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Boracay newbies have heard all about Boracay's beaches, but may fear the idea of having grilled beach food every day. The good news is, the Boracay restaurant scene has expanded far beyond the beach-grilled shellfish option, and Ole Tapas Bar y Restaurant is as good a place as any to begin.

The Ole Tapas Bar y Restaurant serves Spanish, Mexican, and Cuban food from its cozy den in Boracay's D'Mall at Station 2.


This Boracay restaurant can be found a few meters down the square from the Ferris Wheel, in the direction of White Beach; you'll know it by the shorts-clad girls angling for patrons from the door.

Love for Spanish Food

The proprietors Steve and Ana claim to have neither Spanish heritage nor language skills, just a deep, abiding love for the cuisine. The wide range of Ibero-American dishes does justice to their claim - Ole serves twenty-five types of hot and cold tapas, imported filet mignon steaks, tortillas, fajitas, and their famous paella.

The owner Steve takes particular pride in the bar selection - the wine list features wines from France, Australia, Chile, Spain, and the U.S., with pride of place taken by the sangria.

Guests get their food and drink served in a warmly-lit nook festooned with over sixty flags representing the different countries Ole's guests hail from. If you're a paying customer and your flag isn't there, Steve wants you to tell him so this oversight can be corrected.

And it's not hard to find Steve - he's usually on the premises, sharing a drink with customers.

Food and drinks are served by attractively leggy waitresses, which might give some patrons the wrong idea, as Ole is strictly a family place. Sure, the smoking rules within the premises are relaxed, but the young'uns can order from a special kids menu, and they get crayons for drawing on their paper placemats while waiting for their orders to arrive.

Large Servings Done Well

Calamares a la Romana (PHP 299, or about $6.40) came hot - large morsels of floured squid, deep fried till crisp and served with a lemon butter dip on the side. The dip was a little more buttery than lemony for my taste, but the calamares were perfectly done - not too chewy, the flesh easily disintegrating in my mouth (squid is very easy to do badly, even with the fallback of a crispy coating of fried flour).

The Ole's Steak Palomilla (PHP 459, or about $9.80) consists of a thinly-sliced sirloin steak, served with an ensalada of onions and parsley, with a bowl of beans and slices of fried banana on the side. It's a high-carb dish, with the steak complementing the rice, beans, and bananas, but the flavors came out well - the ensalada creating a delicious accent with the beans and the steak providing the foundation.

Both the calamares and the palomilla came in adequate serving sizes, although locals find the servings good for two. The dishes seem made to be washed down with beer; a San Miguel Light did the trick nicely for me.

One dish I overlooked, as I simply didn't have the time: Paella. Ole's famous Paella comes in eight varieties (costing up to PHP 2,189, or $47, for one order of Paella Bogavante that serves six) and requires a cooking time of up to 45 minutes. The Boracay contacts who are familiar with the dish tell me it's worth the wait.

Ole Tapas Bar y Restaurant at a Glance

Dining at the Ole Tapas Bar Y Restaurant is meant to be a casual, kick-your-feet-back experience, best enjoyed with liberal servings of beer or wine. The Ibero-American cuisine served at Ole is hearty, enjoyable fare, which goes down well with both drinkers and family groups looking for variety in the Boracay restaurant scene.

• Location: D'Mall, Station 2, Boracay, Philippines
• Menu: Spanish, Mexican, and Cuban cuisine. Well-stocked bar, try the sangria. Kids' menu and budget menu available upon request.
• Website: oleinboracay.com

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