The service is very lack luster. Management is not accommodating or friendly. Food came out semi…read morecold and dry. Chicken is small. The drinks came out barely cold. If you sit by the door the blow will constantly blow on you cause there is a worker holding the door open for no one. Over all will not being coming back to this location. After being at different maxs worldwide this is bottom 3 overall. Very disappointed

Max's chain of restaurants are pretty much a staple all across the Philippines. You'll find them in…read moremost sizable cities and their claim to fame is their fried chicken. According to them, this is "the house that fried chicken built." I'll have to test how good it is in the future since I've never tried it yet. This location is in the heart of Vigan City, right next to the famed Calle Crisologo. Traffic is busy and parking is tough. This is the case pretty much across the board in the Phillipines unless you're in a provincial town. I did see a few parking spots right in front of the restaurant though (good luck!) and the restaurant itself is busy as well. We had a party of 10, but lucked out and were seated right away and right in front of the air conditioner. Yay! We ordered a mix of dishes and among our table we had sinigang na baka (tamarind beef soup), pinaputok na tiyan ng bangus (popped salmon belly), crispy pata (pork knuckles), crab meat fried rice, & some other stuff that I'm not sure what it was called. The main dishes that *I* ordered were the Vigan longanisa (a specialty dish for the area) & bagnet (a deep friend crispy pork belly). For dessert I ordered the pastillas con hielo - a special shaved ice dessert mixed with sweetened beans, macapuno balls and sweetened suba topped with leche flan and Max's homemade pastillas - think elevated halo halo. I also had an ube leche flan shake. I know, I know, my dessert loving ways knows no bounds. Hehe. Due to the size of our party and our order, they told us it would be about 20 - 25 minutes which was fine. Our drinks and desserts all came out first which was fine by me! I dug into my shakes and was in heaven! This was my 2nd pastillas con hielo and this was even better than the first! It had just the right amount of sweetness and a biiiiig scoop of pastillas to top it off. OMG, delicious! The ube shake was also good, but if I had to choose between the two, pastillas con hielo all the way. Our food came out right on time and I was surprised to see my dishes come with bagoong isda (not the shrimp paste, but the sauce made with fish) mixed with tomatoes & onions. I've never tried dipping meat with that before and you know what? It was SO good and paired so well. I was so happy with my picks. Bagoong isda is not for the faint of heart though and is more of an acquired taste. If you're adventurous, go for it! I personally loved it! Loved my dishes so much that I didn't try any of the other dishes, but consensus was everything was pretty good. Overall, for the volume of customers that they get, the service is still very timely and quick. They turnover tables really fast and I noticed that once the crowds started dwindling... they turned off the a/c. Wouldn't want to be in there long at that time! Anywho, if you're hungry and in the area, this is a solid choice, especially if you plan to sight see down the Calle and want to ride in a kalesa (they line-up right on the side of the restaurant).

Pinakbet pizza was a hit!…read more Called the resort a little before our flight to place a phone order and they were able to accommodate even before the resto opened! Brought the pizza with us and enjoyed it at the gate while waiting to board our flight. The side of bagoong to dip in was the cherry on top!

Food is authentic. The quality and care dedicated to the dishes are on a whole other level relative…read moreto other restaurants in the Laoag/San Nicolas area. It's one of the birthplaces of Pinakbet Pizza which is a MUST try! The Tamarind Chicken is amazing and has a unique flavor as well! Honestly, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The place has a nice ambience and the clientele is cultured. Occasionally, they'll have a live band on weekends. Looks like they were featured on ABS-CBN. https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/food-drink/restaurants/08/23/23/theres-more-to-ilocano-food-than-pinakbet-and-bagnet

Literally cockroaches by the food and after telling the staff they just squash the cockroach to…read moreclean it off right in front of your face. That doesn't clean it. Cockroaches are just running around the store. This place needs to get fumigated and I'm sure they are not doing anything about it. If I were the Cabalen franchise I would look into this specific branch and see the cleanliness of the place.

The buffet were only 2/3 of the trays with food. Staff told they would not fill again as only 2…read morehours till closing time.

Baby back ribs were tender. Spicy gambas was very tasty but the shrimp were small. Pork chops and…read moretempura shrimp were filling according to my parents. Great service and ambiance. We would come back.

The wait for the food was so long I dozed off. The taste was ok. We'll probably not going to returnread more

Great food, amazing ambiance, nice staff, small portions. I loved the mixed fruit yogurt. Yogurt is…read moreslightly sour and so creamy.

We had a wonderful meal here. We are "typical" Igorot meal including pinikpikan duck with uteg,…read moregaby soup, red rice, and fried rice with vegetables. We topped everything off with yogurt with honey, bananas, and granola. The owner, Mng Emilia is warm and friendly!

After traveling 8,000 miles to serve as Guest of Honor and Speaker at Union Christian College, San…read moreFernando La Union Philippines, we were invited taste the culinary delights of Ilocandia at Natalna Grille and Restaurant. The restaurant is along the main highway and as you enter the building, you are immediately in view of the sea while stepping above the breakwaters ... the floor is made of bamboo with tables and furnitures that are naturally locally sourced, too. Organic and naturalist underrated and breathing the humid yet fresh sea smell is a bonus ambiance that makes you feel like dining in the middle of the sea. Our main course was seafood; grilled milkfish (Bangus), locally caught squid with tomatoes, onions and other aromatics. The fish was excellent which to me defined what I've missed for more than 20 years of studying and working away from home. The squid was oh my, chewy but smelled like fire and aromatics in one, garnished with tomatoes, onions and a stench of a little soy sauce. What's interesting was their Borodebod with mushroom ( we call it dinengdeng, for Ilocanos), a locally sourced assortment of vegetables: squash, okra, patola, mushroom etc... with fish sauce as part of its soup base. If you haven't had such dish, go to Natalna and enjoy such delight, it's not only delicious but wil keep you loving for at least 10-15 years longer. I do prevention programs in Los Angeles and cannot stress this more than anything. The Sisig was equally delicious, it had a crunchy component which is an edge away from others that we've tasted as I landed a few days back and on our way to this province. We had other dishes but perhaps having you drop by this restaurant would be best instead of my long descriptive and equally boring narrative about my return to this part of the world. Don't forget to come to this part of the world with an open mind, an empty stomach and a willingness to appreciate the beauty of other culinary dishes from what you've been used to. Enjoy and let me know if you have any question/s? Dr. Conrad Ulpindo, Los Angeles, California 2025 Trip to the Philippines - U.S. Fulbright Programs

Beachside restaurants that you can enjoy and relax and feel the sea breeze. The food is also…read moredelicious you can enjoy Filipino and Ilocano cuisine. They also have a good service.

Jack had the bacon Akaw breakfast. It came with eggs, bacon, toast and yummy hashbrowns. I picked…read morethe omelet and you can choose what toppings you want. I picked tomatoes, cheese and cilantro. I'm not certain if I got the cilantro but the tomatoes were nicely grilled. We recommend this chill place.

Great food, and great view!!!! My friends and I ate breakfast here and it was such a relaxing time…read more I had the danggit rice bowl and it was heavenly! Not to mention they also have really kind staff!! I left my purse on our table and took 30 minutes to realize it, but they immediately tried to message me and my friends on facebook. They kept my purse safe with them the whole time. :)

My family and I are visiting the Philippines (PI) during the Christmas and New Year's holidays…read more One of the cities aka barangays we wanted to visit was Batac, Ilocos Norte to visit family. I was told that Batac is known for their empanadas, so it definitely was on my Must Eat list during our visit here in the Philippines. We were brought to Glory's Empanadas because this spot is known for their empanadas. After eating our very first Batac empanada from Glory's, I now understand why I was told I had to eat an empanada in Batac. Glory's delivered because my wife ate two of their huge empanadas. Delish!!! Blessed to write my 500th Yelp review and the first to review Glory's Empanada just before 2025. To reach Batac is not an easy task especially if you're coming from the southern part of the Philippines. From Manila or Tarlac, it's approximately a 7-10 hour drive. The easiest way to get to Batac would be to take a local flight to Laoag. The reason why the drive takes so long coming from the South is because you drive on 2-lane roads through barangays aka towns and it can get crowded in the major towns with the vehicles and motorbikes clogging up where the businesses and population centers are. Glory's is one of several stalls that specializes in empanadas and these stalls can be found under one roof within the Batac Riverside Empanadaan. This empanada foodie oasis is located in the center of Batac, across from the main Catholic Church, a few steps from the Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center and Ferdinand Marcos statue, and very close to the Batac welcome sign. As soon as you walk up to the Empanadaan, you instantly smell the frying of the empanadas. We bought our empanadas to go, so I'm not sure how the seating works if you want to dine there. There are tables and chairs, but I believe they are sectioned off for each of the different empanada stalls. My family and I sat waiting for the empanadas in one section and were told that the seating area was for their stall. Make sure to ask Glory's employees where to sit. Watching the hard working employees at Glory's stall making the empanadas and frying them was a sight to behold. It was like a mechanical assembly line without the machinery. There was one gentlemen making all the empanadas, who was efficient and hustled. The empanadas are fried in oil, so if you're not a fan of a good amount of oil, these empanadas might not be for you. Don't be put off by the large, orange colored, and hearty empanadas. I watched intently as these empanadas were being made, so I saw that a substantial amount of ingredients were placed into these savory pockets of yumminess. An orange dough has scoops of bean sprouts, meat, an egg, it's wrapped and molded using a simple device to form it, and then it is placed in a pan to be fried. It's taken out from the fryer and placed onto some racks to lessen the amount of oil on the empanadas. When we brought them home and took my first bite, I immediately could tell why family told me I had to eat a Batac empanada. It had just the right crunch, all of the ingredients blended really well with each other, it was hearty, and I thought that was one of the best empanadas I've ever eaten. You are given packets of vinegar, which need to be sprinkled onto the empanadas. My only issue is that I couldn't eat more than one because we've been eating so much here in the PI and I was stuffed. My petite wife ate two, which is an accomplishment considering how little she eats. For anyone visiting the Philippines and if you're within close proximity to Batac or are willing to make the long drive, I highly recommend you stop by and eat a famous empanada from Glory's Empanada. On their sign, it states that Glory's is the original and Number 1 in taste. I totally agree with the taste claim and hopefully you do too.