Izakaya Abe Chang 居酒屋アベちゃん — Restaurant in Puerto Galera

We visited Chef Abe's Izakaya one rainy night last November 2023 and found the experience to be wonderful and lovely.

The restaurant is located in a quiet residential area, away from other touristy areas. Entering the establishment, you'll notice a combination of Japanese and Philippine-inspired designs and elements. We found it very charming.

Her menu offers a wide variety of meals, and we opted to order grilled sauri, salmon aburi, and salmon sashimi. Everything tasted flavorful, fresh, and clean. We even ended up ordering another serving of aburi and sashimi!

The prices are slightly higher compared to other local options, but the overall quality of the food together with Chef Abe's hospitality justifies the cost. Because we were the only customers that evening, we had the opportunity to chat with Chef Abe at length. We learned that she trained under a Japanese chef and worked with them for several years. The service was personal and really added to the overall positive experience.

Another interesting aspect of this restaurant is that Chef Abe has a tip box dedicated to supporting the Mangyans, a local indigenous tribe in Puerto Galera.

Overall, our experience was delightful. We plan to return to this restaurant every time we visit Puerto Galera. Kampai,...

Abe-chan was amazing and entertaining! We definitely enjoyed our small chat with her. She's very accommodating even when we came in only 15mins before closing time. Good thing I was able to call and advise her that we're coming to dine in her restaurant. The food was delectable! We ordered tonkatsu with miso soup, zaru soba, pork gyoza, jiro ramen, yaki udon, and shrimp yakisoba. All, but the yaki udon (my youngest sister didn't have the acquired taste for it) was rated 5/5! I will edit my review later to post pictures, but we loved everything this restaurant and the chef...

Best Japanese food I’ve had in a long time! We’re visiting from Vancouver, Canada, where we’re blessed with many quality Japanese restaurants. So trust me when I say the food here is fantastic! The atmosphere is intimate and cozy, and Chef Abe is warm and friendly. We really enjoyed chatting with her after our delicious meal. Very impressive woman! Wishing her all the best the opening of her second restaurant. We’ll definitely visit again before we...