Conveniently located at Cebu City’s I.T. Park, Run Sardine Run is a Portuguese-inspired grill that has been open for a little over a year and has garnered rave notices. I’m not a regular visitor to Cebu, so I had my first visit to the restaurant over the weekend; and as luck would have it, the proprietor, Gagan Sethi, was in town visiting his Goa Nights and Run. His Goa Nights in Macau was recently named one of the Tatler Best 20 Bars in Macau, while Run Sardine Run is recognized in the Tatler Best Philippines Guide 2025.

Chef Luis explained the dishes to us; and as we were a group of five, we opted to go with various appetizers, order three main courses, and make it a night of sharing, eating family-style. This turned out to be a great decision, as we got to sample a number of the dishes, and now offer our unanimous collective ten thumbs up to the dining experience. For several of us, other than the vaunted bacalhau, it was our first time to indulge in Portuguese cuisine.

Among the great starters:

The Tartaro is tuna tartare with anchovy mayonnaise, smoked olive oil, and served with a seasonal salad. This one has a wonderful flavor profile, the anchovy mayonnaise working well with the morsels of raw tuna. Plus, there was a thick, tasty dressing added to the greens. A true winner, and a great start to the evening.

Things only got better with the Croquetes, which are beef brisket croquettes served with a paprika aioli. There’s a unique texture to this croquette — the brisket is like pulled beef — and everyone raved about the aioli.

The Ameijoas are clams sautéed with garlic, coriander and lemon. It sounds simple, and I know some would wonder what would be special about this dish. But this is one of those instances when simpler is best, and the freshness of the clams said enough.

The Camarão are beer prawns served in a skillet, house-style with garlic, beer and coriander. So yes, this could be their version of gambas al ajillo, but having this will make one appreciate the subtle but distinct difference.

For the main courses, the rallying cry was no to bacalhau, the salted codfish, as we were ready to explore new dishes prepared Portuguese-style.

The Bife is their Angus beef prime rib-eye with truffle oil mustard and their Lucky 8 sauce. I loved how, along with the salt, this one had us debating whether the truffle oil mustard or the Lucky 8 sauce was the better option. In the end, we declared it a tie and called both sauces true winners. Highly recommended.

Polvo is their version of grilled octopus with sweet potato, eggplant, garlic vinaigrette and mayonnaise. Here, the similarities to their Spanish neighbors may seem more marked, but I can’t help but comment on how popular this dish was at our table.

Garoupa at RSR is traditional Portuguese wet rice with lapu-lapu, prawns, tomato, bell peppers, lemon and coriander. Issa described it as bouillabaisse with rice, and noted how one added the morsels of lapu-lapu and the whole prawns. It’s clean and clear, a variation on paella but different and sweet enough to stand on its own.

When looking at the side dishes, don’t miss out on the handmade chips, made of potato and excellent in terms of crispness and flavor.

The two desserts we tried were the serradura, which is light sweet cream with crumbled biscuits and lemon curd, and the leite crème, a traditional Portuguese burnt milk custard. By far, the serradura was the table favorite, the lemon curd adding zest to this dessert, and we loved the consistency of the whipped sweet cream. Winner.

Yes, it was a great experience for us weary Manila visitors at Run Sardine Run; and the only question left hanging in my mind was, “Chef Luis, where were the sardines?” The denizens of Cebu City are extremely lucky to have Run Sardine Run as part of their regular dining landscape.