Looking for where to eat in Zamboanga City? One restaurant had become almost synonymous with the city's culinary identity: Alavar Seafood Restaurant. Best known for its legendary Curacha con Salsa Alavar, the restaurant had been welcoming travelers for decades and remained one of the first stops for food lovers visiting Zamboanga.
Where to eat in Zamboanga City | Curacha Crabs and more at Alavar Seafood Restaurant
Restaurant Fact Box
Alavar Seafood Restaurant
Tetuan, Zamboanga City
Zamboangueño Seafood
₱₱₱
Curacha con Salsa Alavar
Curacha
Families • Food Trips • First-time Visitors
- Curacha
- Baked Imbao
- Prawn Curry
- Grilled Tuna Jaw
- Chavacano Dinuguan
No visit to Zamboanga City was complete without sampling Alavar Seafood Restaurant's Curacha—a giant deep-sea spanner crab half the size of a human face—drowning in the restaurant’s signature Alavar sauce. Eating it could be both satisfying and messy at the same time. Using your bare hands, you cracked the shell open to expose the thick and juicy meat inside, then glazed it with Zamboanga’s famous culinary sauce, and voilà . You would be surprised at how many crabs you had licked and sucked clean in the end.
Fortunately for me, in the three instances I visited Zamboanga, I experienced dining at Alavar Seafood Restaurant on two occasions. The first one was during the 2017 Savores culinary festival, and the most recent was during our Zamboanga Peninsula media trip just last month (September 2021).
The Legacy of the Secret Heirloom Sauce
What made the "curacha con salsa Alavar" an unforgettable dish, other than the sheer size of the curacha crabs, was the Alavar sauce. Unique only to this restaurant, the Alavar sauce was a family heirloom recipe originally concocted by Maria Teresa Camins Alavar—the matriarch founder of this now iconic culinary establishment—in the early nineteen-seventies. The Alavar sauce was a blend of crab roe paste, coconut milk, and various secret spices.
Due to the popularity of the Alavar sauce, the restaurant sold it in packets, and it could be paired deliciously with other dishes like steamed prawns and lobsters, as well as other sautéed proteins.
A Chavacano Feast to Remember
During my first time at Alavar’s, we fine-dined over platters of prawn curry, grilled tuna jaw, dinuguan cooked Chavacano style, paella, pinakbet Chavacano, and the main star: the curacha con salsa Alavar. It was indeed an epicurean joy that made my first visit to Zamboanga City more memorable.
I recalled that same gastronomic delight when I stepped foot inside the restaurant for the second time. That time around, a buffet setup awaited us. With a selection consisting of baked imbao, grilled tuna, beef rendang, fried shrimp, vegetable salad, and their signature dish, of course, I immediately filled my plate and ate with gusto. Let’s just say, I returned for another serving. And another.
Preserving a Masterful Family Recipe
Maria Teresa Camins Alavar and her husband Jun soon handed the secret recipe to their daughter Marissa Alavar Alfaro before she took over managing the restaurant. So, it came as no surprise when after our satisfying lunch, Teresa's grandson Jomari Alfaro, who was a chef himself, demoed the procedure of preparing the famous Alavar sauce to us—but without revealing the secret ingredients.
After we finished our plates, we bid goodbye to the staff of Alavar’s. Walking out of the restaurant, I felt like my hunger was already satisfied for the rest of the day. I also took with me another savoring experience of feasting on one of Zamboanga’s culinary icons: the Curacha con Salsa Alavar. I wouldn't mind coming back for the third, fourth, or fifth time when I visited Zamboanga City again and again in the future. It would be my pleasure to leave a mountain of curacha crab shells on my plate and on the table again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Alavar Seafood Restaurant famous for?
Its Curacha con Salsa Alavar, prepared using the family's signature sauce made from crab fat, coconut milk, and spices.
What should I order at Alavar?
We highly recommend ordering their definitive local seafood spreads:
- Curacha con Salsa Alavar
- Baked Imbao
- Prawn Curry
- Grilled Tuna Jaw
- Chavacano Dinuguan
