Where to eat Filipino food in Manila, from carinderia to tasting menu

For a first Filipino meal, family style

Filipino meals are shared. Dishes come to the middle of the table with a pot of rice, and everyone takes a bit of everything, so go with three or more people if you can.

Manam at the Triangle is the first flagship of Manam, The Moment Group's Filipino comfort food chain, in the restaurant arcade of Ayala Triangle Gardens. The menu is long and nearly every dish comes in small, medium or large, so a table can try a lot without waste. Order the house crispy sisig, the beef short rib sinigang with watermelon, and the lechon manok (roast chicken) with tutong longganisa rice that the MICHELIN inspectors called the standout. It holds a Bib Gourmand, the guide's award for good cooking at fair prices. Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati. ₱₱. Monday to Friday 10am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 10pm. Tip: reserve through momentfood.com/manamATGreservations or call +63 967 190 4721.

Lore is chef Myke "Tatung" Sarthou's restaurant on the third floor of One Bonifacio High Street Mall, and the best choice for a family meal in BGC. He cooks regional dishes such as adobo sa pula, kinilaw na tuna and kare-kare without changing what they are, and plates them with care. Portions are for two to three, served family style. 3F One Bonifacio High Street Mall, BGC. ₱₱. Sunday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 11pm. About ₱1,000 to ₱2,000 a person for a full shared meal, per the restaurant. Good to know: book by phone on 0977 804 9888 or online; bookings open up to 60 days ahead.

Abé serves mostly Kapampangan food (from Pampanga, the province north of Manila known for its cooks) at Serendra. It is named after the writer and painter Emilio "Abe" Aguilar Cruz, father of LJC Group founder Larry Cruz, and his paintings hang in the room. Order the sinuteng baby squid in olive oil, the binukadkad na pla pla (a whole tilapia butterflied and fried crisp), the bamboo rice with shrimp, and the sisig Pampanga. G/F Serendra, 11th Avenue, BGC. ₱₱. Daily 11am to 10pm for dine in. Tip: it has two function rooms for groups of about 13; call 0917 552 2060.

For regional cooking you rarely find in Manila

Sarsa is chef JP Anglo's restaurant in Legazpi Village, built on the food of Negros, the sugar island where he was born. The room is full of plants and rattan lamps and packed at weekday lunch. Share the kinilaw (raw fish cured in vinegar and citrus), the lechon manok, the crispy isol (chicken tail) with batwan gravy, then turon a la mode, a fried banana roll with ice cream. It holds a Bib Gourmand. G/F The Frabella 1, 109 Rada Street, Legazpi Village, Makati. ₱₱. Sunday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 11pm. Tip: call +63 917 528 0115, or come after 1:30pm on weekdays.

Palm Grill on Tomas Morato cooks the food of Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, run by Tausug chef Miguel Cabel Moreno with his brother. The cooking leans on spice, sourness and roasted coconut. Start with tiyula itum, a Tausug beef soup with a smoky, slightly sour coconut broth, or order the Dulang, seven dishes in tasting portions on one platter. Bib Gourmand. 179 Tomas Morato Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. ₱₱. Monday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday to Sunday 11am to 11pm. Good to know: since February 2026 there is also a Palm Grill in the food hall at NAIA Terminal 3, which helps if you are flying out.

Cabel is the same family's second Bib Gourmand, in Casa Roces, a 1930s house beside Malacañang with its original tiled floors, rattan chairs, a garden and a koi pond. The menu covers the whole country with a lean towards southern Mindanao. Order the crisp ukoy (shrimp fritters) and the piyanggang manok, chicken braised with toasted coconut and turmeric. 1153 JP Laurel corner Aguado Street, San Miguel, Manila. ₱₱. Open daily from the morning; hours differ between sources, so call +63 915 214 8565. Tip: come at lunch to see the house and garden in daylight.

For the everyday: turo-turo, canteen and street stall

These are where most of the city eats. Prices are low, seating is simple, and you will usually pay in cash or GCash.

Morning Sun Eatery is a roadside turo-turo in Project 4 that has cooked Ilocano home food for three decades. Turo-turo means "point point": you point at the pots on the counter and the food is brought to your table. Get the pork kilawen, the dinakdakan (grilled pork parts in a sharp dressing, from Ilocos), the pinakbet (vegetables stewed with fermented fish paste) and the laing, taro leaves in coconut milk. Pork kilawen and dinakdakan were ₱90 each when it won its Bib Gourmand (SPOT.ph, October 2025). 120 J.P. Rizal Street, Project 4, Quezon City. ₱. Monday to Saturday 9am to 9pm, closed Sunday. Tip: go late morning; the dinakdakan is usually the first to run out.

Aida's Chicken is the Makati outpost of a Bacolod inasal house, a plain canteen on the lower ground floor of Makati Cinema Square. Inasal is chicken marinated and grilled over charcoal, Bacolod style, and here it is grilled to order. The Ilonggo squash cooked in coconut milk is the side to add. It is MICHELIN Selected at the guide's lowest price band. LGF Makati Cinema Square, 2130 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati. ₱. Daily 11am to 8pm. Good to know: walk in only, and since the guide listing the queue can be long; one diner reported a 75 minute wait at a busy hour (Radar, September 2026), so come mid afternoon.

Chie Chie's Pancit Batil Patung is a stall under a tree on Dian Street, between a bakery and a barber shop, cooking the noodle dish of Tuguegarao in Cagayan. Each order is made in its own small pot. The lodi (miki noodles, crispy pork belly and a soft egg) is the one to get, and every order comes with a free egg drop soup. MICHELIN Selected as street food. 1827 Dian Street, Makati. ₱. Daily 7:30am to 9:30pm. Tip: it works for breakfast; avoid the noon rush.

The Aristocrat began in 1936 as a rolling store, a Studebaker van run by Engracia Cruz-Reyes, and within two years opened a permanent restaurant on Dewey Boulevard, now Roxas Boulevard. It is still there on the bay in Malate, one of the oldest restaurants in Manila. Order the chicken barbecue with java rice and java sauce, the lumpiang shanghai (fried pork spring rolls) and the fresh lumpiang ubod, a soft roll of heart of palm. 432 San Andres Street corner Roxas Boulevard, Malate, Manila. ₱₱. Walk in. Good to know: it sits on the boulevard, so it suits dinner after sunset by the bay.

For a tasting menu

Hapag cooks regional Filipino food through a long tasting menu, now on the seventh floor of The Balmori Suites in Rockwell. The current menu follows the Cordillera, the mountain region of northern Luzon, with its smoked and cured meats: kinuday tartare, beef tongue kiniing and smoked pork longganisa. One MICHELIN Star. 7F The Balmori Suites, Hidalgo Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati. ₱₱₱₱. Tuesday and Wednesday dinner from 6pm; Thursday to Sunday lunch from 11am and dinner from 6pm; closed Monday. Cordillera menu ₱7,500, VAT included, plus 10% service (restaurant menu, June 2026). Good to know: book at hapagmnl.com; the down payment cannot be cancelled, only rescheduled with three days' notice.

Toyo Eatery is Jordy Navarra's restaurant in The Alley at Karrivin, cooking only with ingredients from the Philippines, fermented and preserved in house, seasoned with soy, vinegar and fish sauce. Dinner is eight courses in a room facing the kitchen, livelier than most tasting rooms. One MICHELIN Star, and Tatler's Restaurant of the Year for 2026. The Alley at Karrivin, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati. ₱₱₱₱. Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to 11pm. Eight courses ₱6,500 plus 10% service (TableCheck, October 2026). Good to know: closed 1 to 9 November 2026; new tables open every Thursday at 3pm, three weeks out.

In the same Karrivin Plaza, Metiz and Inatô also cook Filipino food through set menus. For every menu compared by price, see Tasting Menus in Manila, Ranked by Price.

A short guide to the menu

• Sinigang: a sour soup, usually soured with tamarind, with pork, beef, fish or shrimp and vegetables.
• Adobo: meat braised in vinegar, garlic and bay leaf, often with soy. Every family has its own.
• Kare-kare: oxtail or beef stewed in a thick peanut sauce, eaten with bagoong, a salty shrimp paste.
• Sisig: chopped grilled pork face and jowl, from Pampanga, often served sizzling with egg and calamansi.
• Inasal: chicken marinated and grilled over charcoal, the way it is done in Bacolod.
• Kinilaw: raw fish cured in vinegar and citrus, closer to ceviche than sashimi.
• Lechon: whole roast pig; lechon manok is roast chicken.
• Pancit: noodles, cooked differently in almost every province.

Before you go

• Getting there. Take a Grab. Makati picks (Manam, Sarsa, Aida's, Chie Chie's, Toyo, Hapag) are 10 to 20 minutes apart. Lore and Abé are in BGC (Bonifacio Global City), 20 to 40 minutes from Makati depending on traffic. Morning Sun and Palm Grill are in Quezon City, and Cabel and The Aristocrat in the city of Manila; allow 45 minutes to an hour from Makati at rush hour.
• Booking. Hapag and Toyo Eatery need booking weeks ahead, with a deposit. Lore, Sarsa, Palm Grill, Cabel and Abé take phone bookings, which help on weekends. Morning Sun, Aida's and Chie Chie's are walk in.
• When to go. The small places sell out of their best dishes, so go before noon. Weekday lunch in Makati is busy with office workers.
• Payment. Sit-down restaurants take cards. Carry cash and have GCash ready for the turo-turo, the canteen and the stall.
• The bill. Restaurant prices usually include 12% VAT (value added tax), with a service charge of 7% to 10% added at sit-down places.
• Eating with your hands. It is normal at many Filipino tables, especially with grilled food and rice. Spoon and fork is the everyday cutlery; ask for a knife if you want one.

Questions people ask

What are the best Filipino restaurants in Manila?

For a full shared meal, Manam, Lore, Abé and Sarsa. For regional cooking, Palm Grill and Cabel. For the most decorated, Hapag and Toyo Eatery, both with one MICHELIN Star. For everyday food, Morning Sun Eatery and Aida's Chicken.

What is the best modern Filipino restaurant in Manila?

Toyo Eatery, named Tatler's Restaurant of the Year for 2026, and Hapag, which builds each menu around one region.

Where is the best Filipino restaurant in BGC?

Lore at One Bonifacio High Street for regional dishes served family style, and Abé at Serendra for Kapampangan cooking. Both work well for groups and for showing a visitor what Filipino food is. See our BGC neighbourhood page for more.

Where can I eat Filipino food near Greenbelt in Makati?

Manam at the Triangle in Ayala Triangle Gardens is a short walk or ride from Greenbelt and open from 9am on weekends. Sarsa in Legazpi Village and Aida's Chicken on Chino Roces Avenue are a few minutes further by car.

Is there a good Filipino restaurant on Manila Bay?

The Aristocrat on Roxas Boulevard in Malate has fed the bayfront since the 1930s, and the chicken barbecue with java rice is still the order. Pair it with sunset on the bay walk, or with our Binondo food crawl on another day. First time in the city? Start with First Time in Manila: A 3-Day Plan for Visitors.