A Hidden Vegan Gem In Palawan: Taste El Nido

Finding vegan food across the Philippines; the land of pork and seafood, was a real struggle – until I discovered Taste El Nido! This trip was reminiscent of my trip to Hong Kong 14 years ago, when it was virtually impossible to find any vegetarian dish that didn’t contain pork. I naively expected better in 2022.

Though I’d read that finding vegan food in the Philippines is very challenging, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so difficult. Here are 25 things to know before visiting The Philippines.

Needless to say I spent of the first week of our trip hangry.. until we landed in El Nido, Palawan that is. PS – feel free to steal my El Nido itinerary!

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Taste El Nido go vegan mural on the wall

I’d google searched vegan or vegetarian restaurants on every island we’d visited; Mactan, Cebu and Bohol, but they either didn’t exist or had shut down – and it’s clear to see why.. evidently, there isn’t a market for it.

Many (not all) restaurants were accommodating; such as making a stir fry without the oyster sauce for me, but for the most part, I’d stuck to Italian cuisine – and it was getting boring. Margherita pizza and penne arrabbiata every day? No thanks!

Fabulous if you’re in Italy, of course – not so much when you’re in a country that doesn’t specialise in Italian food!

Taste El Nido

Taste is a must visit for vegans and non-vegans alike. With it’s very Asian-rustic, chilled vibe, the menu is small but each dish is truly perfected to a high standard and is absolutely delicious.

iced mocha with oat milk at taste el nido palawan

Good coffee is also hard to find in the Philippines – never mind finding somewhere that offers the option of dairy free milk.

These iced mochas didn’t disappoint. Excellent coffee and even better that there was an option for oat milk (my favourite) together with soya milk.

We visited for dinner twice over the four nights we spent at Seda Lio as it was only a twenty minute tricycle ride away, and so we got to try almost everything on the menu!

Our favourite was the sweet chilli tofu wrap – the hummus was so thick and creamy, some of the best I’ve ever had (bold statement, I know) and the sweet chilli dip wasn’t actually sweet; another bonus for me!

The dish as a whole was incredibly flavoursome, had a little bit of a kick and was very filling too.

vegan sweet chilli tofu wrap at taste el nido palawan

vegan campfire chickpea wrap at taste el nido palawan

The campfire chickpea wrap was good; not spicy but a tad too smokey for my liking, thanks to the chipotle. Delicious though.

It was nice to have some protein too, something I’d been missing on my diet of rice, veg, fruit and carbs on this whole trip.

The mac and cheese was such a hearty, delicious meal with the doorstop slices of toast. I loved the addition of broccoli – that’s just how I’d cook it at home as I feel a meal without some sort of veg is incomplete.

Simply divine!

vegan mac and cheese at taste el nido palawan

We need to take a moment to talk about their infamous smoothie bowls.

Beautifully presented (just like the photos) and so so satisfying!

We went for the smooth red and the antioxidant orange; both lovely, but strawberries are always the way to my heart.

The staff are so lovely and friendly too and service is perfection.. to be honest, I think they were highly amused when I first walked in and told them just how excited I was that this place existed!

Honestly though, having spent 2 Weeks In The Philippines, this was a real gem to stumble upon – hence the excitement and rave review!

Some might argue that the Taste El Nido menu is very limited, prices high and portions relatively small, however none of this phased me. Believe me when I say, vegan travel in The Philippines is hard. Finding vegan food, never mind good vegan food was such a challenge, that I’d have happily paid double for that tofu wrap! Simply delicious.

If you’re visiting El Nido, vegan or otherwise, add this spot to your list – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

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