Restaurants in Manila
Eating out in Manila is one of the city's joys. Seafood is sumptuously fresh while the country's distinctive cuisine ranges from lechon (roast crackling pig) to big-flavoured soy and vinegar-infused sauces. Even the most 'expensive' restaurants marked below are reasonably priced by 'western standards'.
The Manila restaurants below have been grouped into three pricing categories:
Expensive (over US$25)
Moderate (US$15 to US$25)
Cheap (up to $15)
Unless stated, these prices are for a three-course meal for one, including half a bottle of house wine or equivalent, 12% government tax and service. If 'service is not included', 10% tipping is customary.
Expensive
Ang Bistro Sa Remedios
Cuisine:Fine exponent of Pampanga country cuisine served in an intimate and elegant dining room oozing class. Rich food with house specialities such as knockout knuckle and oxtail kare-kare for those not overly concerned about their waistline.
Address: , 1911 M Adriatico Street, Remedios Circle, Malate, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 523 9153.
Website: http://www.ljcrestaurants.com.ph
Café Ysabel
Cuisine:Run by one of the country's most famous chefs, Gene Gonzalez, Café Ysabel boasts an excellent menu of local dishes and international classics alongside myriad exotic coffee concoctions. Classical dishes include tournedos Rossini fillet of beef and sole meunière. The restaurant itself is located in an atmospheric antique 1920s Filipino house and is popular with Manila's professional classes.
Address: San Juan, 455 P Guevarra Street. corner of CM Recto, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 726 9326.
Website: http://www.cafeysabel.com
Toyo Eatery
Cuisine:Opened by renowned Manila chef Jordy Navarra, Toyo combines everyday ingredients to produce inventive and beautifully presented creations. The chic-industrial interior has an open kitchen, and there's also a private dining room. A la carte options or tasting menus are available; don't miss the Bahay Kubo vegetable salad or the BBQ skewers, a play on traditional street food.
Address: Makati, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Manila,Telephone: +63 917 720 8630.
Moderate
Café Juanita
Cuisine:Eclectic décor characterizes this fun restaurant tucked away in Pasig City. Filipino and Asian-fusion food is served amid a forest of festive decorations, antiques and kitsch paraphernalia. Local favourites include boneless bangus fish (marinated in vinegar and garlic) and ratatoy – a Filipino version of ratatouille. Prices are at the upper end of the moderate category.
Address: Barrio Kapitolyo, 21 United Street corner West Capitol Drive, Pasig City, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 632 0357.
Museum Café
Cuisine:Museum Café, or M Café, sits in close proximity to the Ayala Museum and treats smart set diners to a smorgasbord of modern Asian cuisine, fancy coffees, sweet-toothed desserts and signature cocktails. Spiced Asian crab cakes, sushi and tandoori-spiced chicken embody its pan-Asiatic influences. This chic glass-walled eatery is an ideal place to breakfast until Greenbelt 4 Mall opens at 1000.
Address: , Ayala Museum complex, Makati Avenue/corner of De la Rosa Street, Makati, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 757 3000.
Red Crab
Cuisine:For seafood lovers, Red Crab is heaven. The Manila restaurant's speciality is what else but crab - cooked in every thinkable way. Thai chilli, white pepper and butter ginger are just a few crustacean creations. This chain has branches around Manila. Prices are for a starter and crab dish with beer.
Address: , 104 JS Building, Tomas Morato corner with Scout Delgado, Quezon City, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 374 8406.
Cheap
Dampa
Cuisine:Seafood aficionados will adore the seafood 'paluto' restaurants along the Bay of Manila. The Dampa is essentially a fish market selling fresh seafood with restaurants opposite to cook your produce tout de suite. Simply select your lobster or red snapper, choose a restaurant, and request your fish cooked the way you like it. Aling Mahrsya Restaurant prepares delicious prawns in butter garlic and grilled squid.
Address: , Macapagal Avenue, Pasay City, Manila,Telephone:
Razon's of Guagua
Cuisine:Located in a shopping mall, this outlet is part of a fast-food chain delivering tasty express snacks. Besides glassy noodle pancit luglug, its most popular treat is halo-halo (literally, 'mixed-mixed') – a sort of Filipino Knickerbocker glory dessert. Price represents one dish with soft drink while service not included.
Address: , 1st Level, Padre Faura Hallway, Robinsons Place Mall, Ermita, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 521 2466.
The Aristocrat
Cuisine:This restaurant is legendary in Manila, with most people growing up with memories of visits (it first opened in 1936). There are now 13 branches across the city, two of them open 24 hours, seven days a week. Everyone comes for the chicken BBQ with Javanese rice, though you may have to wait during busy times.
Address: Malate, 423 San Andres Street, Manila,Telephone: +63 2 524 7671.
Website: http://www.aristocrat.com.ph
