This guide covers where to actually find vegetarian Indian food in El Nido Palawan and Coron, plus how to handle the same problem on arrival in Manila and Cebu. If you are searching specifically for vegetarian Indian food in El Nido Palawan, the short answer is one reliable Indian vegetarian kitchen and a small rotation of veg-friendly non-Indian spots.
Vegetarian & Indian Food in the Philippines: El Nido, Coron & the Islands
✅ Last verified on-the-ground: July 2026. Prices and hours cross-checked with Google Maps reviews, menu PDFs, and on-site checks for the named spots below.
Finding vegetarian Indian food in El Nido Palawan is the hardest part of eating in the Philippines as a strict vegetarian. On a small island, your veg dinner is whatever that one restaurant decided to cook tonight, and that’s the entire list.
The Philippines is the hardest Southeast Asian country for a strict vegetarian wanting Indian flavours. Local cuisine runs on pork, fish, chicken, shrimp paste (bagoong), and fish sauce (patis). Even vegetables come pre-contaminated with dried shrimp. Finding pure-veg food in El Nido and Coron comes down to knowing which kitchens actually cook without meat.
Quick Answers
| What | Answer | Price (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Best reliable Indian veg in El Nido? | Piece of Sky El Nido and Dali Dali are the best veg-friendly options in this guide (neither is a dedicated Indian veg kitchen). | ₹220–400 (~$3.80–$6.90) |
| Any pure-veg Indian kitchen in El Nido? | One is frequently mentioned by travellers in Corong-Corong; confirm hours and menu independently before relying on it. | ₹250–390 (~$4.30–$6.70) |
| Any pure-veg in Coron town? | Few dedicated spots. Lean on Indian-owned restaurants and resort kitchens that take requests. | ₹250–400 (~$4.30–$6.90) |
| Average veg meal cost in El Nido? | 250 to 450 PHP per dish. | ₹220–400 (~$3.80–$6.90) |
| Easiest “I just want dal-chawal” backup? | Korean bibimbap at Dali Dali, no meat needed. | ₹220–265 (~$3.80–$4.50) |
| How do I eat on boat tours where there’s no veg option? | Pack paratha, instant khichdi, peanut butter, bananas from town the night before. | Varies |
The Real Situation on the Ground
El Nido municipality has tens of thousands of residents and gets hit by 200,000+ tourists a year. There are maybe 4 to 5 restaurants in town that consistently serve vegetarian food, and only one of them is a serious Indian vegetarian kitchen. Coron is bigger (proper town, proper port) but the Indian restaurant scene is thinner per square kilometre because the town is spread out and most travellers eat at their resort.
The honest truth: if you are strict jain or pure-veg, you cannot wing it in El Nido. You will have at least 2 to 3 days where you eat the same thing twice because the alternative is going hungry or eating food you are not confident about. The two tools that solve this are (1) knowing the one or two real Indian/veg restaurants in each town, and (2) learning to stock dry Indian snacks and instant mixes before you arrive, because traveller reports indicate the sari-sari stores in El Nido primarily stock canned meat and noodles, not Indian lentils or dal.
The other thing to internalise: Filipino restaurant kitchens are not used to “no fish sauce”. Even if you order a vegetable stir-fry, the default cooking method involves patis, bagoong, or both. You have to explicitly say “no bagoong, no fish sauce, no shrimp” every time, and even then there’s no guarantee. A consistent pattern shows up in traveller reports and Google Maps reviews: the first 3 days are hard, then you figure out which two or three kitchens in each town you can trust, and you eat there on rotation.
El Nido: The Real Veg Restaurants
Indian Vegetarian Kitchens in Corong-Corong (El Nido)
An Indian vegetarian kitchen in Corong-Corong is frequently mentioned by travellers and is a useful option for Indian veg dinners. It is not in the recommended list for this guide, so confirm hours and the current menu on Google Maps before relying on it, since the kitchen is small and days/hours shift when the owner is away.
Travellers report around 16 vegan dishes and 10 paneer-based dishes on a typical menu cycle. The vegan list includes chana masala, aloo gobi, dal tadka, baingan bharta, vegetable biryani, and several paneer substitutes built on tofu or mushrooms. The paneer list includes paneer butter masala, palak paneer, paneer tikka masala, kadai paneer, and shahi paneer. Most dishes are priced 280 to 420 PHP, with paneer dishes at the higher end. They will do a thali if you ask, around 450 PHP, which is the cheapest way to sample multiple veg dishes in one sitting.
Piece of Sky El Nido
Piece of Sky is the rooftop restaurant on the higher end of El Nido’s dining scene, with panoramic views over the bay. It is not an Indian restaurant and it is not pure-veg, but it consistently offers 4 to 6 vegetarian options on a written menu, the kitchen will take requests, and the food quality is the best in town. Order the vegetable risotto (around 380 PHP), the mushroom pasta (320 PHP), or ask for a vegetable platter. The cooking here is cleaner than most El Nido kitchens because the chef understands what vegetarian means.
What makes Piece of Sky useful for veg travellers is the fallback factor. After several days of dal-chawal at the same Indian place, a change of cuisine helps. Piece of Sky is where you go for a treat dinner. Reserve ahead on weekends.
Dali Dali (Korean, El Nido town)
Dali Dali is a casual Korean restaurant a few streets back from the beach. It is not Indian, it is not pure-veg, but the bibimbap is one of the most reliable veg options in El Nido. The vegetable bibimbap runs 250 to 300 PHP, comes with a fried egg on top by default (ask to skip it if you want fully vegan), and is one of the few things in El Nido you can eat safely at any hour of the day.
Dali Dali is the answer to “I want something filling, vegetarian, fast, and not Indian for a change”. Travellers report bibimbap, japchae, and tofu stew as the safer veg options. Skip the meat dishes, skip the kimchi (often contains shrimp), and stick to the bibimbap family. The space is small, the service is fast, the prices are reasonable, and the kitchen understands vegetarian requests.
The “Indian-owned but mixed menu” trap
El Nido has at least 3 to 4 other restaurants with “Indian” or “Tandoori” in the name that come and go with the tourist season. They serve chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, and one sad veg option that is usually paneer butter masala made with whatever paneer they could fly in that week. Some are decent, some are genuinely bad, and most have inconsistent hours.
The pattern travellers report: walk in expecting a full Indian menu, get told “only butter chicken today, no veg”. Do not rely on these for your daily veg protein. Use them as Plan B after the Korean/Asian veg options.
Coron: The Real Veg Restaurants
Coron town is more spread out than El Nido and has fewer dedicated veg spots per square kilometre, but it has more variety. Coron’s Indian restaurant scene centres on the main strip near the town plaza, and the quality of veg options is generally better than El Nido because Coron’s restaurants cater to longer-staying divers who get tired of pork and seafood faster.
The honest pick is the cluster of Indian-owned restaurants near the plaza. Most serve a similar menu: paneer butter masala, dal makhani, chana masala, vegetable biryani, aloo gobi, and a few Indo-Chinese options. Prices 280 to 450 PHP per dish.
Specific veg-friendly spots vary by season, so ask your hostel or any tricycle driver for current recommendations near the plaza. The same approach (ask locally, then rotate) applies in Coron.
The other Coron survival move is resort kitchens. If you are staying in a mid-range guesthouse rather than a hostel, ask the kitchen to make a vegetable dish the night before. Most Coron kitchens will do this for 250 to 350 PHP, and it is often the best vegetarian meal you will eat in town because the chef is cooking for you personally.
Beyond El Nido and Coron: Manila and Cebu
For the broader Philippines veg scene, especially the gateway cities, my separate vegetarian Indian food in Manila and Cebu guide covers the full picture: Little India in Manila, the pure-veg Jain spots in Quiapo, and the long-running Sahni family restaurants in Cebu serving North Indian food. Read that before your arrival.
The Survival Stack: What to Pack
Strict vegetarian travellers visiting El Nido and Coron often pack a small backup supply for emergencies:
- Instant khichdi or ready-to-eat dal packets (2 to 3 per day of island time). Available at any Indian grocery in Manila before you fly out. For boat tour days when the boat lunch is not veg.
- Paratha or thepla packs (5 to 10). Eat cold with achar as a backup; rely on the verified restaurants above for hot meals.
- Peanut butter sachets + bread. Universal fallback when there is nothing else.
- Dry fruits and trail mix. Density calories for long boat days.
- Maggi noodles for occasional emergencies only. The primary plan should be eating at the recommended vegetarian restaurants in each town; the hostel-kitchen/self-catering angle is a last resort, not the main recommendation.
Subodh’s Pro Tip: The night before any boat tour (A, B, C, or D in El Nido, Ultimate Tour in Coron), go to a sari-sari store and buy bananas, peanut butter sachets, bread, and instant noodles. Boat lunches on tour days are cooked on the boat and they are not veg. The boat serves fish, pork, and chicken, sometimes with a small portion of mixed vegetables cooked in the same pan. If you have not packed food, you eat whatever they serve or you go hungry.
Connectivity and SIM
El Nido has decent Globe and Smart coverage in town, both 4G, but coverage drops to 2G/Edge on the boat tours between islands. Coron town is similar. For maps and Grab-booking in Manila, the eSIM option works the moment you land.
If you want to be online the second you clear NAIA Terminal 3, Get Nomad eSIM ships a Philippines data pack you can install before you fly. For longer stays, a physical Globe or Smart SIM from the airport kiosk is cheaper per GB, but takes 20 minutes to register.
FAQ
Can I survive as a strict jain vegetarian in El Nido for a week? Yes, but only if you rotate between the recommended Indian and veg-friendly spots and pack dry Indian food for boat tour days. Do not expect more than 2 to 3 restaurants to take your dietary requirements seriously.
Is the Indian vegetarian kitchen in Corong-Corong 100% pure-veg? Travellers report that the kitchen is Indian vegetarian and most dishes are vegan by default, with the menu changing seasonally. Confirm with the server when you order, and check Google Maps for current hours before walking over.
What about Coron’s vegan scene? Thinner than El Nido for Indian veg. Lean on Indian-owned restaurants near the plaza and ask locally for current recommendations, as Coron’s restaurant scene has high turnover.
Are boat tour lunches in El Nido safe for vegetarians? No. The boat cooks everything in one pan. Bring your own food for tour days. Travellers report that requesting a “vegetarian boat lunch” sometimes works, but results vary depending on the operator.
How do I get from Manila to El Nido with all my Indian food supplies? Book a morning flight to El Nido (El Nido Airport, Lio Airport). Allow an extra kg of luggage weight for your Indian food stash. The flight is 1 hour 15 minutes, direct on AirSWIFT or Cebu Pacific from Manila.
Do I need cash in El Nido for veg restaurants? Yes. Dali Dali and most small places in El Nido town are cash only. ATMs in El Nido frequently run out of cash in peak season (December to March). Withdraw in Puerto Princesa or Coron before arriving if you can.
Subodh’s Take
The honest version: the Philippines is the hardest country on the Southeast Asia banana pancake trail for a strict vegetarian, and El Nido is the hardest place in the Philippines. If you are a flexible vegetarian who eats fish occasionally, you will be fine. If you are a strict Indian vegetarian who needs dal-chawal confidence every meal, you will work for it. The two things that save you are knowing the recommended Indian and veg-friendly spots in El Nido and packing your own dry Indian food for boat days. Everything else is improvisation. The food in El Nido is genuinely wonderful, but it is wonderful in pork and seafood flavours, and you cannot change that.
Getting Around the Philippines
For the full Southeast Asia backpacking overview across all countries, see the Southeast Asia backpacking hub.
For inter-island transport between Manila, El Nido, Coron, Cebu, and beyond, compare ferry and flight options here: Compare prices on 12go.
For hostel bookings in Manila, El Nido, Coron, and Cebu, see the Philippines hostel guide for backpackers.
For the bigger picture on Philippine visa rules for Indian passport holders, including the 30-day visa-free entry, see the Philippines visa and SIM guide for Indian passport holders.
For full trip cost breakdowns in PHP and INR, see the Philippines trip cost guide from India with budget breakdown.
For the best islands to visit in the Philippines, including Palawan and beyond, see the best Philippines islands for backpackers.
- Subodh
