be under the stars, but the campsite-themed dining experience at Camping Date Chicken & Pizza can be just as unique and memorable. Unfolding in 2013, this one-of-a-kind restaurant swaps your usual dining tables with tents of various sizes and foldable desks and camping chairs.
Dig into any of their Korean-inspired dishes, like their pizza prepared seven ways – Hawaiian, Potato Bacon, Sweet Potato, Pepperoni, Spicy Chicken, and Bulgogi, – or if you can’t decide, just order a Combination pizza for a small sample of each. They also serve honey butter boneless chicken, cooked in various Korean flavors, as well as BBQ chicken and tteokbokki, a popular Korean street food made with rice cake.
5. Red Rustikz
Where: 82 Upper General Luna Road, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 10-minute drive or 20-minute walk from Burnham Park;
Operating hours: Daily from 11 AM to 10 PM
Recommended budget: PhP350 to PhP450 for a full meal
Red Rustikz’s Italian and Spanish-inspired dishes are as enjoyable as their vintage tunes.
Image: Red Rustikz’s Facebook page
The best way to define Red Rustikz is in its name: rustic, and symbolic of all the country comforts of Baguio City. If the vintage ambiance and the mellow music from the vinyl aren’t enticing enough, perhaps the hearty European-style dishes will reel you in.
You can start off your meal with delectable fried zucchini chips, and follow it up with their cheesy and creamy spinach ravioli (pasta envelopes with ground meat, cheese, and vegetables), chicken or seafood paella (Spanish rice dish), or their bestseller, their fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs. They also serve artisanal bread, perfect for your sides. With an open kitchen, Red Rustikz lets customers see how they arrange each appetizing meal!
July 2020 Update: Red Rustikz has resumed operations.
6. La Parilla Cafe and Grill
Where: 68 Kisad Road, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 6-minute drive or a 10-minute walk from Burnham Park
Operating hours: Daily from 9AM to 6PM
Recommended budget: PhP250 to PhP400 for a full meal; PhP600 to PhP620 for Family Platters, good for three to four
Trying to finish La Parilla’s Pinoy BBQ and Seafood Platters is always a welcome challenge.
Image: La Parilla’s Facebook page
La Parilla Café and Grill along Kisad Road is another great place to indulge your appetite for beloved home-cooked cuisines. Its rural, earthly ambiance and natural foliage make the restaurant a visual treat.
Of course, it is as much a gastronomic treat too. Their grilled specialties include the Asian Fusion Baby Back Ribs and the Atlantic Blue Marlin, which are both served with their signature ala paella rice and sides. For groups, they also have family platters, which come in either the Pinoy BBQ Favorites or the Seafood Platter. They also serve pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and desserts, which include the Blumps Pie, made from an old family recipe.
July 2020 Update: La Parilla has resumed operations for dine-in, take-out, and delivery. It operates every day from 9AM to 6PM.
7. Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant
Where: 14-16 Otek Street, Rizal Monument Area, Baguio City, Benguet
Just a 2-minute drive or a 5-minute walk from Burnham Park;
Operating hours: Daily from 10AM to 10PM
Recommended budget: PhP600 to PhP800 for a meal for two
Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant also serves free fragrant tea upon request.
Image: @agongjomer
Just beside Good Taste Restaurant is Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant, an oriental-themed restaurant with a classy aristocratic ambience to boot.
Their menu is as diverse as their servings are generous. Some of the chef’s recommendations are their Baguio beans in Szechuan minced pork, their baked crab in ginger and onion, and the large helping of their hotpot. But the true favorite is the Peking duck prepared two ways: either wrapped in lettuce and crepe, or minced and cooked right in front of you!
They also have menu packages for large groups, which can satisfy up to a dozen people.
July 2020 Update: Fortune Hongkong Seafood Restaurant is open for take-out and delivery only.
8. Beggang Resto Grill
Where: Skating Rink, Jose Abad Santos Drive, Burnham Park, Baguio City, Benguet
Operating hours: Daily from 7AM to 9PM
Recommended budget: PhP150 to PhP300 for a full meal
Go back to basics and chow down some good old Filipino favorites by Beggang Resto Grill.
Image: @mitchnittaarsola
For this famous restaurant, you don’t even have to leave the border of Burnham Park. If you ever find yourself hungry while lounging in the park’s skating rink, Beggang Resto Grill is the appetizing answer.
They serve all your favorite Filipino comfort foods like fresh lumpia (spring rolls), dinuguan (pork in pig’s blood), miso tuna sinigang (sour and savory stew), gising-gising (ground pork and green beans in coconut milk), kare-kare (ox tripe in peanut stew), as well as house specialties like balamban chicken tinuno (Cebuano open-fire-grilled chicken), and tapang Taal (cured beef). Plus, they’re really cheap too, which makes for a quick and easy lunch.
July 2020 Update: Beggang Resto Grill is temporarily closed.
Burnham Park is full of food options that you’ll probably spend more time choosing where to eat than going to the place. Which of these restaurants are serving your next meal?
For more articles about the Summer Capital of the Philippines, head on over to Yoorekka!
This article was originally published in Yoorekka on July 29, 2019.
