Villa Marmarine Restaurant

Villa Marmarine is a small Japanese-owned beach resort about 2.5 km east of Siquijor port, the closest resort to the pier on the island's north coast. Its open-sided restaurant sits on a deck just above a white-sand beach, and non-guests are welcome to drop in for a meal and a swim.

The menu runs across Japanese, Filipino and Western dishes. Katsudon is the order recent visitors recommend, and the kitchen also turns out noodle dishes, kinilaw made with local fish, fish in coconut sauce, stir-fries and fried calamari, with fresh fruit juices and homemade ice cream, green tea included, to finish. Owners Daman and Marie Harada settled here from Japan in 2004, and the staff are known for being kind and unhurried. The buildings are older, and some reviews mention wear.

Opening hours aren't published online; past guests describe the kitchen serving from 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM, so treat it as a breakfast, lunch and early dinner spot and call (035) 480 9167 first. The resort's own site says card payments are paused, so bring cash. The water out front is best at high tide, and sea urchins hide in the seagrass, so pack reef shoes. Stop in for lunch on the deck on your way from the port.