Some resorts in Santa Fe area have their own restaurants and there is a handful of restaurants in Santa Fe itself, near the market. You can walk there from most resorts or take a tricycle. Just tell the driver that you want to go to the market. There are no big differences in food quality among Santa Fe restaurants and their menus are very similar too. The only restaurant that stands out of the crowd is Mabuhay Balikbayan.
Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant
Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant is about 100 metres west from the rest of the restaurants in Santa Fe, thus it is less frequented by random tourists. On the other hand, Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant is well-known among regular visitors of Bantayan Island. Tables in Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant are setup in a nice tropical garden. They serve Filipino and international dishes. The owner of Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant always tries to please guests by fulfilling their special requests, so you can always ask for the dishes to be prepared to your personal taste.
We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of their wine by the glass.
Sweet-toothed guests agree that Mabuhay Balikbayan restaurant is the place to get the best halo-halo on Bantayan Island. Halo-halo is a Filipino dessert made of shaved ice, milk and various preserved fruits, served in a tall glass or a mug.
CouCou restaurant
CouCou restaurant has a pleasant garden, a covered terrace, a pool table and a good selection of international dishes. CouCou restaurant serves various types of breakfast (American, Filipino and continental), hamburgers as well as beef, pork and chicken dishes, pastas and seafood.
A long drink list at CouCou restaurant contains standard offer of Filipino beers as well as cocktails and many types of Belgian beer. The owner of the restaurant is Belgian. There is also a selection of Spanish, Chilean, Californian and Australian wines.
CouCou restaurant offers free Wi-Fi.
Blue Ice restaurant
Blue Ice restaurant offers similar dishes than other restaurants in Santa Fe. Their pancakes with seasonal fruits and honey are very nice, thus Blue Ice restaurant was one of our favourite breakfast places.
Blue Ice restaurant offers free Wi-Fi too. Ask the staff for the network key.
D'Jungle restaurant
D'Jungle restaurant has a similar menu than other restaurants. They are trying to attract guests with their all you can eat dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. The cost of the all you can eat dinner is less than 5 €. We are not into this type of offers as we prefer quality over quantity, but big eaters will be happy at D'Jungle restaurant, especially considering the fact that normal Filipino portions are usually quite small.
D'Jungle restaurant is strong on seafood. Unfortunately they spread it out on a tray in front of the restaurant in order to attract guests. It is advisable to eat at D'Jungle restaurant early, while the seafood is still fresh.
Portuguese restaurant Marisqueria O'
Portuguese restaurant Marisqueria O' offers Portuguese, Filipino and American dishes as well as pizzas. Their food is average quality.
Street food
Apart from the restaurants mentioned above, there are several stalls around Santa Fe offering various grilled meats and hamburgers. These stalls are geared towards locals and the prices are very low. It does not mean though that the quality of food is necessarily worse than in the restaurants. Check the places yourself and decide whether their food looks fresh and clean enough to try.