ABOUT US
OUR STORY
For over a decade, Pauline and Xavier shaped El Nido, Palawan's hospitality scene — but their success revealed a glaring absence. The true soul of Filipino cuisine, complex and vibrant and centuries deep, was nowhere to be found in El Nido. Their next chapter had to tell that story properly.
The missing piece arrived in Chef Cheska. Internationally trained but rooted in the warmth of her family's kitchen, she brought the technical precision to match the team's ambition. Together they set out on a journey across the entire Philippines — from the mountain communities of the Cordilleras to the coastal villages of Mindanao — learning directly from local farmers, home cooks, and culinary artisans who have kept Filipino traditions alive for generations.
What they brought back is UGAT Filipino Kitchen.
UGAT means roots in Tagalog. Tucked beneath acacia trees on Calle Hama, El Nido, inside a Balai Bato-inspired space that honours traditional Philippine stone house architecture, UGAT is where Filipino culinary heritage finally gets the spotlight it deserves. Every dish — from the Adobo Paté that reimagines the Philippines' most iconic flavour, to the slow-braised Kare Kare that carries 400 years of culinary history, to the Pandan Highball that captures Palawan in a glass — is a chapter in a story that needed to be told.
This is not Filipino fusion for the sake of novelty. This is Filipino culinary heritage, celebrated with honesty, creativity, and love.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to show the world the true soul of Filipino cuisine. We are dedicated to honoring the diversity and richness of our heritage while bringing people together around the table.
Inspired by Chef Cheska’s journeys across the islands, we continuously explore local, indigenous ingredients and cooking methods. This ensures every dish we create reflects both authenticity and modern creativity.
Ultimately, we aim to be more than a restaurant; we seek to create food that nourishes the body and soul, invites curiosity, and sparks moments of joy. Sharing our deep-rooted heritage is at the heart of everything we do.
OUR KITCHEN
The kitchen at UGAT Filipino Kitchen is where the promise becomes a plate.
At its centre stands a roaring open BBQ — a cultural cornerstone of Filipino cooking, its aroma drifting through the Balai Bato-inspired dining room and out beneath the acacia trees of Calle Hama, El Nido. Around it, Chef Cheska and her team work with techniques gathered from across the Philippines and ingredients sourced from Palawan's local farmers and fishing communities.
Every dish honours the past and reaches toward something new. The classics are treated with deep respect — the Kare Kare simmered slowly, the Adobo Paté built from a recipe refined over months of research. The Filipino fusion creations that surround them celebrate the extraordinary regional diversity of the Philippines — dishes you will not find anywhere else in El Nido, Palawan.
For us, food is not just a meal. It is a connection to roots, a living archive of Filipino culinary heritage, and the purest expression of cooking with intention.
Welcome to UGAT.
