Alma Siargao — Restaurant in General Luna

Recently visited Alma in Siargao, and had a great time with new friends & collaborators! Definitely a great spot for group dining as everything is family style and meant to share. Would have loved a little more direction from team to order double of certain items as they were served four to a plate and we were a party of six.

Menu options were fun, cocktail and wine list had creative & classic selections. The Chardonnay we ordered was delicious and drank more like a fuller body Chenin or Vermentino which was a nice surprise!

Loved the Alma Brava, Boquerones & Smoked Duck Breast! Alma Brava I’d rather small so I’d recommend ordering double of these even for small parties as they’re scrumptious! The Boquerones was a hit with the table & can’t go wrong with it. Smoked Duck Breast has a lovely presentation and I enjoyed the caper berries garnished with it. The paella although good in flavor felt like a small portion in the pan. The value fell short as I feel like it didn’t feed a party of six, and the amount of rice per pan was rather low. The one thing we were surprised with was we weren’t given a warning of last call for the kitchen and wanted to order more. Luckily, they allowed us to, but I feel this was a miss and not hospitable after such a lovely experience from the start.

Overall, good times with good company! Delicious drinks, food left us desiring more. The ambience was fun & lively with tables on the patio looking out to the ocean. The open kitchen was cool to see, and the cacti lining the back wall. The lighting however felt a bit harsh as I’ve been to the Manila location and it was much warmer and approachable at that location than Siargao.

Would love to give Alma another try when I’m...

Now oddly tucked in-between a mostly residential area, Alma could be proud of their beautiful ocean-side view and literal closeness to the fisherfolk community. It does get uncomfortably humid, the neighboring karaoke could be jarring if you're on a serious date, and I wouldn't go on a stormy day, but when the skies are clear or even slightly cloudy, it's a cute spot to visit and lounge around. It's probably best to ask about the Catch Of The Day, or ask what else is freshly caught since sourcing seafood is ironically tricky in Siargao. That day, it was Rainbow Runner, and they indeed got a good one, perfectly cooked and accompanied by confit potatoes and vegetables in tomato sauce. Their slow-cooked pork belly is also delicious, but is arguably outshined by the perfectly done potato mille feuille that it is paired with, so much so that I hope the restaurant does not find itself surprised should I one day return to order 10. Sadly, the paella seemed very lacking. Perhaps they could replace at least two of the options with more filling and flavorful Asian seafood rice dishes as no way one of their paella will suffice for more...

This is an excellent restaurant

Having been here a week, I ended up eating here 4 times, as, despite the hype, I didn't really find many other places with good, hygienic handling/preparation and service in Siargao so this was a real lifeline

The food is authetic Spanish style and not the over-sweetened, salty style found in local recipes. I lived in Spain before and this is a very good reproduction of cooking styles and flavours and the prices are actually very reasonable for what you get. Meat and fish was well - and properly - cooked

The staff were wonderful and looked after me so well as a 'regular' with my 'own table', bless. Too many to mention all by name, but particular shout out to Ron and Geraldine and Kent.

Only one niggle but minor:

They ran out of most red wine stocks. Hope it was just a one-off glitch 🙂

Anyway, overall, it was an excellent experience with great food and warm, professional and efficient service.

My best memory to take away from Siargao. Very...