Dolce Amore 🇮🇹

Dolce Amore is, with a consistency few places on a small island manage, the best Italian restaurant on Siquijor — and one of the three best tables on the island in any cuisine. The numbers agree: 4.9 out of 5 from close to 700 TripAdvisor reviews, and 3rd of the 122 restaurants listed on Siquijor. It is an Italian restaurant run by Italians, attached to a small resort, in Barangay Paliton on the Circumferential Road in San Juan.

The pizza, first

This is what built the reputation: Neapolitan pizza in the strict sense — long-proved dough, a puffed, pliable cornice, a fast bake. Part of the ingredients are imported from Italy, which is rare here and explains both the taste and the prices. The spicy burrata pizza is the one reviews name most often as the best thing on the menu.

The rest of the menu

The pasta is made in house. To start, bruschetta and arancini are the two dishes guests mention most. For dessert, house gelato and panna cotta. And at breakfast — the part of the place few visitors know about — eggs Benedict and avocado toast, served from 8am. There is a wine list, still an exception on Siquijor, plus vegetarian and vegan dishes.

What to know before you go

Three things nobody tells you in advance, and they change the evening:

1. There are no reservations, except for large parties. You turn up and wait. At dinner, expect 30 to 45 minutes in high season. Arriving at 6pm rather than 7.30pm changes everything.

2. Parmesan is charged extra. That is not stinginess — it is imported. But better to know before the bill lands.

3. Bring cash. Several guests report having to find a way round paying by card. An ATM in San Juan, or GCash, saves the awkward moment.

Our reservation

The restaurant runs at full tilt and you can feel it: on some evenings service nudges you to free the table after an hour, an hour and a half. If you want a long, unhurried dinner this is not the place — or come early. Prices, too, are high by Siquijor standards — around 2,000 ₱ for two with drinks — which stays fair for what arrives on the plate, but puts it at the top of the local range.

Hours and practical

Open every day, 8am to 9pm. Phone: +63 939 111 5810. Outdoor seating, Wi-Fi. The owner is Italian and works the room. The resort side has a pool, a garden and rooms with terraces: see our listing for Dolce Amore Italian Resort.

Our view

If you only have one "proper" dinner on Siquijor, have it here. It is the island's most accomplished kitchen: precise, controlled, with no concession to tourism. At the other end of the range, to eat Filipino food very well for a third of the price, go to Roadside Diners.