Casa De Daban — Restaurant in Iloilo City

Its a homey atmosphere. You're dining in the front patio of a non-descript home under an old and gentle tree. Your dining table is a set of metal lounge chairs with wrought-iron designs from a bygone era. The taxicabs, and city dwellers, are passing by, and occasionally a street peddler will happen to pass by as well, offering you her mid afternoon sale of merienda. The grill is nothing fancy but it embraces you with a smokey aroma of homemade BBQ with spices so familiar and distinct. It reminds you of a languid Sunday afternoon at home when your family is gathered and a loved one is grilling for the brood. It's comfortable, it's nostalgic, it's home. There is nothing fancy about the crew either. No frills, no pomp, no circumstance. The chef is in shorts with a simple apron and a warm smile. The waiters are efficient and very polite. Just a simple, kind and genuine warmth in their demeanor. The chef is particular and non-compromising, the type that would rather close the shop if the ingredients aren't right, type of guy. He won't go to the market to purvey more ingredients for you. If he runs out of food by afternoon's end, too bad. Go home. He fed enough satisfied souls thru the day. He'll be at peace with that. My man. The food is fresh. I've had my share of travels and food explorations and I know my food, and I know when it's fresh. Casa de Daban's food is fresh. It's well marinated and delicately spiced. The menu is simple but the taste is authentic. The ingredients are fresh and top notch. Even the peppers and lemonsitos which are usually just a dipping sideshow looked like they've been meticulously foraged from the farm's best yield. That's how uncompromising the food is. Everything is grilled to perfection. Liempo is exquisitely charred by the edges and timely flipped to the desired crunch. The burgers are flawlessly juicy and diligently sprinkled with freshly ground pepper. Served in quaint wooden plates and presented with simplicity and directness without noise nor imaginative chaos. Perfection, quintessential, (insert adjective). All in all the experience dining at CASA de DABAN was unsurprisingly pleasant. The food was a showcase of authenticity and meticulous care. The staff is warm, the atmosphere is...

Casa de Daban is one of the many reasons why Iloilo is a gastronomic haven of the country.

Their regular burger is the type wherein once you start munching it, you won't notice that you've already had a lot of it since IT'S THAT GOOD and amazingly GUILT-FREE. No greasiness at all unlike most burgers I've tried that have umay effect due to the oil.

Also tried their scallops, pecho, liempo, and complementary chicken neck. Got to say that they really know how to grill!!! The smokiness of the meat and skin is just right.

Their jasmine rice portions are also generous. Overall, we spent only less than 1k including drinks and dessert. For that quality, and esp. when compared to the ones I've had from Manila and from my hometown, I'd say it's super worth it.

To add, owner and staff are all lovely folks. You can feel their warmth and hospitality not just with their voice but with their vibe as well. Would love to be back here and try out their other menu items esp. their pizza wc is also handmade! Good thing it's only around 4-min walk from Molo Plaza, and around 15-min walk...

Very good friendly and attentive service. A struggle to park your car though as they only have a space for two inside. Very basic outdoor tables and chairs but kept clean. Nice tasting pizza but you can tell cheese is not mozzarella or a cheap version of it. Pork belly was ok - needs more salt and pepper and needs more time in the BBQ. Chorizo was tasty but sweet, we expected this anyway but if you don't try you won't know if it's good. I would call this chorizo but rather a sweet sausage. Overall, would come back for pizza but not sure...