San Pablo's food culture is shaped by the lakes — fresh tilapia, catfish, and river prawns are staples, served grilled, fried, or in soups. Lakeside restaurants along Sampaloc Lake serve fish cooked to order, often caught from pens in the lake itself. Buko (young coconut) pie from the pasalubong shops is the city's signature take-home food.
Palmeras Garden Restaurant is a long-standing favourite for grilled fish and Filipino comfort food in an open-air lakeside garden setting. Palaisdaan-style restaurants (floating or lakeside huts with live fish kept in the water beneath) are scattered around the city's lakes. For a more upscale setting, Villa Escudero's waterfall restaurant serves lunch with feet in the river — popular with day-trippers.