Can someone please tell me why Manila has so many nice shopping areas to go to? U.P. Town Center is one of those shopping areas that have shops and restaurants inside the mall and outside the mall. I personally enjoyed my trip over here to this shopping center. I remember it having H/M; H/M Home (we do not have this in Los Angeles), The Body Shop and many filipino brands. They do have my favorite Filipino Brand, Apartment 8, located on the second floor I believe. My cousin and I so happened to stumble by this store and I was so excited when I saw it. They have a grocery store as well, inside the mall. Restaurant- 1 restaurant i did try but I don't think i found on Yelp is a restaurant called RECIPE. I thought this restaurant deserved to be mentioned. I heard it is a chain. This place serves traditional filipino food and it was do delicious. We ordered 1) Crispy Tilapia- Surprisingly super delish. Nice and crispy with a nice dipping sauce. I don't really like tilapia but this was pretty good. Has a clean flavor and again an awesome dipping sauce. 2) General Tsao Chicken- This was the first time i actually enjoyed this dish. I've ordered it several time here in Los Angeles in different Chinese restaurants, however it is to my surprise that this establishment in Manila got it right. Nice and crispy in the outside and moist in the inside. Not too sweet and not to spicy. 3) Chicken soup with Sotanghon noodles- This simple dish was done so right by Recipe. Its simple flavors of chicken soup with the combination of sotanghon noodles (mung bean noodles) was spot on. Just like how my grandma's makes it. 4) the last dish we ordered was the Bistek. This was super yummy as well. The beef was prepared thinly sliced and was really tender. The sauce as well was really good not too salty. 5) Green Mango Shake- When in the Philippines, I always order mango shakes because they are made with fresh mangos.... and you can tell... They ran out of ripe mangos so i decided to try the green mango... Boy was it sour... but what do you expect, non the less it was refreshing on a hot evening... I did see a lot of students walking around the area, and my cousin said because there are colleges and schools around the area. When I go back to the Philippines I will surely be back! Enjoy!! read more

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I love the stores, I love the restaurants. Ambiance is a plus and parking became more convenient over the year since I last came here. Go see a movie in their 4DX cinema for the experience . read more

UP Town Center has been open perhaps about two years. It is the mall that us university students from the Katipunan-Diliman area used to wish were there, with lots of restaurants, cafes, and shops where we could relax and entertain ourselves. The mix of stores today woos this target demographic, with lots of casual, athleisure clothing and accessories stories and trendy restaurants, some of which are open till late. It also caters to the neighborhood community, having added another supermarket and department store to the mix, and will in May 2016 onwards (am not sure when, though) be opening a row of cinemas, a gym, and some more popular brands of clothing that you usually get in the bigger malls, like Mango and H&M. This mall has been bumped up to the big leagues. Restaurant wise, it has lots of good choices, some of which you may miss because they're sort of spread far apart. Some are branches of successful restos, like Silantro, Mad Mark, Recovery Food (open 24 hours), Ramen Nagi, and Kyochon. Some are distinctly Pinoy, like Crisostomo, Max's, Pinac, and the one I want to try soon, Alab. Then there are a few which are my favorites, like The Breadery, Kos Greek Ouzeri, Shrimp Bucket, Dulcelin, and Torch, because my parents love the pizza there. Needless to say, you won't run out of choices for coffee, or tea. There are two things which I don't like about UP Town Center. First, it is full of stairs and with no seats anywhere to sit for free. This is an old-fashioned trend that I see changing in non-Ayala malls, like different SMs, Robinsons, Eastwood, and Century City. More than that, there are no senior citizen-PWD-friendly ramps on the rear side, coming from the parking area. Since I have aging parents, I find that unacceptable. Also, parking is dreadfully limited, most of it far from the mall entrance - the one that exists now, at least. There is a five-level parking building on the far, far end of the complex, but that's it. In total, I heard, UP Town Center has only 720 parking slots. Not only does this limit the number of visitors by car, it causes horrendous traffic around the neighborhood because of the queues to the parking lot. That said, it is a nice mall. It causes traffic, but that's what malls do. For those of us who live nearby, it's a good destination. The folks are already looking forward to the cinema's opening. read more

UP Town Center - New stores opening in the new wing, aka UP Town Center 2 - Shopping Centers Near Me - Quezon City, NCR

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I'm glad to see that UP Town Center has filled up new stores and restaurants. It's not just the big imported chain restaurants anynore but also some really good local franchises. It's got a very easy laid back vibe, which works for the community of mostly students and families. Parking is still pretty easy, they've got both the steel parking garage and open air parking at the back. It only gets really full on weekends. This is a great place to meet friends and spend time with family. Just keep in mind that a lot of the stores and restaurants are pricey so, prepare your wallet for the onslaught. The new supermarket, Merkado, is really spacious and has a great selection. I can't wait till they open the cinema! read more

UP Town Center - A huge serving of nachos and soft tacos :) - Shopping Centers Near Me - Quezon City, NCR

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Can't decide where to eat in Katipunan? How about try the restaurants in UP Town? :) It offers unique restaurants that cater to young and old, barkadas and families alike. Many food establishments close up to around midnight so it's a great hang out place during Fridays and weekends. I love how it is slowly becoming the usual Ayala mall with the greenery (mini version), but I do not like how it can be a cause of heavy traffic along Katipunan especially on the way to Balara / Tandang Sora area. The parking is cheap (P20 flat rate), but I doubt they'll keep the rate. Though still under construction, I'm excited and anxious as to how UPTC will turn out. I mean almost everything you need is already here - bookstore, grocery, restaurants, store for pets, salons, department stores, etc. Plus, they'll have cinemas soon so people won't travel far anymore to watch movies. I just hope they have Taters / Chimara in the future ;) read more

UP Town Center - View from the old building, facing the ampitheater and new building - Shopping Centers Near Me - Quezon City, NCR

It may be called UP Town Center, but I wouldn't consider it walking distance from UP, Ateneo, or Miriam, unless you're walking at night, because that long a stretch is unbearable to walk under normal Katipunan heat. It's definitely better to take a tricycle or a car. Also, I don't find the place friendly to an average college student's budget. I can usually only afford to hang out in Highlands or Tea Rock, and even those establishments makes me dig a bit more out of my pocket than usual. Still, I've never seen the place crowded, and it's UP Town is a good place to chill and kill some time. The few times I've eaten here, care of meticulous saving and/or treats by the parents, I've been left satisfied, but in shock of the bill all the time. I hear they'll be opening a theater soon though, and it's going to be so much better now that I don't have to commute to SM Marikina or Eastwood to watch a movie after class. read more

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Walking distance from UP Oval, and quite accesible by public transportation. Went here for a late lunch after watching a movie at UP Film Institute, and since they have a P2P bus going to Makati it was worth the walk. Lots of restos to choose from. They have some of my favorites: CBTL, Italianni's, Sushi Nori, Salad Stop. I chose the one I could easily get to because I was starving so I enjoyed my meal at Sushi Nori. They also have several shops like H&M, Mango, Healthy Options. I found an art supplies shop at the second floor which was cool. read more

Ginza Bairin is good and we have used it many times instead of going to Yabu in Ortigas. Menu is varied and reasonable price points. Katsu is the main attraction and is done with both meat or salmon. Other dishes like the soups and big rice bowls are too salty for me but everyone loves them. No bottomless portions but you can ask for more anytime for the rice or shredded cabbage. read more

Probably one of the main highlights of Quezon City, this place is just huge and it doesn't stop growing... every year it expands! It's sad that we're a bit too far from this [soon] to be iconic mall :( read more

UP Town Center - Strolling - Shopping Centers Near Me - Quezon City, NCR

Not exactly anywhere I'd recommend someone to go for a walk. UP Town Center really isn't a place to walk around. It's pretty tiny, all things considered and the kind of place you could probably cover in a couple of hours. So that's a no go if you're looking for somwhere to wander. However, if you're looking for somewhere to eat with a group of friends, this is definitely somewhere you can go. There's a LOT and I mean a LOT to choose from. If you're there for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, just a snack, for drinks... you name it, you're probably bound to find something that everyone will agree on. Japanese, Chinese, American, Filipino, Italian... again, it's all here. Feel the need to walk off everything you've eaten? There's a mini-mall you can walk around in. Small as it is, it isn't boring. There's always something to do or something to see. Window shopping's always an option. Maybe you'd be lucky and be there on a night with a live performance. Either way, there's lots of promise in this place. With new places opening frequently, it won't be a surprise if things will only get livelier in the months to come. read more

When you're driving along Katipunan, maybe entering UP or going straight to Tandang Sora, it's hard to miss UP Town Center - a sprawling and up-and-coming location housing restaurants, shops, salons, and more. PROS: Look at those establishments! The two-floor Cotton On where you could not leave without buying at least one cardigan! The J.Co without the line! Café Shibuya's hot chocolate! STEVESTON Pizza for Cthulhu's sake!; Although there are portions still being constructed, you could see that it's a classy place with well-thought out architecture and landscaping; There is ample parking space; Good location especially for the families and students in the area. CONS: When it was under construction, the tarp announcing its arrival says "Where great minds shop, dine and think alike." It came under a lot of criticism, because... No. Great minds DO NOT think alike. Sheeple. *me saying that while I browse the place for good cupcakes* TL;DR: It's a beautiful structure, really, and my consumerist heart is kinikilig. I just couldn't love it all the way because my principles are making my eyes narrow critically. read more

I studied in the Katipunan area for 4 years of my life and let me tell you, we survived (and were super happy) with the likes of Catina afternoons and McDo study dates! The Katipunan scene (and traffic) completely changed when UP Town came up, definitely for the better! This complex that sits past Miriam and right before UP is a hub for a whole new set of restaurants and is now developing to a mall with stores (and I hear even a theater!). The place is lined up with everyone's favorites from 8 cuts to RF and budding new joints like Skull and Bones and Backyard Kitchen + Brew. There's always something new to try! It has a good community atmosphere to it, maybe because it feels small and confined. Can't wait to see what else will pop up here since it's so conveniently located near my house! Where was this place during my 3 hour long breaks?? Students definitely have things better now! read more

This wasn't my favorite shopping center I visited while I was in Manila. It's an outdoor mall, but also had an indoor part of it. The stores were okay, but not much stores I was familiar with. They do have a good amount of stores, but not as many as the other malls. They did have a lot of seating area outside, so it did remind me of the states. read more

The growing number of restaurants and shops here is getting really exciting. As it is, they already have some excellent food places to go to for a great meal with family and friends. I really like the neighborhood plaza/park vibe of the place that I kind of envy how this didn't exist when I was in college! The layout and design is really welcoming and conducive for just hanging out and strolling around. Although the place is meant to cater to students, most of the restaurants are actually pretty expensive so I think it would serve families and working people better. Still, it's a really great place to hang out if you live/study around the area. The smaller cafes and coffee shops are very much work & study-friendly and the central garden area can be utilized for various activities like org events and mini concerts. You can even sit in the many surrounding steps when watching shows in an almost outdoor amphitheater-type fashion. They can really do a lot with this place! When they come out with the movie theaters and once all the other establishments open, UP Town really is going to be the place to be. It's great to have this as another alternative to places like Eastwood, Ortigas Center, and the Katipunan strip. read more

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They dubbed this place as the new hangout for students my age, but I think otherwise because although they host student and budget-friendly events here (like Carousel Caravan, and maybe something else in the past) the stores and restaurants found here can be found anywhere else, especially in the malls. Most of my friends (who are students from UP) actually agree. And those food places happen to be those that require a budget of more than Php 100 per person. There are boutiques like Aeropostale, although I don't see myself going in there in the near future. I must admit that the place is pretty chill though. It's nicely built and everything else is pretty. I'll say this is the perfect place to go to in the evening with your friends, where you can eat dinner and have coffee afterwards. Maybe some cupcake, too. read more

When U.P. Town first opened in my Junior year, everyone was excited because it meant a number of new and exciting restaurants opening up in the Katipunan area, iHop, Family Mart, and Steveston Pizza among them. U.P. Town, though, has completely evolved in the span of two years. It's so much bigger, and home to a surprising number of restaurants and cafés! Whatever you're in the mood for, they pretty much have it. Jamba Juice, Recovery Food, Mama Lou's, and Steveston Pizza are just a few of my favorites whenever I'm in the UP Town area. It's a great place to chill, study, converse, drink, and pretty much anything you wish! Students all around the Katipunan area are lucky to have such an expansive commercial center, and it only seems to be growing! read more

Here comes a fresh new twist to what you're used to when in UP. Known to be home to the more affordable guilty pleasures, UP Town Center is a refreshing entry to a seemingly endless list of must-go places when in Diliman. More of like a smaller version of a mall, this complex filled with relatively upscale restaurants can serve as a nice alternative venue, if you're looking for a fancy dinner that's rather accessible if you're living within the area. Bringing to you establishments that are closer to the caliber Makati, do expect to pay a little more when you're planning to dine here. What to try? UP Town Center is filled with nice guilty pleasures such as Brickfire, Mad Mark's, J.Co and iHop to name a few. So, if you're looking to treat yourself a bit, yet BGC and Makati seem too far off? Don't worry, this little gem by Katipunan will surely meet your needs. read more

Within walking distance to three huge school campuses UP Town Center or nicknamed by us college kids UPTC has become the hangout spot and the place to be (at least for those who can afford it). UPTC has good stores (but not quite as many to go on an all out shopping spree) and great restaurants. However the places here aren't exactly college-kid-budget friendly which is why I rarely visit here (only the "rich kids" can afford to actually eat lunch or snack here during breaks). So if you're like me and your allowance isn't as generous as most it's best to go here with a big group so you can potluck or with your family so you don't have to pay (hehe). But really, the mall is still fairly new and soon a lot more stores and restaurant options will be available so it can only go up from here. Not to mention there will soon be a theater here too! This is great for students but not so great for teachers or schools as I'm sure the number of cuts will go for a dramatic increase. read more