Best Restaurants at Ayala Center & The Terraces (2026)

TL;DR: Ayala Center Cebu’s open-air dining wing, The Terraces, is the default answer to “where should we eat in Cebu Business Park” - dozens of restaurants across several garden-facing levels, from Filipino comfort food at Hukad sa Golden Cowrie and Kuya J, to Japanese at Tsukiji and Din Tai Fung, Italian at Tavolata, and dessert stops like Gelatissimo and Dessert Factory. Expect to spend roughly P300-800 (US$5-14) per person for a normal sit-down meal, more at the pricier Japanese and Italian tables. It’s mall dining, not a hidden-gem food scene, but the variety and the al fresco setting make it worth an evening even if you’re not staying nearby. Verified July 2026.

If you’re based in Cebu Business Park or just passing through Ayala Center Cebu on a shopping run, The Terraces is where you’ll actually eat. It’s a landscaped, multi-level extension built onto the back of the mall specifically for restaurants - fountains, garden seating, string lights at night - and it holds a genuinely wide spread of cuisines rather than the usual food-court sameness. This guide sorts the standout tenants by cuisine and price so you’re not wandering four floors trying to decide, whether you’re feeding a family, planning a date, or just want something quick before a movie. For heritage sights to pair with a meal here, Fort San Pedro and downtown Cebu City are a short Grab ride away.

Where to Eat at Ayala Center Cebu and The Terraces

Price tiers: ₱ = under P300 (~US$5) per person, ₱₱ = P300-800 (~US$5-14), ₱₱₱ = P800+ (~US$14+). US$ conversions use P58 ≈ US$1 (July 2026). Tenant lineup shifts as the mall completes its ongoing renovation - confirm a specific restaurant is still operating before you make a special trip. Verified July 2026.

Where Do You Get Filipino Food at Ayala Center?

Hukad sa Golden Cowrie, on the ground floor of The Terraces, is the standard answer - crispy pork kare-kare, sizzling sisig, and calamares served in generous, shareable portions, popular enough that a 15-20 minute wait at peak lunch or dinner isn’t unusual. Kuya J covers similar ground with crispy pata and rice-meal combos at a slightly faster clip if you don’t want to wait.

For a more garden-set, sit-down version of the same idea, Cafe Laguna (branded on-site as Laguna Garden Cafe) serves kare-kare, sizzling bulalo, and other native dishes with outdoor seating that leans more restaurant than food-court. If you want seafood specifically, Choobi Choobi does Filipino-style seafood boodle platters for groups, while Red Crab Alimango House is the pricier option for whole crab and garlic-butter alimango when you want to make a night of it.

What International and Asian Options Are There?

The Terraces has real depth here, not just one token entry per cuisine. Din Tai Fung is the marquee draw for xiao long bao and other Taiwanese dim sum, usually the busiest table in the building on weekends. Tsukiji covers Japanese sushi, sashimi, and teppanyaki at a similar price point, and Dotonbori fills the casual-ramen gap if you want a bowl of tonkotsu without the wait or the tab.

On the Italian side, Tavolata does pasta and wood-fired pizza in a setting dressy enough for a date, while Italianni’s leans more family-style with pizza and pasta built for sharing. Phat Pho rounds out the Southeast Asian options with Vietnamese pho and banh mi if you want something lighter than the Filipino and Italian tables around it.

Where Do You Get Dessert or a Quick Coffee?

Gelatissimo is the go-to for gelato, with a wide flavor rotation that regularly gets singled out as some of the best in the city. Dessert Factory and Fudge both do double duty as dessert counters and light all-day dining - cakes and pastries alongside breakfast plates, pasta, and salads, so they work for a full meal as well as a sweet finish to someone else’s. If you just want a quick bite between stores, the Sugbo Mercado street-food stalls inside The Terraces are the cheapest option in the building, and standard mall names like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Jollibee are scattered throughout for a fast coffee or a familiar fallback.

Which Restaurants Work Best for Families? For a Date?

For families: Hukad sa Golden Cowrie, Kuya J, and Cafe Laguna are the easiest picks - rice-meal menus kids already recognize, quick turnover, and high chairs on request. Casa Verde’s shareable American bar food (loaded potato skins, buffalo wings, and Brian’s ribs) is a good middle ground when the group can’t agree on Filipino versus Western.

For a date or a slightly nicer dinner: Tavolata and Din Tai Fung both punch above the typical mall-restaurant feel - Tavolata for candlelit Italian, Din Tai Fung for a shareable, conversation-friendly spread. If you’d rather sit outside once the evening cools down, ask for a garden-facing table at Cafe Laguna; it reads far less like a mall once the string lights come on.

How Much Should You Budget for a Meal?

Plan on under P300 (about US$5) per person for street food at Sugbo Mercado or a Jollibee run, P300-800 (US$5-14) per person for a normal sit-down meal at Hukad, Kuya J, Cafe Laguna, Dotonbori, or Phat Pho, and P800 and up (US$14+) per person at the pricier tables - Tavolata, Din Tai Fung, Tsukiji, and Red Crab Alimango House - more once you add drinks or a bigger seafood order. These are planning ranges based on recent menu and operator listings, not fixed quotes; confirm current prices on-site or via each restaurant’s page, since menus and prices shift, especially through an ongoing mall renovation.

How Do You Choose With So Many Options?

Start with what you’re craving rather than scrolling the whole directory - the cuisines cluster loosely by level, so once you know you want Japanese or Filipino, you’ll only be choosing between two or three doors instead of forty. If it’s a weekend dinner and you have your heart set on Din Tai Fung, Tavolata, or Hukad, either arrive before 6:30 PM or expect a wait; the food-court-style counters and Sugbo Mercado stalls never have that problem. And if nothing here appeals, Ayala Center Cebu sits inside a much bigger shopping and dining district - see our Cebu Business Park and Ayala Center guide for what else is nearby, or the best malls in Cebu roundup if you want to compare against SM City and Robinsons options across town.

The Honest Take

The Terraces is genuinely one of the more pleasant mall dining setups in the Philippines - the garden landscaping and open-air layout make it feel less like a food court than most, and the range of cuisines means a group with different tastes can actually agree on where to sit. But it is still mall dining: prices run a notch above standalone neighborhood restaurants for comparable food, portions at the busier chains can feel standardized, and on weekends the popular tables (Din Tai Fung especially) get a real wait.

If you want cheaper, more distinctly local food, walk a few minutes further to Cebu Business Park’s smaller side streets or head into old downtown near Colon Street. If you want variety, convenience, and don’t mind paying mall prices for it, The Terraces earns its reputation as Cebu Business Park’s default dinner answer. For a citywide view beyond this one district, see our best restaurants in Cebu City guide, and pair a coffee stop with our best cafes in Cebu City roundup.

Round It Out

Ayala Center Cebu and The Terraces make an easy pairing with the rest of central Cebu City - Grab over to the heritage core around Fort San Pedro, or head up to the Temple of Leah for a half-day out before coming back for dinner. If you’re staying nearby and want to fold a proper food outing into your trip, browse Cebu food tours and experiences on Klook to see what’s running while you’re in town, and compare hotels near Ayala Center Cebu on Agoda if you’d rather stay within walking distance of all of this.

Sources

• Ayala Malls - Ayala Center Cebu (mall overview, hours)
• WhyCebu - Where to Eat in Ayala Center Cebu (restaurant lineup, cuisine types)
• Atonibai - 5 Best Restaurants Found in The Terraces (floor locations, signature dishes)
• Restaurant names, cuisine types, and price positioning cross-checked against recent operator and directory listings (ClickTheCity, Tripadvisor, Facebook pages); confirm hours and menus locally, especially given the mall’s ongoing 2024-2026 renovation. Verified July 2026.