Roberto’s. An icon in the City of Iloilo, Roberto’s is much more than a household name. It has become a living legend and an institution in terms of business longevity. Established in 1978, Roberto’s is one of the strongest culinary forerunners in the metro, taking pride in its signature versions of lumpia shanghai, meatballs, and the iconic siopao.
Well known for its siopao, especially queen siopao, the Filipino-Chinese restaurant also offers different versions and sizes of it. The queen siopao consists of bacon, Chinese sausage, chicken, pork adobo, and egg. The king siopao, meanwhile, consists of ham, Chinese sausage, chicken, pork adobo, and egg. Its jumbo consists of Chinese sausage, chicken, pork adobo, and egg; and its regular only has pork adobo with egg.
Moreover, the menu is not limited to siopao only. The restaurant offers a wide variety of noodles: canton, pancit, bijon, lomi, and chicken sotanghon. It also offers chopsuey, sweet and sour meatballs, hamburgers, and even rice meals. Rice meals include varied combinations of lumpia shanghai, meatballs, and fried chicken.
Being one of the most successful businesses in the locality, the restaurant flourished under the leadership of the late Claude Yap, one of its owners. In an interview with Humans of Iloilo, Yap bared a secret to the restaurant’s success: “You just have to make sure with your product and if you have used the right ingredients it will also show.” he stated.
To date, Roberto’s is one of the most in-demand restaurants in the City of Love. Without adding any branch elsewhere, the restaurant remains flooded with patrons every day – a testimony to show that good food never goes out of style.
