Oyster Bay in Cebu: A Good Place to Take People from Out-of-Town

If you have to entertain folks from out-of-town, be it friends, relatives, or colleagues, try Oyster Bay in Mandaue. It’s a refreshing alternative to Café Laguna, Chikaan, or Golden Cowrie. Although these are the classics, Oyster Bay is a worthy contender. Okay, so the food is probably 4 out of 5 compared to the three C’s but it totally beats them in the ambience department. It’s just beautiful. My phone camera doesn’t do it justice.


The restaurant’s unique feature is that it is set up like a restaurant at the beach. You really get that island feel when you step into the sand and see what lies beneath the mini bridge – sharks! Yes there are tiny non-threatening sharks that you can feed at 7pm. Also, you can really “soak up the sun” when you dine al fresco. The open air dining areas can seat about ten people in a table. It’s warm and homey hues make for a very pretty backdrop for picture taking with the rellies. On the right side of the restaurant is an air-conditioned, brighter lit non-smoking area. On the left side is the bar where they have a selection of drinks you can try at decent prices. In the middle you can find all the live seafood. Everything on the menu is guaranteed fresh; as you can choose them live yourself. There are fish, squid, prawns, crab, other shellfish, lobster, and the ever-eluding diwal.


On to the food! The menu is huge! There’s so much food to choose from. Mouth-watering appetizers like Baked Oysters in Lemon Butter Sauce range from P90-P240. Main dishes such as Crispy Pata and Oyster Bay Adobo start at P110 and go as high as P675 for the Fried Lapu-lapu fish, but average at around P200-P300 per dish. Desserts are delectible at about P45 for the basic Leche Flan and P120 for the sought after Churros con Tsokolate. The drinks come at P55 and go up to P90 for shakes and juices. They contribute to the I’m-on-paradise-island feel of the place. Beer’s at P60 and coffees go up to P130.





All in all, it’s a really pretty place. It looks very sophisticated but is actually very affordable. It’s a nice place to take the expats to show them that Cebuanos know good food and fine ambience at great prices!