An absolutely gorgeous dining experience with spectacular views from the 31st floor overlooking the…read morecity. This is set within a hotel. The rooftop setting is stunning, featuring elegant water features and the option to dine either outdoors under the skyline or indoors while still enjoying the rooftop atmosphere. The views alone make this place worth visiting, especially in the evening when the city lights come alive. The food was excellent. We sampled a variety of Filipino dishes, all beautifully prepared and elevated with thoughtful, upscale twists while still respecting the local flavors. A special mention goes to our server, Bon, who was outstanding throughout the evening. Attentive, professional, and genuinely welcoming, he helped make an already memorable experience even better. Soft live music was on, and it added to the experience. Between the incredible atmosphere, beautiful setting, delicious food, and exceptional service, this is a place I would happily recommend to anyone looking for a special night out in Manila.

The Nest Dining in the Sky remains one of the most romantic dining destinations in the South…read more Perched atop Vivere Hotel, it offers sweeping views of the city, especially once the sun starts to set. While technically indoors, the restaurant opens its large sliding doors in the evening, creating a cool, breezy, open-air feel that makes the space both comfortable and memorable. It's easy to understand why so many couples choose this venue for date nights and proposals. The atmosphere alone is worth the visit. Since we came for an early dinner, we mostly ordered appetizers and dishes for sharing. We started with the Seafood Clam Chowder served in a bread bowl. It was decent and comforting, nothing particularly memorable, but certainly not bad. The Sisig Lumpia was unfortunately the weakest dish of the evening. Good sisig should have some crispness and texture, but this version lacked that signature crunch and came across as overly oily. It was the one dish I probably wouldn't order again. On the brighter side, the Pinchos drizzled with balsamic reduction were flavorful and enjoyable. The Beef Nachos were the star of the savory dishes, generously portioned, satisfying, and perfect for sharing. For dessert, we had the Frozen Brazo de Mercedes, which was a great way to end the meal and easily one of the highlights of our order. Service was excellent throughout. The staff were attentive, warm, and professional, making sure everything flowed smoothly without being intrusive. While the food this visit was a bit mixed, the stunning views, romantic ambiance, and impeccable service continue to make The Nest a place worth returning to. I've dined here before and remember some of their entrées being much stronger than the appetizers we ordered this time, so I'd happily come back and explore more of the menu. The food may not be flawless, but the experience certainly is. For the view, ambiance, and service alone, The Nest earns a solid 4 out of 5 star

Went here for dinner service and MAN- what a treat! I loved how most of the food is served to you…read morerather than scooping your own and the selections of dishes are well executed. The antipasti, butter and bread bar was pretty good, though the breads were soft, I wish some were served warm to go with 5-6 types of butter. The French food/pizza was good too, but they seemed the most busy or maybe short staffed. I stood there for a few minutes before anybody even acknowledged me. They had a few people bring cold lobster from a separate area asking for them to be grilled/warmed up. The Japanese/tempura was good. The hibachi was EH. There was just meat and seafood sitting on a slightly warm flat top. Then there was the sushi area that was slicing sashimi constantly. It was delicious! There was the cold seafood area, though the shrimp was cooked perfectly, it lacked seasoning... maybe salt the water next time? They had a sliced meat area, Indian food, dim sum, Thai, Filipino food, Chinese bbq meats, soup station... everything was good. As for the desserts... nothing too crazy- they have a few ice cream flavors, smaller desserts, halo halo, fruit, and a chocolate fountain. There was a guy walking around serving up some street style balut! Shout out to their bartender, Reymond, that made a Calamansi whiskey sour... complete with the egg white!!!

I'm conflicted about this after making a dedicated visit here for lunch on a Friday. All of my…read morefoodie heroes on YouTube have reviewed this place with mostly stellar reviews which put it on my radar to check out when in Manila. I have watched so many of their awesome reviews that it may be a case of my expectations being too high. Don't get me wrong, I had a good lunch with plenty of selection and the grand old-school Asia setting of the Sofitel lobby with the cascading spiral staircase is pretty awesome. But in the end, for me it's all about the food and the price of $3900 pesos (about $71 USD) for lunch was expensive by any Philippine meal standards, even for Manila. At that price point, there were notable shortcuts which I thought were pretty obvious. I knew this was a buffet going into it so I was not expecting high-brow, plated table service nor was I expecting Michelin starred cooking techniques to be displayed. I only say that so people that think I am being harsh understand that my review is not based on those types of things. At the start, I was shown to my table and the hostess made a pretty big deal out of explaining to me that for the price of admission, no drinks were included (except for coffee, tea, and non-bottled water). There is a wandering wine cart and a full bar in an attached area so other beverages are available and I can understand that alcohol would be an additional charge. But for $3900 pesos, I found it pretty tight-fisted that things such as soft drinks were not included. At weekday lunch, be forewarned that while there was a lot of variety on offer from their 21 different stations representing many different countries, most of the ingredients used were not expensive. As examples, there was limited seafood available, the exception being a couple of dishes with peel and eat style boiled shrimp, shrimp tempura, a salad with some cooked mussels in it, some pickled herring, a limited sushi/sashimi station, and a Chinese steamed fish dish. So don't go here expecting to make yourself a shellfish tower on a plate. Also, at the carving station, while they have 3 huge skewered grilled steaks on display (Brazilian Fogo style), there was no steak or carved beef available. The carving station choices were a leg of lamb, a roasted chicken, and a grilled salmon filet. That was pretty disappointing. The positive marks I give Spiral would include the cheese room with a magnitude of cheeses and charcuterie from around the world available and the pretty extensive diabetes station (AKA dessert station) with running chocolate fountains, homemade ice creams and gelato, all manner of cakes, etc. Those stations were great and the entire layout of the dining area and 21 stations is visually very appealing and fun. I just wish the food offerings would have kept up with the high-end visuals. In the end, I had a fun time checking it out but I was a little let down. I would give Spiral a 3.5 on the 1-5 star scale. It was good and definitely worth visiting if you have never been. But I would give the lunch times a pass and try checking out dinner or perhaps Sunday Brunch. The prices shoot up a good amount for those but I'm guessing the food will be better too.

Actually visited Fely Js at Mall of Asia. Food was very good. The wait staff were attentive &…read morevery nice. The vibe was family oriented. Parties of 6 or more were enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon late lunch. We ordered the Sinigang soup with Boneless Bangus & rice. Love this fish when i can get the boneless type. No fish bones to worry about. It was super delicious. For dessert we had Halo Halo with coconut & jackfruit. Great ending to a traditional Filipino meal. 4 stars is due to the long wait for our meal. Important weight management tip, having Sinigang or Tinola soups helped keep me from gaining weight on this trip. Yay!

Good food, small servings. Came here for a late lunch when I was in town and tried a few dishes…read more The sizzling sisig was served on a very small cast iron sizzling plate, the fried catfish was crispy and good. Place was clean

Great food and service! Rose assisted in everything we needed. You can request special dish and…read morethey will cook it for you! Booked this restaurant for my family's christmas dinner!

We booked here last year November 8, for my birthday celebration coming from California the food is…read moreamazingly delicious!,, I highly recommend this restaurant

I'm told that Crying Tiger was from the same folks who brought us El Chupacabra on Polaris St., so…read moreI had an idea of what to find when I can down here: a chill, easy going hang out place with good food and cheap beer. It's a bit hard to find since its hidden on a side street behind Fersal Hotel , which is just in front of A-Venue mall. Just keep walking and you'll be greeted by the smokey grill, colorful lights and Makati's foodie crowd. As soon as I stepped inside, I already knew I was going to like this place. It's like El Chupa only cleaner, less dingy and has more of a beach bum kind of feel. (I think it's the wooden floorboards and colorful lights.) The only thing I didn't like, maybe was the fact that they kept on asking if I had ordered yet, or if there was anyone with me. (Which I get, since they're busy and I'm all alone at a table, but I had already explained that I was waiting for more people, which they seemed to forget.) On to the food: if you don't like anything spicy or flavorful, this place is not for you. Seriously. Their chicken is AMAZING. I love their spicy kangkong (doused with oil though), which pairs well with their fried rice. They've also got a large selection of cocktails and wine, apart from the normal beers. (I got lychee cocktail! Pretty yum.) Definitely coming back and making this a regular hang out! It's cleaner, newer, and is better ventilated than El Chupa.

good food, their mie goreng was flavorful and packed with toppings. didnt like the tofu much…read morethough. spring roll is pure meat. coffee was okay. staff were sooo kind! loved them!

Walked in and were lucky they had tables open at this Michelin recommended restaurant. Staff were…read morequick to help and assist. Ordered a few things: 1. Beef Lechon Toast - 10/10. Solid choice! Light on truffle so not overpowering, the cheese on there is lightly salted sort of like a parmesan. Amazing. 2. Roast Beef Bun - 10/10. Another banger. The hoisin sauce was thick and reminds of me of a peanut sauce. Nonetheless a sauce worth mopping up and having on the side. I don't know what they did to the hoisin but it was phenomenal. 3. Pork Kare Curry - 6/10. I'm a huge kare kare fan but I think the sauce lacked the kare kare punch I wanted. The pork belly was also quite firm on the non fatty spots of the cut of pork. The rice that came with it was awesome. 4. Indo Smashed Chicken - 8/10. Well cooked thigh, good flavor. 5. Ginamos Rendang Halibut - 9/10. Can taste the Indonesian flavors. Light but filling. Great choice if you don't want to feel heavy after lunch.

During my visit to Manila, my friend found this trendy spot and after checking out reviews, I def…read morewanted to try it out. My friend made reservations and we were seated promptly as we entered. The place has a hipster-modern industrial vibe to it. We ended up ordering the chili crab bun which was interesting, it had a good amount of crab in it and had the texture of spicy tuna Mayo. Also got the roast beef bun which was tasty n the sauce that came with it was pretty sweet and thick and the bun was fried with a slightly crispy texture and soft inside. It was a very good combo. We also got the corned beef rendang which was my favorite dish. The dipping sauce had a curry taste and texture to it and it had plenty of shredded beef. The fried molo chips kinda looked like a tortilla chip but not, it had similar texture and tasted really good. It's like nachos but not. I highly recommend this dish. For our main, we got the Indo smashed chicken which tasted like fish but I believe it's the ingredients that made it taste like that. I was confused because every time I took a bite, I thought I was eating fish. It was good but confusing. Overall I had a great experience. Just know that you need to be patient, this is the culture here when eating out, food and service is not super quick like it is in New York/NJ. * Reservation highly recommended * Great cocktail options

I've heard and read about Neil's Kitchen for years now from friends and food bloggers alike but…read moreI've never had the chance to try it even though this location (their first and original location) is super close to our house. My friends planned a "South Saturday lunch" so that we can hang out in my neck of the woods instead of going all the way to Makati to hangout. Luckily I got a table immediately before the crowds arrived and a queue was formed. We ordered the following to share: 1. Tokwa't (Tofu) and Baboy (Pork) - we all enjoyed this appetizer that we ordered more fried tofu. The sauce was tangy and sweet while the tofu was cooked really well, crisp outside and soft inside. The pork was tasty and crispy as well. Loved the flavours and the textures in this dish 2. Crab fat pasta with crab cakes - the pasta wasn't too overpowering but you can def taste the crab fat. The crab cakes were made with real crab and they didn't scrimp on it. Great dish! 3. Sinigang paella and pork belly - one of their most popular dishes at Neil's Kitchen (we actually ordered two!). The sinigang in the paella was a great way to do a different take to sinigang and the pork belly was delicious. 4. Kare-kare with bagoong rice - kare kare was great with the distinct peanut taste and loved the veggies too. The bagoong rice was a nice accompaniment to the dish. Overall, I'm glad I finally tried Neil's Kitchen and next time I want to try their desserts.

Went here for a saturday night date and we liked the ambience. Westgate is also charming at night,…read moreparking is sufficient and the crowd is good. It was our first time at Neil's Kitchen and we were readily greeted by their attentive staff. The food selection all looked enticing. We got the calamari with paella negra, and chicken inasal with hainanese rice. Both were very filling and delicious. Would definitely go back.

Dining at My Mother's Garden was easily one of the best experiences of my life…read more Let's start with what My Mother's Garden isn't: It is not a proper restaurant. You will not find any signages along Zamora st because there is none. This is, to be precise, a private dining setup hosted inside the residence of Pablo S. Antonio, national artist for architecture. We were hosted by THE Malu Veloso, renowned fashion designer, who was more than apologetic about losing her voice after two days of entertaining clients. You cannot simply waltz in here and be fed. My Mother's Kitchen is strictly by reservation. You need to call in advance to book your lunch or dinner. You will be given two set meal options, served buffet style. The first one costs P900 and includes a salad with two wonderfully flavorful salad dressings, two pasta sauces (one tomato-based, one chorizo-based, both absolutely divine) with two pasta options, the absolutely incredible Mustard Chicken dish, and a delightfully fluffy cheesecake for dessert. We were also given a salabat-based drink and coffee. The second option had an additional shrimp dish that I had to nix because of my allergies. I made reservations for a 7pm dinner, and we came on time. While waiting for dinner to be served, we were free to roam around that incredible sala, a testament to the visionary genius of Pablo Antonio, as well as peruse some ternos in display, some done by Malu's mom, some done by her. Malu Velose herself came out to make us feel more at home, and she took great lengths to explain the history of the Antonio House, as well as to show some of the items she was working on. Dinner was served by 7:30, and my date and I were floored by EVERYTHING we ate. There was not one bad dish in there, as everything was extraordinary. My date and I really took our time eating, as there was literally nobody else but us in there. Combined with eating in a showcase house and being regaled by a renowned fashion designer, dining at My Mother's Garden was an absolute incredible experience. Absolutely brilliant.

My fav spot to go for Happy Hour with the team, even if Happy Hour is at 8am…read more Cold beer and yummy food enough said. Always get the Sisig and Totkwat Baboy best pulutan!

Yum! This place was near our hotel and we were sick of the breakfast buffet that was provided so we…read moredecided to venture out and found Whistlestop! The place was very clean and the food we got was very delicious! We tried to order random things that we can't find in the US / or what we would like to call "traditional" Filipino food. Everything we got was good and it was very reasonably priced. The best dish was probably the fresh lumpia. We thought we were getting the fried stuff but when it came out, we were pretty skeptical. Turned out to be me and my friends favorite dish of the meal! Well done Whistlestop!