Roadside Diners

Roadside Diners is a family-run Filipino canteen on the Circumferential Road in San Juan, near Tipsy Bar and a short walk from Sunset Bridge. There is no view and no air-con, just open-sided tables by the road, but it holds 4.8 stars from more than 400 Google reviews and fills up with locals and backpackers from the nearby hostels.

You order and pay at the counter by the entrance, and the food comes to your table, usually fast. Chicken inasal is the signature, grilled and served with rice and atchara for about ₱135 to ₱155, with a fresh lumpia on the side. The menu has a real Thai streak too, and the yellow, green and fish curries get almost as many mentions as the chicken. Sizzling bulalo, pork sisig, fish tinola and grilled fish cover the Filipino side, and the soups are big enough for two or three. Finish with the mango float.

It is open from 8am to 11pm on weekdays and from 7am on weekends, and most meals come in under ₱500 a head. Go before 7pm or after 8:30pm to beat the dinner rush, and ask for extra chicken oil with your inasal.