Gerarda’s: A Gastronomical Haven in Bohol

Where “Food quality is a guarantee”…

Brief History

The name Gerarda’s was taken from the original home owner’s wife’s name, Gerarda “Dading” Ho Lim (September 19, 1919 – August 09, 2004) from Dumaguete City, who was married to Felix “Hingko” Sun Lim (September 19, 1916 – February 29, 1996), son of one of the first Chinese couples who settled in Bohol coming straight from China in the 19th century.

From a huge family of ten, Dading’s and Hingko’s youngest son, Alexander Ho Lim, gained sole proprietorship of his parent’s house. In 2010, he decided to convert their ancestral house to a restaurant, which is now known as Gerarda’s and opened last November 28 of the same year. Although Alexander is the sole owner of the property, Gerarda’s is a family business.

The Restaurant

Gerarda’s, located at 0142 J.S. Torralba Street in Tagbilaran City, is a semi-fine dining restaurant that could seat 120 people, restored from an ancestral home, serving mostly Filipino-Chinese cuisines or Asian fusions, to our patrons. 

Looking at the exterior of Gerarda’s, you will see that our family has kept the ancestral house’s façade, that anyone looking from the outside would presume it to be an ‘old house that has been repainted’. True, but as soon as you step inside the restaurant’s front doors, you will be taken by its beautifully designed interiors.

With the strong Yakal flooring, shining silverware, great lighting fixtures, cool atmosphere (thanks to the air conditioning), and antique furniture from our family’s ancestral house, Gerarda’s provides a homey and fabulous eating experience to our customers.

Spreading its Branches

Recently, Gerarda’s Family Restaurant opened up two new branches to accommodate the increasing number of customers and to provide them with even better service…

Gerarda’s CPG

Famously known as “Gerarda’s Dos” to our patrons, our second branch opened on 2017. Our CPG branch could seat up to 300 people in the main dining area – perfect for bigger family or company gatherings, parties or events and with a bigger parking space. We see to it that Gerarda’s CPG stayed true to its unique, homey, antique interiors but gave it a slightly modern feel with its glass doors and windows that could still give our customers the feeling of being at home. 

Gerarda’s Panglao

Located at Danao, Panglao, the recent addition to our family tree opened its doors on May 29, 2019. Gerarda’s Panglao offers our customers a home-on-the-island feel with the same beautifully designed interiors with the addition of different amenities that families could enjoy such as a swimming pool with shower area, a playground, and an exclusive function room that could hold 60 people. The main dining area can accommodate 130 people. At Gerarda’s Panglao, we also offer our customers outdoor dining at the Al Fresco that could accommodate 40 people, and 50 people at the poolside. Our customers can also enjoy dinners and relax with family and friends while listening to a live band every night from 6:30-9:30 pm.

What keeps people coming back for more to Gerarda’s is not only our friendly and accommodating staff, nor the homey feeling of eating in such a well-kept restaurant, but also its wide array of delicious and satisfying meals. Some favorite meals and specialties of Gerarda’s are: 

Seafoods Kare-Kare 

Kare-kare is originally a dish that is said to have come from Pampanga, which is cooked from oxtail and peanut stew. Being a dish that doesn’t sound too appealing to everyone’s taste, Gerarda’s took the original kare-kare and made it their own. By adding fish, shrimps, squid and crab to the peanut stew and making it a soup (since most Boholanos love soup),which is now widely accepted and is now one of the best sellers of our restaurant.

Dinakdakan

This dish is originally an Ilocano recipe that was revised to suit the liking of most people. The Ilocanos would use grilled pig’s parts mixed with pig’s brain and mayonnaise for their recipe of dinakdakan, but Gerarda’s recipe uses coconut milk or gata with pork liempo, leaving out the brain, to appeal to most of our customers.

Ubi Kinampay Guisado

In Bohol, the Kinampay is considered to be sacred to the point that a unique tradition has come out of it. Every time an Ubi-Kinampay falls to the ground, people need to kiss it before picking it up. The Kinampay really is so special to the Boholanos that it is the only food mentioned in the Bohol hymn. Gerarda’s being… is one of the first to introduce a Boholano dish to its local and international visitors.

Being a restaurant serving Filipino-Chinese dishes, some of Gerarda’s Chinese dishes are: Chow Pat Chin, a Chinese vegetable meal; and, Chow Mien, Chinese fried noodles.

We, at Gerarda’s, are committed to giving our customers a satisfying dining experience. Recently, we updated our menu with new dishes. A must-try: the Black Calamari, the Egg Drop Soup, the Rellenong Pusit and the Salted Egg Shrimps to name a few. Feel free to ask our food attendants for our best sellers. 

As for our Boholano specialties, Gerarda’s serves Nilaw-oy and local produced fruit shakes in season. 

At Gerarda’s, we hold functions, offer packed meals and catering services. You may contact us at these numbers:

Gerarda’s J.S. Torralba

09079054348 or (038) 412-3044

Gerarda’s CPG

09079054349 or (038) 501-0106

Gerarda’s Panglao

09611533811

You may also check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Gerarda’s.

Gerarda’s is open daily from:

9 AM – 9 PM (Gerarda’s JS Torralba) 

9 AM – 9 PM (Gerarda’s CPG)

10 AM – 9 PM (Gerarda’s Panglao) 

So if you want to enjoy your food, come to the gastronomical haven of Bohol – Gerarda’s – where “Food quality is a guarantee – You may walk away and don’t pay for it if you don’t like it.”