I spend considerable amount of money in dining out and over time I have noted restaurants in Iloilo City that give me value for my money. I am listing here my favorite places to eat in no particular order.

Messé Ristorante

Located in Tabucan, Mandurriao, Messé is a good place to impress a date. Here, you can never go wrong with whatever you pick in the menu. The food are superb and goes with the ambiance. Everytime I visit this Messé, I feel like I'm in a restaurant somewhere in Italy. Half of the time, I order their Pasta Marinara. The best Marinara in Iloilo City. It helps that the owners are food connoisseur.

Wok's Cooking

We accidentally discovered Wok's Cooking in Mabini St., Iloilo City when we couldn't get a table in Hongkong Kitchen. We've been weekly regulars of Wok's Cooking since then. They add twist to simple chinese food. Try their Stuffed Tofu.

Breakthrough

For those food tripping days, Breakthrough in Villa, Arevalo comes to mind instantaneously. This is the place where you'll want to feel guilty right after. Those king crabs can kill you but you'll tend to forget that. Their kinilaw na tangigue is a must try.

Rai Rai Ken

Rai Rai Ken in SM City Iloilo is our ultimate noodle destination. A bit pricey than Chowking but worth it. They don't scrimp on the ingredients making their noodle soups to not taste like MSG. I'm addicted to their Seafood Hotpot.

Pecho Pak

Pecho Pak in Quezon St., Iloilo City fills the void for those times when we haven't figure out anything to eat and we're already hungry. Chicken barbecue was always the safest choice for us. They'll be more than happy to serve you a free soup. All you have to do is ask.

Emilion Roadhouse

Emilion Roadhouse in Gen. Luna takes Filipino food one level up. A nice place to take your family if you can't take seafood or chicken barbecue anymore. You can find familiar homestyle cooking in the menu. Their Kare-Kare can be sinful.

Emilion Lapaz

If you love sushi, sashimi and the like, Emilion Lapaz serves eat-all-you-can Japanese food every thursday (I'm not sure). This is the only eat-all-you-can Japanese food restaurant that doesn't make you feel shortchanged.

Bogs Resto Bar

Bogs is the place to hangout with your friends. The only hangout that plays Pink Floyd. Bogs is at the back of Shell Gas Station in Tabuc Suba, Jaro. The place is classy without even trying. They have the best sisig in Iloilo. Even better than Buto't Balat, IMO.

Afrique's

Afrique's Sicilian pasta got us returning to their Jaro branch near Jaro Big Market in Desamparados, Jaro. Recently, I found myself ordering their Schublag everytime I don't feel like eating pasta nor pizza.

Mundo

Mundo in Gen. Luna and Afrique's have similar menu. We pick them with the same reason as Afrique's.

This is not an exhaustive list of the best restaurants in Iloilo as my taste differ from yours. At least, for me, this is the best resto for the year 2006. Maybe I can list down my worse list before the year ends. Depends.