Parr’t Ebelle Tinola: An Amazing SuTuKil Spot in Cebu City

This article is part of my Cebu Food Trip 2023 series. Check out the installments: Abaca Baking Company (Bakery and Brunch) | Cyria’s Kandingan (Cebu-Style Goat Dishes) | House of Lechon | Johnna’s Liempo Haus (Balamban Liempo or Pork Belly) Plus Balamban Food Park | La Parisienne (and La Parisienne Sky) (French Food) | Matias BBQ (Pinoy Barbecue) | Parr’t Ebelle Tinola (Seafood) | Red Lizard (Mexican Food)

Cebu is an island-province located in central Philippines. Its capital, Cebu City, is full of amazing food spots. In other words, it’s a food-lovers paradise!

I first went to Cebu in 2019 and I thought that I already covered pretty much the important local food spots. But the American food vlogger Mark Wiens, who did a Cebu series, made me realize that there are more places to explore in the Queen City of the South.

My wife and I went to the island-province back in December to further explore its culinary landscape. So I’m starting a new Cebu Food Trip series, starting with one of Cebu City’s top SuTuKil spots, Parr’t Ebelle Tinola. (“Tinola” in Cebu usually refers to a fish soup.)

With Cebu being an island, there is an abundance of fresh seafood in the province. One Cebuano way of preparing seafood is SuTuKil. To the uninitiated, it is an acronym for Bisaya (the primary language in the island) words sugba (grilled), tuwa (to stew), and kilaw (to cook in vinegar). Along with eating Lechon (roasted suckling pig; check out my Cebu Lechon crawl in 2019 here), it’s a food experience you shouldn’t miss when visiting Cebu.

So when we visited Cebu recently, we tried SuTuKil at Parr’t Ebelle. It’s an institution in the city and became more popular when Wiens featured it.

At the front, you’ll be welcomed by a grill full with huge chunks of fish.

To order, you will have to visit each station for sugba, tuwa/tinola, and kilaw.

For our grilled item, we got a marlin. It’s juicy, tender, and smoky. Its taste is neutral and that’s where the sawsawan (dip) comes in.

I’m not sure if you can choose the kind of fish for the soup. We got a large chunk of mamsa (trevally in English or talakitok in Tagalog), which is clean-tasting and tender, but retains a bite which I like. It’s broth is flavored with onions and tomatoes.

Finally, the kinilaw is made with fresh tuna, if I’m not mistaken. It’s slightly salty and has a nice acidity. The onions and tomatoes add a refreshing crunch.

Aside from seafood, they also grill liempo or pork belly. They make a mean one! It’s fatty, tender, and super smoky! It’s definitely one of the best grilled liempo I have ever tried!

We visited Parr’t Ebelle Tinola at almost dinnertime. By that time, they already ran out of lato (sea grapes) and squid, which I wanted to try. Now I have a reason to go back!

Anyway, Parr’t Ebelle Tinola serves incredible seafood. All the dishes we tried there were on point. Plus, the grilled items were masterfully prepared (their grill master really knows his craft). Parr’t Ebelle is one of my favorite food spots for 2023. Needless to say, I highly recommend it to you!

Mabolo Branch Address: Road 6, North Reclamation Area, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines | Operating Hours: Monday-Saturday, 7:30AM-8:30AM; Sunday, 7:30AM-3PM | Contact No.: 0947-3411337 | Facebook