# Tomas Morato, Quezon City: restaurants and bars Canonical page: https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/tomas-morato-restaurants-and-bars Source: What's On Manila. Please cite and link the canonical page. Published: 2026-10-20 *Two Bib Gourmand kitchens, Persian food until 5am, and the Scout streets' best cocktail bars, from a 12-seat lounge inside the first Max's to a 1990s bar behind a Game Boy door. Each one checked in October 2026.* The best places to eat and drink around Tomas Morato in Quezon City are Palm Grill and Some Thai, two Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchens on the avenue itself, Deo Gracias for Spanish food and Mario's for a family celebration. Behrouz serves Persian food until 5am. For drinks, ReCraft and Bar.Flora are on Tatler's list of the 20 best bars in the country, Ruby's and Wrong Door are the quiet ones, and Take Me Back is where you go to sing along to the 1990s. Updated October 2026. Tomas Morato Avenue is Quezon City's restaurant row, a 1.7km stretch through Diliman, and the side streets around it (Scout Tobias, Scout Rallos, Scout Tuazon, Scout Delgado and the rest) are named for the 22 Boy Scouts of the Philippines who died in a plane crash on their way to the 11th World Scout Jamboree, which is also where 11th Jamboree Street gets its name. That grid, across the barangays of Laging Handa and Sacred Heart and up toward South Triangle, is where Quezon City's best cocktail bars now sit, most of them a short walk or a very short ride apart. Below, the picks are grouped by the kind of meal or night you want. For the wider city, see our [Quezon City neighbourhood page](https://whatsonmnl.com/neighborhood/quezon-city), the [eat and drink hub](https://whatsonmnl.com/eat-drink) and the [nightlife hub](https://whatsonmnl.com/nightlife). ## For a good dinner at a fair price **[Palm Grill](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/palm-grill-diliman)** cooks the food of Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and it is one of very few places in Manila to do it. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, its award for good food at fair prices, and points to the tiyula itum, a beef stew in a dark coconut broth, and The Dulang, a platter of seven dishes in tasting portions. If it is your first time, order The Dulang. 179 Tomas Morato Avenue. ₱₱. Monday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday to Sunday 11am to 11pm. Good to know: it is family friendly and takes bookings by phone. **[Some Thai](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/some-thai)** is the other Bib Gourmand on the avenue, in a red corner building at Scout Fuentebella. The menu is a modern take on Thai favourites: papaya salad, pad thai, tom yum, and curries with beef short rib or local crab. Finish with mango sticky rice. It is casual enough for a solo dinner. 195 Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Fuentebella. ₱₱. Daily, 10am to 11pm. ## For Spanish food and a family occasion **[Deo Gracias](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/deo-gracias)** is a relaxed Spanish restaurant and deli on 11th Jamboree Street, listed in the Michelin Guide, with patterned tiles, wooden cabinets and a terrace. Most of the ingredients come from Spain. Order the fideuà, a noodle paella that is mixed at the table in the pan. 12 11th Jamboree Street. ₱₱. Daily, 11am to 10pm. Good to know: it is good for groups, so book ahead for a big table. **[Mario's](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/marios-restaurant-tomas-morato)** has been on Tomas Morato since November 1981, ten years after Mario and Nenuca Benitez opened the first Mario's in Baguio. The menu is continental, with Spanish and Filipino dishes beside it, from pancit luglug to a lamb paella made with New Zealand lamb. It is where families still book birthdays and anniversaries. 191 Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Gandia. ₱₱₱. Lunch and dinner daily. Tip: call 0917 132 6998 to book, and ask about private events. ## For a late meal **[Behrouz Persian Cuisine](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/behrouz-persian-cuisine)** began in 1985 as a food cart run by Behrouz Mojdeh, who cooked the food of his hometown, Rasht in Iran. The flagship on Scout Tobias is a big, busy room that stays open until 5am every day and serves no alcohol, which makes it the neighbourhood's reset between bars. Esquire's advice is sound: shawarma on a plate rather than wrapped, extra bread, moutabal, hummus, and liver sauteed with tomatoes. 50 Scout Tobias corner Scout Fernandez. Daily, 11am to 5am. For more places that stay open, see [late-night food in Manila](https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/late-night-food-in-manila). ## For serious cocktails **[ReCraft](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/recraft)** moved from Broadway in New Manila to a black house on Scout Tobias in 2024, and in 2026 Tatler gave it its Best Innovation award for bars in the Philippines. Beverage director Cedric Mendoza's menu riffs on the classics and keeps changing. Ask for the bespoke card, tell them what you like, and let the bartenders build something for you; on No Menu Mondays that is the only way to order. Upstairs, the Nikka Room is a 12-seat whisky bar with its own menu. 39 Scout Tobias Street. ₱₱₱. Sunday to Thursday 6pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday 6pm to 3am. Good to know: drinks from the main menu are not allowed in the Nikka Room. **[Bar.Flora](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/bar-flora)** is ReCraft's sibling: a women-led gin and tea bar, open since 2023, with dried flowers set in resin along the bar top. The seasonal menus pair gin with tea, and there are zero-proof "teatails" for anyone not drinking. Sit at the bar and ask questions; the bartenders like to explain. Across the hall, the same team runs Matador, a quieter wine and sake bar. 49 Scout Rallos Street. ₱₱₱. Tuesday to Thursday 6pm to 1am, Friday 6pm to 2am, Saturday 2pm to 2am, Sunday 2pm to 1am; closed Monday. ## For a quiet, chill drink **[Ruby's](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/rubys-lounge)** is a lounge of about a dozen seats inside the first Max's Restaurant, named for Ruby Trota, who created the fried chicken recipe Max's was built on. Her portrait hangs by the bar, and the room feels like a lola's living room. Mandrake Ferrer's cocktails stay close to the classics: the Maximo is a dirty martini that tastes of tinola. Drinks cost about ₱100 less than at the bars nearby. Max's Restaurant, 21 Scout Tuazon Street. ₱₱. Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 12am. Tip: it closes earlier than its neighbours, so make it your first stop. **[Wrong Door](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/wrong-door)** sits behind an unmarked black door under a Korean restaurant on Scout Delgado. It opened in September 2025, it is run by women, and it is small, dim and quiet, with lounge chairs and bartenders who will chat if you sit at the counter. Come for the Wasabi Apple-tini, stay for the Jungle Bird. Ground floor, 115 Scout Delgado Street corner Tomas Morato. ₱₱. Daily, 6pm to 3am. Good to know: it fills up around 9pm, and the whole bar can be booked for a small private event. ## For a loud night with friends **[Take Me Back](https://whatsonmnl.com/place/take-me-back)** is upstairs in CKB Centre, through a door that looks like a giant Game Boy. Inside it is the 1990s and early 2000s: movie posters, a wall of cassette tapes, neon, and a playlist the room knows by heart. The Iskrambol (₱380) tastes like the street-food ice dessert, and the Bazooka (₱480) is stronger than it looks. It also runs trivia nights, movie nights and tarot readings. 2nd Floor, CKB Centre, 203 Tomas Morato Avenue. ₱₱. Evenings until late; check its page for the night's hours. If you want one more stop, After Hours on Roces Avenue, near the corner of Tomas Morato, is a neighbourhood bar with booths along the wall and cocktails built on Filipino flavours like buko pandan and sampaloc. ## How a night flows A simple plan: dinner at Palm Grill or Some Thai around 7pm, a first drink at Ruby's before it closes, then cocktails at ReCraft or Bar.Flora. Wrong Door is the quiet nightcap and Take Me Back the loud one. If you are still hungry after midnight, Behrouz is on the same street as ReCraft, Scout Tobias. For more hidden bars across the city, read [Speakeasy Bars in Manila](https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/speakeasy-bars-in-manila), and for a daytime food trip a little further east, see our guide to [Maginhawa Street](https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/maginhawa-food-and-cafes). ## Before you go - **Getting there.** Take a car or Grab. The restaurants are on the avenue, and the bars are on the Scout streets just off it, so pick two or three stops that sit close together and walk between them. Book a ride between the far ends. - **When to go.** Start early. Ruby's closes at midnight, and Wrong Door fills up around 9pm. Wrong Door keeps going latest, to 3am. - **Booking.** Book Mario's, Palm Grill, Some Thai and Deo Gracias by phone. The bars are mostly walk-in; Wrong Door and ReCraft's Nikka Room are small, so arrive early. - **Payment.** Palm Grill, Some Thai and Deo Gracias accept credit cards. Carry some cash and have GCash ready for smaller places. - **Closed days.** Bar.Flora closes on Monday, and Ruby's on Sunday and Monday. ## Questions people ask ### Which restaurants on Tomas Morato are open late or 24 hours? Behrouz Persian Cuisine on Scout Tobias is open every day from 11am to 5am, which makes it the latest kitchen in this guide. We could not confirm a 24-hour sit-down restaurant on the strip in October 2026. For places that never close, see our guide to [late-night food in Manila](https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/late-night-food-in-manila). ### Is there a restaurant on Tomas Morato with a private room? Mario's has hosted family celebrations and events for decades, so call them about a private function. For drinks, Wrong Door can be booked as a whole bar for a small group, and ReCraft's 12-seat Nikka Room feels private even on a busy night. ### Where can I eat well and affordably on Tomas Morato? Palm Grill and Some Thai both hold the Michelin Bib Gourmand, the guide's award for good food at fair prices, and both are ₱₱. Behrouz is another filling meal, and it is open until 5am. ### Are there bars with a live band on Tomas Morato? None of the bars in this guide has a regular live band; they are cocktail bars, and Take Me Back plays music the crowd sings along to. For bands, our guide to [live music and jazz bars in Manila](https://whatsonmnl.com/blog/live-music-and-jazz-bars-in-manila) covers The 70's Bistro in Quezon City and other rooms with gigs through the week. ### What is the best chill bar near Tomas Morato? Ruby's is the quietest and the best value, Wrong Door is the one for a long talk late at night, and Bar.Flora is the one for a slow gin and tea on a weekend afternoon.