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Brian Kennett
Amateur Chef and Boozy Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
JOSE TAGBILARAN Restaurant Review: Get your Filipino Food Fix HERE
JOSE TAGBILARAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: Tucked in the heart of Tagbilaran City, Jose Restaurant offers a dining room that captures the vibrancy and flavours of Filipino food. Everyone I speak to said it is known for its warm ambience, most wonderful staff and beautiful Filipino dishes. Jose Tagbilaran has become a go-to spot for locals for the past four years since opening..
I hope that this rather ‘international’ blog review encourages tourists who are seeking a taste of Bohol’s rich foodie offerings to flock here: it really is so very good. The restaurant brings traditional recipes on the menu that promise to delight every hunger pang or Filipino food urge.
Stepping into Jose’s feels like entering a space where tradition and family meet. The interior, a blend of rustic Kubo-style and modern elements, set the stage for an inviting dining experience. Jose Tagbilaran doesn’t feel like just a place to eat, it’s like a family gathering that includes heaps of Filipino cuisine and hospitality, making it a must-visit for anyone exploring Tagbilaran City, or Bohol.
If you do visit, and you visit because of this blog, please say hello to Franz and the Jose Tagbilaran crew and mention Islifearecipe.net.
Jose Tagbilaran Review: Contents
Why oh why has it taken us four years to find this rather amazing restaurant? Thanks to Bryan, our tricycle driver for recommending it though, she surely is a beauty. I love the Kubo design, open ‘walls’, thatched roof, BBQ grill to the side and full of families. I just know, wholeheartedly, that this is going to be so good.
Just check this photo – this is why I love the Philippines so much. Families galore. Families eating and sharing. Families chatting and smiling and laughing. That’s what this place is, and you sense it the moment you cross the threshold. You feel: at home!!!
One of the main cast of the show… The BBQ Pit Master. This young lad is charring up like a storm, slapping that food with flavour, straight to your table. It’s so damned good!!! We got a takeaway from the Pit Master of 500g of Chargrilled Tuna Belly. Sorry, there is no pic as it was off the grill, wrapped up and in the bag to take home…
Jose Tagbilaran Review Philippines
Islifearecipe.net is giving 4.25 out of 5, and the only reason it is not 4.5/5.0 out of 5 is because of running out of beer two nights running: sacrilege with a fat white man in the house… Plus a loss of earning for you…
Jose Tagbilaran Review Tripadvisor
Jose Tagbilaran does not actually feature on Tripadvisor sadly, but we’re trying it HIGH as a must-try restaurant for the best Filipino food in Tagbilaran and best Filipino food in Bohol. Google gives the restaurant a stonking 4.6 out 5, from 294 reviews.
Super Spicy Suka Tuba, the Jose Tagbilaran way
I have written to Team Jose Tagbilaran to see if we can get this imported/bottled into Singapore: there are probably 100,000+ Filipinos, and me and Spence, in Singapore who would kill for this every weekend. I am determined to fire up Filipino Chambers of Commerce and Ambassadors to bring this to Singapore. It is just soooo good.
However, if you fed some of this to your cat, it would literally burn it a new @rsehole. It is frickin’ spicy, but just so very very good. I need more of this in my life with frequency… You just cannot stop slurping it and dipping in it. Best-in-breed Suka…
Jose Tagbilaran Menu
Let’s just say this is a closely guarded secret, as I cannot find a link, picture, or reference to it anywhere. OK, on my next trip I promise to take a pic of said Jose Tagbilaran Menu and share it here in this post: to that, I commit!!!
Our Food: Jose Tagbilaran Review Philippines
Crispy Prawn Crackers from Jose Tagbilaran
These bad boys rocked up warm and super-crispy, zero-grease, and low on the fishiness. Crackers, literally. Loved ’em. Of course, with vinegar dip with a little pickled onion, garlic and chilli. Hell Yeah!!!
Crispy Chicken Skin from Jose Tagbilaran
Oh, man. We had these two days running. Sorry KFD and JolliWasp, yours is quite frankly sh!t in comparison. This is crispy chicken on steroids. I was dipping this in that Super Spicy Suka Tuba and howling and hooting in pain and joy (not chickenj@y) for an age: so so good. Give me an icy cold beer (please Jose Tagbilaran stock your beer fridge) and I could munch on these all day and people-watch in your resto, plus a little TV sport watching. Oh yes…
Goat Adobo: Kambing
Oh boy, this was a cracker: and some. The adobo sauce was killer, so umami, and the perfect accompaniment to the super-soft marinated goat meat. What an absolutely cracking dish from Jose Tagbilaran. You have to ignore all the cute goats, with puppy dog eyes on the side of the road: or just stare at them and say ‘delicious’.
Adobo is widely regarded as the Philippines’ unofficial national dish, characterised by its savoury and tangy flavour profile, which comes from a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and other spices.
In the case of Goat Adobo, my guess for the Jose Tagbilaran version of the dish is that they slow-cook the goat meat to tender perfection (goat can be slightly tougher compared to other proteins). Then add the adobo marinade and cooking sauce: maybe enhanced with bay leaves, and cracked black pepper.
Lomi Noodles with Crispy Pork
I have a new favourite and a lifelong love for this dish. Wifey described this as Filipino hangover food. I have never tried this in my sixteen years of visiting and now living in the Philippines. Where has this dish been all my life? It soup, noodles, cabbage, crispy pork, I mean come on… Jose, this is a killer dish: DING DONG!!! I loved this dish: must-try.
Lomi is a hearty Filipino noodle soup dish that’s known for its thick, savoury broth and comforting flavours. It originated in Batangas, a province in the Philippines, and has since become a popular comfort food across the country. The dish typically features thick egg noodles, a rich soup base made with a combination of chicken or pork stock, and starch (usually cornstarch) to give the broth its characteristic thickness. It’s almost ‘sticky’ in consistency, and I loved that at Jose’s.
Lomi is usually topped with a variety of ingredients, such as slices of pork, chicken, fish balls, shrimp, liver, or squid balls. It often includes vegetables like cabbage or carrots for added crunch and nutrition. Fried garlic, spring onions, and crushed chicharrón (pork cracklings) are commonly sprinkled on top: we went for chicharrón as you can see in the photo. A squeeze of calamansi and a side of soy sauce with chilli peppers are often served alongside, allowing diners to customize the dish to their taste.
OK, I ordered the Sisig with Egg. A beautiful sizzling skillet arrived 10-15 minutes, steaming and crackling – oh boy I love that sight, sound and smell. “It’s a crispy Sisig Sir. Can I stir it for you?” Asked Franz. “Of course you can my idea friend,” said I. Then I tasted it, and weird… what’s in there that I can’t quite put my finger on it? Ther Wifey says: “Oh it’s a mayonnaise version of sisig. Parts of the Philippines add mayonnaise to sisig.”
Not on my watch haha. I asked our mate Franz if next time I could come and lose the mayonnaise and Jose obliged: thank you. I am a bit of a sisig purist. It was OK. I did need to add a little Maggi to pump up the seasoning volume, but it was OK.
Tortang Talong from Jose Tagbilaran Restaurant
Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelette) is a beloved Filipino dish, and beloved to me too, that showcases the versatility of eggplants in a simple yet massively flavourful way. The dish is made by grilling or broiling whole eggplants until their skins are charred and the flesh is soft, then peeling off the skin to reveal the smoky, tender interior. The eggplants are then flattened and dipped into a seasoned egg mixture before pan-fried until golden brown. WOOF!!!
It’s a comforting, budget-friendly meal that brings out the natural flavours of the eggplant while adding richness from the eggs: I’ll be having his on the Home fo the Kapre menu, maybe adding some chargrilled chorizo. The version here at Jose’s was quite sweet, not so savoury, so I whacked it with the Super Spicy Suka Tuba, and hey presto: sublime.
Chicken Inasal from Jose
We had just had lunch at Ati Atihan Restaurant, a place renowned for its chicken Inasal, but the portions were way on the small side in comparison to days gone by. So much so, that Jude Jude wanted more Inasal in his life today so ordered from the menu at Jose Tagbilaran.
What turned up was these charred beauties. So juicy you could squeeze the juice out, a marinade to die for and then that char from the pit master. Dip this in some of that suka, and you are going to float to a heavenly foodie moment, folks. You have to get this dish from Jose Tagbilaran in your life and mouth one day. It is seriously some of the best I have ever eaten in all my trips to the Philippines. Rockstar status!!! So much so, that Jude and I ordered three this night.
Chicken Inasal is a popular Filipino dish that hails from Bacolod City, known as the “City of Smiles.” It’s a type of grilled chicken that stands out for its distinct flavour, achieved through a unique marinade and cooking method. The marinade typically includes a mix of calamansi (a local citrus), garlic, ginger, lemongrass, vinegar, and annatto oil, which gives the chicken its signature golden-orange hue.
The chicken is marinated for hours to absorb the flavours before being skewered and grilled over hot charcoal. While grilling, it’s basted with more annatto oil, which not only adds colour but enhances the smokiness of the dish. Chicken Inasal is often served with dipping sauces made from vinegar, soy sauce, or calamansi with chilli: or super spicy tuba suka in our case. It’s a staple in many Filipino households and restaurants, often enjoyed with a local ice-cold drink called beer.
Jose Tagbilaran Restaurant Review: Our Conclusions
Jose Restaurant in Tagbilaran is more than just a locale to go stuff your face. It’s a literal celebration of Filipino flavours and the warm hospitality that defines the culture. We got hooked the moment we walked in the first time, and we have been back since. It’s intoxicatingly good. PLEASE though Jose Tagbilaran STOCK YOUR BEER FRIDGE!!!
It has a menu dripping with thoughtfully crafted local dishes, in perfect symbiosis with its inviting atmosphere. The restaurant offers an experience that lingers long after the meal is over: we were gassing about it for ages. Hey, they also have free Wifi, cool toonz, they’re pet-friendly, and even have basketball and other sports on their big TV + live music on Saturdays… BOOMSKI!!!
Whether it’s the perfectly executed goat adobo, the vibrant freshness of kinilaw, the iconic sisig, or the indulgent Lomi to kill your hangover, Jose brings a level of care and authenticity that’s hard to find to every single item that leaves that serving hatch. Every dish is prepared with a deep respect for tradition, it reeks of quality and your memories with family.
If you are visiting Bohol, and have some time in Tagbilaran, a meal at Jose Tagbilaran is a must. The restaurant perfectly captures the essence of Filipino dining, where food is more than sustenance, it’s a connection to culture, history, community, and family. Jose Tagbilaran ensures a memorable meal that highlights the best of Tagbilaran and Bohol‘s most wonderful foodie scene. With its combination of delicious food, welcoming service, and a cosy setting, Jose Tagbilaran stands out as a true beauty in the heart of the Philippines.
Jose Tagbilaran Restaurant Price
This is going to blow your mind, folks. This is top-end of town with the best Filipino food in Tagbilaran and Bohol and it will likely cost you PHP 2-600 per person, equivalent to SGD $6-13
Jose Tagbilaran Contact Details
- Telephone: +63 919 093 1662
- eMail: josetagbilaran@gmail.com
Jose Tagbilraran Restaurant Opening Hours
7-days a week from 05:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Jose Tagbilaran Address
Near Cooperative Bank of Bohol, CPG EAST, corner Tamblot Circumferential Road, Tagbilaran City, Bohol: just show this to your tricycle driver and hey presto you’ll be on your way.
