Café Leona occupies one of the most prominent heritage buildings on Calle Crisologo — a restored bahay na bato on the corner of the street, with tables on an upper-floor balcony that looks directly down onto the cobblestones below. It is the best-known restaurant in Vigan and the one most visitors end up at, which means it can be busy in the middle of the day but is reliably good at all hours.
The menu covers the full range of Ilocano standards: bagnet, pinakbet (a vegetable stew of bitter melon, eggplant, okra, and squash cooked with bagoong), Vigan longganisa, and dinengdeng (a light broth of vegetables and fermented fish). The empanada Ilocana, fried to order and served hot, is one of the better versions in town. There are also Filipino mainstream dishes for those who want them, and the restaurant is open from breakfast through dinner.
The balcony tables are the draw — sitting above Calle Crisologo with a coffee and watching the kalesas pass below is a genuinely pleasant way to spend an hour. Reservations are not usually needed except during peak season around the Vigan Festival of Arts in late January.