Great experience and awesome customer service. A lot of seafood options and it's fresh.

If you want a seafood feast, you choose the right place. You get to pick your own seafood to be cooked (also vegetables) and pick a restaurant and even how you would all of the dishes to be cooked (grilled, sautéed, pan fried, with or without sauce). If that's too much of a responsibility. You can also choose on the menu with the pre-made dishes. The seafood are literally fresh because it was bought 15 seconds away from the restaurant kitchen. It's definitely an experience since I have not seen it be done in USA or Europe. In Asia, yes. The restaurants are very nice and air conditioned. You can have a small date or bring your whole family. They can accommodate. The customer service in the restaurants are always top notch. And the food will not disappoint. Also did I mention all of this for less than $150. read more

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A little lesson on oceanography: the Coral Triangle is a marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean. It includes the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. Named for its staggering number of corals (nearly 600 different species of reef-building corals alone), the region nurtures six of the world's seven marine turtle species and more than 2000 species of reef fish. The Coral Triangle also supports large populations of commercially important tuna, fueling a multi-billion dollar global tuna industry - worldwildlife.org With the bounty of seafood that's available, it is only natural that Filipinos find a way to capitalize on this. The concept of "dampa" is that you have a wet market where you can buy live seafood (you can't get any fresher than that), take your purchases to any one of the many restaurants that surround the wet market, then have your food cooked according to your specifications. This is a fantastic place to try seafood that you usually don't see in regular markets in the city: manta shrimp, geoduck, parrot fish, and more. Yes it's pricey; but people come here to splurge on fresh seafood, and share the experience with friends and family. PS don't let the restaurant staff working the parking lot pressure you into going to their restaurant, there are many places to choose from. read more

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Harang! Highway robbery! Alam na tourista, mahal ang mga tinda, walang presyo, you have to haggle. Sabwatan pa ang paluto at seafood vendors. read more

Food poisoning capital of the world 3 chances and all 3 horrible experiences with sick stomach and burning throat. Huey Ying Restaurant.. worst dining experience of my life!!!! And worse, they took no responsibility and blamed the seafood we bought from a live tank as being bad. Terrible service and worse cooks if you can generously call them that! read more

This was definitely an interesting find in manila. When you first get there, you pick out the live sea creatures you would want to feast on for your lunch, then you tell them what cooking styles you want at the restaurant. We got the adobo octopus and kinilaw fish (sashimi style). It was really good. I would definitely go again if I get some seafood craving read more

The food was exceptional, and even though the service was rustic I will visit with my buddies instead my wife, we stopped at the first meal prep restaurant on the left of the market going in from the street side . The ambiance needs a major overhaul from the terrifying cracking of the front door to the restroom cleanliness. I will visit again. read more

One of the culinary highlights of my trip to the Philippines. First you choose your seaffod in the large wet market. Everything is fresh and there is great variety of fish, crab, shellfish, shrimp, lobster - you name it. Some haggeling involved. Then have your food prepared just the way you want it. They will guide you if you aren't sure. Highly recommend the crab with salty egg as well as the squid adobo and the sinigang. The place is load. Kids are welcome. Sarap talaga! read more

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Great place to get your fresh seafood and have it cooked at any of the nearby restaurants. There's also a geat variety/selection of tropical fruit stands in the area. This is basically a seafood market with different seafood vendors. Buy the seafood at any vendor and go to any reastuarant there and they will cook it for you for an additional fee. Many to choose from and you cant go wrong so check it out. read more

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This is my favorite seafood place to eat. Been a must go for me he past 15 years everytime I come to Manila. I just enjoy picking the seafood I desire to eat crab, shrimp, lapu lapu. Then Chose a restaurant to cook to your liking. I love chili crab, steam shrimp, also tempura shrimp. Fried sweet sour lapu lapu, I then have them make sinagang the head of the fish. Choose ripe mangoes and have them cut for dessert. Be ready for the live music. read more

This is my go to spot every time I go to Manila. I love the fact that I can choose any seafood I like and have them cook it for me. What's even better is that they are open until 3am. So if you have a late arrival, you might still be able to have a meal here. Try the sea mantis! It looks like a praying mantis and a lobster. And the taste is sweeter than a lobster. My only gripe about this is that sometimes their AC isn't working. Ladies, always remember to always carry your own toilet paper. 9 out 10 places won't have any for you. read more

I don't really know why my mom liked this place very much. I mean I know my dad is a fan of crab despite his towering high cholesterol levels, but yeah, my family chose to eat here for my birthday two times already. This place has a wet market where fish, lobsters, and all sorts of seafood can be bought for the restaurants to cook. I wouldn't be badmouthing this place, since it's very much a decent business, and the restaurants are all right, but I just dislike it...for the attitude of the seafood vendors. I'm not really a full vegan, but I have a peeve for people treating animals bad before they get eaten. I ended up scolding some seafood vendors playing with an obviously stressed out lobster, tossing it in and out of the water. I mean come on, is that even right? Whether they got embarrassed in public or not, or if I even made an impression with their unruly, disrespectful ways, I couldn't really tell. It just overall, ruins the experience of Dampa for me. That particular event totally created chaos in the market that hindered to peaceful transactions. Plus, it created an image of an area that is unsettling, at least to me. It's like the place's ambience totally changed after that happened. I mean...what is it, some freakshow? It's supposed to be a market, where people can choose their food in peace without having to deal with such chaos. That was the first birthday I celebrated here. The next time my family wanted to, I didn't even go and just asked for a take-out. I like my eating places to be an area of peace and relaxation, thank you. read more

A definitely place to visit if you love seafood!! Choose and buy the seafood you like and choose the restaurant you want to cook it for you. I recommend Sharmila restaurant towards more in the middle of the market. Cooked everything we bought just right. My recommendation; Tuna (grilled) Shrimp (sautéed how ever you prefer ) Crabs (garlic butter) Lapu Lapu fish (steamed ) Again this is my second visit at this place. Does not disappoint. Will always be in my agenda everytime I visit motherland. read more

Wet market? Haggling? It's all worth it because this place has the best freshly cooked seafood in the Metro. Try Aling Tonyang's chili buttered shrimp and crab preparation. Dampa is paradise! read more

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I don't like going to the market to buy anything, let alone seafood. I do have one exception to that, when we go to the Seaside Dampa at Diosdado Macapagal Avenue. This is the only time my haggling skills are put to the test. This is also where I get to practice my market buying skills that I learned in high school (yes, we are trained to buy from a market in our all-girls school). It pays to know how to tell if the fish is fresh and not "bilasa" and if the shrimp is still good (according to my teacher, it should still be jumping when you purchase it). You also need to know how to pick vegetables that go with the dish, so a little cooking background would be a good idea. After all that work, visit any of the paluto restaurants in the area to get it cooked in the style you want. I usually go to Aling Tonyang's because I love how they get the shrimp tempura so perfect -- you'd feel like you're eating in an expensive Japanese restaurant. I also love their chili butter sauce which we usually pick for both the crab claws and half of the shrimp. They also make a mean inihaw na liempo for those who are not into seafood. Be prepared to shell out a bit more for the food that what you'd usually pay for restaurants where food is off the menu. You need to have the budget both for buying the ingredients and for getting it cooked (average is about P200 per kilo to cook). Although a bit more expensive, I think the experience is a must-try for anyone who has any interest at all in food. Nothing beats buying fresh ingredients and choosing how it gets cooked. If you're no market expert, you can actually ask the paluto restaurant to buy the ingredients for you. Just give them your budget. read more

Aside from the neighborhood supermarket, I don't really go to the wet market with my mom to buy fresh ingredients. While I would want to learn how, I always find myself making excuses not to. Bad habit I guess. But when it comes to Dampa, I would happily volunteer to do all the buying at the wet market. As long as its fresh and clean like Dampa along Macapagal Avenue, I'm in! Z Squared has always been our restaurant of choice at Dampa but I'll leave that for another review. I am happy to see that Dampa has been improved further on with better parking facilities and cleaner spaces. Seafood has always been a forte of the Philippines and I'm happy to see that Dampa is able to showcase that to people. There is something quite amusing about vendors trying to catch your attention, persuading you to buy at their stall. It's fun, vibrant yet exhilarating way to start off a wonderful meal. read more

Wanna see the fresh seafood market? This is the place, and don't forget to bargain for the best price. Night time, you can buy fresh fruits like durian. read more

Great environment. If anyone visits Manila, go visit Dampa....restaurants are outside the fish market whereas you pick a place to eat and then go into the fish market to specify what you want, how you want it cooked, for the price, it was worth it. Seaweed and the calamari were the best with the chili dip. Wish I could grow these chili's in the US but I'd probably get arrested. read more

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Dampa sort of reminds me of what I would do whenever I'm in Boracay - I would go to the wet market, buy seafood and then have a restaurant cook the seafood for me. Fret not friends, we have the same concept here in Manila! I give you Dampa. So you have rows and rows of seafood vendors trying to catch your attention by convincing you to buy the freshest catch of the sea! Next you have a strip of restaurants that allow you to bring your "catch" so that they could cook it for you, however style you like - for crabs, I usually go for buttered or chili flavoured. If I get shrimps, I love the good old plain steamed ones. For fish, I like the Chinese style of cooking where its drenched in soy sauce. I know sometimes you just want to go to the beach for the fresh food, but I'm really glad I could get the same kind of food here in Dampa! read more

A must do in the Philippines. Picked our seafood fresh, cooked by the restaurant I believe the name is Cyrill and it was amazing. Our server is a flamboyant guy who is the funniest and entertaining server I've ever met. The yummiest food I've ever tasted in the Philippines. read more

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Sometimes I have really big cravings for the freshest seafood straight from the market and I have only one place on my mind--- Dampa. There are other fish and seafood markets in the metro but this one is the most conveniently located one that I usually go to. My friends and I enjoy picking out kilos and kilos of fresh crabs, shrimps, scallops, and fish then we bring them over to any of the paluto specialty restaurants just across. Fresh fruits are also available and the prices are well worth it! Surprisingly, the fish market area is not filthy and the produce are kept fresh and are sold at affordable prices. It's a great experience for locals, expats, and tourists alike as long as you know how to choose what you like, haggle, and ward off pesky vendors. I usually have my go-to vendors and I'm always very happy with the fresh items they sell to me. An adventure to go to but a fun experience especially for food lovers and cooking enthusiasts. If you're just planning to shop, make sure to bring your own cooler to transport your fresh seafood and make friends with a vendor that gives you a good price. Super worth braving Manila traffic and a great idea if you're looking for the freshest seafood in town! read more

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The shrimp tempura was really tasty and HUGE! I would have given this a higher rating but the wait was too long and they overcooked the garlic shrimp. read more

Good seafood does not comprise the typical Filipino dinner spread, that's why special occasions are sometimes marked with a trip to the local fish market, where the entire family can enjoy a freshly-cooked meal out of the seafood that was, only a few minutes ago, swimming and merrily living its last few mortal moments. Such special occasions can take place in the Seaside Dampa along Macapagal Bouleverd, which is a popular fish market and "paluto" complex. For the uninitiated, paluto stalls are businesses that are situated beside fresh fish and seafood markets. They offer to cook the seafood for you at fixed prices, depending on the kind of preparation. You can request for your fish and seafood to be boiled, grilled, fried, braised, stir-fried or cooked in sauces. Here, you have plenty of paluto places to choose from, and it is always a fun expereince picking out your dinner from the freshest catch of the day. Aside from the paluto places, the dampa at Macapagal has a collection of restaurants with ala cart menus. They also have buffet places such as King Long (shabu shabu and hotpot buffet), and Yakimix (a Japanese buffet with grill-it-yourself food). Furthermore, the dampa also has a bunch of fruit stands where you can buy fresh fruits in season to be added to your dinner spread as dessert. The dampa paluto experience is always something that my family enjoys, especially during those rare events when everyone is in town. The key is to establish a "suki" that you can always come back to during special occasions. They will more likely give you discounts and guarantee the tastiness and freshness of the food. read more