Eat nearby
The park has the only restaurant in the city that will serve you the animal you just looked at. Everything else worth eating is a short ride back towards town.
What to eat
On siteInside the complex
The riverside restaurant in the park has served crocodile as sisig, sizzling, in pasta and as a plain steak for years, with ostrich on the same menu. The meat comes from the farm side of the operation. It is the one thing here you will not order anywhere else in the city.
Pictured: sisig in its usual pork form — the park serves the same preparation with crocodile.
Ej Afable · CC BY-SA 4.0
Davao iconMagsaysay Fruit Stands, 15 min away
Davao is the durian capital of the Philippines and the row of stalls at Magsaysay Park is where the city buys it. Puyat is the safe first variety. Vendors will open, portion and let you taste before you commit.
MadayawDavao · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mindanao stapleAcross the city
Raw fish cured in coconut vinegar, calamansi, ginger and chilli — the Mindanao dish that predates ceviche in the Philippines. Order it where the fish turns over fast.
Lokalpedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Order thisGrill houses citywide
Grilled tuna jaw, charred outside and soft in the collar, is southern Mindanao on a plate. One panga feeds two people comfortably. Ask for the soy-calamansi-chilli dip.
Obsidian Soul · CC BY-SA 4.0
In seasonRoadside stands and markets
The tropical fruit around Davao is the real argument for visiting in the wet months. Mangosteen peaks mid-year; buy a kilo, not a piece.
MadayawDavao · CC BY-SA 4.0
EveningDowntown, after dark
Grilled skewers, seafood and street-side massage chairs down a closed avenue. Best paired with a late-afternoon park visit, once the heat has gone out of the day.
RoyKabanlit · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cool downEverywhere, all afternoon
Shaved ice, sweet beans, leche flan and ube over evaporated milk. The correct response to the walk back from the crocodile pens at two in the afternoon.
Marife.altabano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Practicalities
Visitors report being able to exit and re-enter the grounds, so buying lunch outside and returning is workable. The complex has snack bars as well as the full restaurant.
Fruit stalls, jeepney fares and street grills are cash businesses. Malls and larger restaurants take cards; assume nothing smaller does.
Hotels, malls, taxis and aircraft in the Philippines routinely ban durian. Eat it where you buy it — that is what the plastic stools at the stall are for.
Carry more than you think. The circuit is largely open and Davao humidity does the rest of the work.
Photographs on this page show the dishes and produce described, not specific restaurants — individual venues open, close and change hands faster than any page can keep up with.