El Kabron Siquijor

5.0 out of 5 — across roughly 270 Google reviews, and 5.0 on TripAdvisor too, where it sits 10th of 50 restaurants in San Juan. El Kabron is one of only two addresses on the island holding a 5.0, and the only one with a swimming pool.

What it is

A pool bar in Solangon on the circumferential road: you drink at the poolside, facing the sunset. It is neither a beach bar nor a resort lounge — it is a third category, rare here, where you can spend the afternoon in the water and stay into the evening.

The name actually covers three separate venues, which is confusing when you go looking for the address: El Kabron, the Solangon pool bar; the Beach Hub at Mabuhay Beach; and the Mackem Lounge at Purok Nangka, barangay Tambisan. Check which one you mean before setting off.

The cocktails, and the challenge

This is the point of the place, and reviews talk about little else: "expertly crafted drinks with flair." The house creations have proper names — Oh Là Là Spice Fusion, Lärz Fizz, Ciao! Bella, Joe Mönster, Ganning's Delight, Kimmylicious, Juicy Josse. There is also a challenge drink, the El Kabron Poison.

One genuinely useful rarity on this island: there is a real mocktail list, with names and thought behind it — Elle's Dazzling Dream, Island Duo Delight, Cal Slammer. If you do not drink alcohol, this is one of the few places on Siquijor that will not hand you a pineapple juice as a consolation.

And you can eat

Continental and American breakfast, with pancakes and a coffee that reviews name together as the best thing the house does. On the menu, the Diver's Meal — pan-grilled pork chop with thyme and salad — is built for divers coming out of the water. Filipino, European and Asian cooking.

The trap: service is split in two

7am to 11am, then closed until 3pm. That is the thing to remember: turn up between 11am and 3pm and you will find the doors shut, which is exactly when most visitors are out on the circumferential road. In the afternoon it opens at 3pm and closes at 10pm Monday to Thursday, midnight Friday to Sunday. Breakfast finishes an hour earlier on Friday and Saturday according to the sources — call if that is what you are coming for: +63 939 933 6894.

No entrance fee reported, unlike Runik and La Canopée. Online reservations are available for the Mackem Lounge.

A note on our map

The pin shows the centre of barangay Solangon, not the exact entrance, which we have not surveyed yet. Navigate by the circumferential road and the sign.

Our view

This is the afternoon that slides into evening: arrive around 3pm or 4pm, swim, stay for the sunset. For a sunset without a pool and at local prices, Mystropical's blue tables. For live music, Baha Bar. The full ranking is in our list of Siquijor's best bars.