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Looking for the BEST seafood BBQ in Cebu City in 2025? You’ve come to the right place. In fact, this may well be one of the best seafood BBQ’s in the Philippines. If you love juicy meat and chunky cuts of fish & pork you will love Parrt Ebelle Tinola. This is genuinely some of the best BBQ seafood we have ever tried – so we have dedicated a whole article to this place.
We were particularly impressed by the magnificent size of the fish portions, the excellent quality and the surprisingly low prices. This beautiful, unique restaurant is called Parrt Ebelle Tinola. It is situated in the heart of Cebu City, close to the SM City Mall. If you love street food and culture you will love this place! It has that vibrant local feel – this place really is a gem!
But there are a few important things you need to know before you go. In this article, we will share some tips and specific details to help you plan your own visit to Parrt Ebelle Tinola.
Prefer to be shown around? Why not book this Amazing food tour in Cebu City?
Where is Parrt Ebelle located?
Parrt Ebelle is located in the center of Cebu City, very close to the SM City Mall. Although it is situated on a small side street, it is relatively easy to find. This is a popular restaurant, and you will see a lot of locals gathering in this area, especially at lunchtime.
When is the Parrt Ebelle Tinola open?
This delightful restaurant is open 7 days a week, 8:30 am – 7 pm. On Sunday, it closes early at 3 pm.
We visited at lunchtime, and we absolutely love the hustle and bustle of this restaurant. It has a great lively atmosphere. The best time of day to visit is 11 am – 1 pm. At this time, you will experience the best atmosphere and the widest range of food. Keep reading to find out why this is the BEST seafood BBQ in Cebu City.
What is on the menu at Parrt Ebelle Tinola?
There is not a fixed menu at this restaurant; rather, you just arrive and order whatever takes your fancy. We recommend that you start with a visit to the barbecue. You can see locals grilling giant filets of fish. They are very friendly, and they will tell you what they have on the grill and let you know the prices. Most standard cuts of fish cost 340 pesos (around £5 or $6). They do have more expensive premium cuts; you just have to turn up and see what they have available. We do recommend arriving around 11 or 12 am for the best range of fish.
Large fillet of BBQ fish
340 pesos (around £5 or $6)
Throughout the day, they barbecue impressively large fillets of fish. You just have to turn up and see what they have at the time. Here are some common types of fish served at Parrt Ebelle: Cobia, Barracuda, Blue Marlin, and Tuna. Most standard cuts have a fixed price of 340 pesos; however, you can request premium cuts of fish. For example, a belly cut on this may cost a few hundred pesos more.
Giant Squid
700 pesos (around £10 or $12)
They often have giant squid on the barbecue; however, this is liable to run out because it is a very popular dish. Even if you can see it on the barbecue, it may not be available because someone else may have purchased it before you got there. We recommend speaking to the lads on the barbecue and asking if they have any squid. It really is impressively large, and the quality is very high. There is a standard price of 700 pesos for a giant BBQ squid.
BBQ Pork belly
360 pesos (around £5 or $6)
The barbecue belly pork is a signature dish in Cebu. We highly recommend trying the barbecue pork at Parrt Ebelle. We were particularly impressed with the quality of this pork. It is not too chewy; there is a good ratio of fat to lean meat. The pork is both juicy and very well flavored on the barbecue. They will generally cut the pork up for you.
Tinola soup
120 pesos (just under £2 or $2.50)
This is a delicious fish soup, and it is another signature dish at this restaurant. The soup stock is a clear, mild, well-seasoned stock with a giant chunk of boiled fish. It absorbs the flavor of the stock and has a delicious, juicy, succulent texture. Like everything in this restaurant, 120 pesos is an excellent price for a portion of the soup. We highly recommend trying this as a compliment to your main meal.
Kinilaw (pickled barracuda salad)
200 pesos (just under £3 or $3.50)
This is one of the stranger and more unique dishes available at Parrt Ebelle. This dish is essentially pickled barracuda fish and fresh veggies. It is flavored with lemon juice and mixed with raw onions and tomatoes. This is a very strong and unique dish. If you are not a fan of sashimi, we recommend giving this one a miss. In fact, we recommend caution with this one because barracuda fish can contain toxins. Kinilaw costs 200 pesos for a small bowl.
Lato (sea grapes)
50 pesos (just under £1 or $1.20)
This is a strange and unique dish available at Parrt Ebelle. The fresh Lato is definitely an acquired taste. It has a strange, crunchy yet slimy texture and taste of the ocean. Experientially, this one may be worth trying, but it is definitely an acquired taste. As you eat it, the small balls pop in your mouth, releasing a slime. In all honesty, it reminded us of something that Darien (our 4-year-old boy) pulled out of a rock pool and asked just to eat. So for us, this is probably a one-off experience. At least it’s cheap. The raw sea grapes costs 50 pesos (and saves you a trip to the rock pool!).
Crab shell
30 pesos (around £0.5 or $0.6)
If you are looking for a small and tasty side dish, we recommend the crab, which is available at the main counter where you pay. These are delightfully cheap and very tasty. It is essentially a crab shell which contains a mixture of minced crab meat and other tasty ingredients.
Achara (pickled salad)
20 pesos (under $0.25 or $0.30)
And finally, don’t miss this small pickled side salad. It is a perfect compliment to the BBQ fish and pork. The pickled vegetables have a sweet tangy taste to the delicious succulent barbecued meat.
How to order and pay for your food
When you arrive at the restaurant, you need to order your barbecue fish and meat from the staff at the barbecue. We then recommend going to the counter where you can pick other side dishes and then find a table. The super friendly staff will bring your food to you when it is ready. The staff are very good at keeping track of what you have ordered, and they will help add up at the end. As foreigners in the Philippines, we found the whole process fun, easy, and stress-free. The staff were extremely welcoming to us and our kids. They even let us have a look at the area where they cook the Tinola soup over a fire.
How do you get to Parrt Ebelle?
Traveling around Cebu City is relatively cheap, fast, and convenient. There are lots of options to choose from when it comes to transport in Cebu City. For example, Cebu City has an extensive local bus system. Local bus prices start at around 30 pesos; longer journeys cost around 50 pesos.
There are also plenty of marked taxis in Cebu City. In some areas, drivers may be unwilling to use the taxi meter. If you are struggling to get a fair price for a taxi, you can use the Grab Taxi app in Cebu City. This does require a mobile phone, and you also need to download the Grab Taxi app and register for an account. Most taxi journeys around Cebu City cost in the range of 50 pesos – 500 pesos (around £0.70 – £7 or $0.80 – $8), depending on the distance of your journey. If you do use a taxi, make sure they use the meter or agree on the price before you get in. Parrt Ebelle is a popular spot and most local drivers know it well.
You can also use tricycles to travel around Cebu City. The price depends on the driver; we recommend bartering (find out more about Bartering in Asia). They normally charge a price per person with a minimum fare of 13 pesos. If you do take a tricycle taxi, it is a lot of fun, but be prepared, but your driver may pick up other customers along the way.
