July 2026 Dining Radar: new restaurants, cafés and bars in Metro Manila

Location: The Ignacia Place, Diliman, Quezon City

Many chefs open a restaurant with the aim of “elevating” Filipino cuisine. At Pinoy Accent, chef Jorge Mendez (Mōdan, Mugen Ramenya, Makanai, Some Thai, Cibo) does the opposite, proving that Filipino flavours and techniques can elevate a dish. Inspired by the comfort and familiarity the Filipino accent carries, this 30-seater wine bar is what Mendez describes as a new expression of Filipino flavours. “At Pinoy Accent, we are not trying to reinvent Filipino cuisine,” he explains. “Instead, we’re exploring how familiarity can be experienced in new ways—how the dishes we grew up with can be seen from a different angle, without losing their soul.” Expect dishes like chicken liver pâté with langka gel and tuba jelly, a comforting bopis ragu and pastillas cheesecake, all deliberately paired with a wine programme by sommelier-consultant Ian Santos.

Read more: Pinoy Accent: chef Jorge Mendez turns a familiar accent into Quezon City’s newest wine bar

Location: Levanto Building, Jupiter Street, Makati City

Chef Frances Tariga brings her contemporary Filipino restaurant from New York City to Metro Manila—a homecoming in every sense of the word. For Tariga, Tadhanà is not just an opportunity to grow new roots in her home country, but to bring her global experience to bear on Filipino cuisine as it continues to evolve. The ten-course tasting menu features dishes like sinuglaw and ginataan, augmented through techniques she’s honed across various parts of the world.

Tatler Trivia: One might say Tariga thrives under pressure—she has not only competed in multiple cooking competitions, but was also crowned champion of Morimoto’s Sushi Master season 1.

Location: Solar Century Tower, Salcedo Village, Makati City

What does it really mean to be a neighbourhood bar? While the term is often used generously, Always Welcome was designed to fit the bill. Helmed by Royce Pua—Diageo World Class Philippines Bartender of the Year 2017, and a veteran of some of the city’s most beloved bars including 12/10, ReCraft and Izakaya Geronimo—the cocktail bar does away with smoke and mirrors, returning its focus to the one thing that turns guests into regulars: making them feel at home. Always Welcome is the latest, and perhaps most direct, expression of his guiding principle: “keep it simple and enjoyable.”

Related: Meet Me at The Bar: Get to know Royce Pua, one of Manila’s most seasoned beverage consultants

Location: Windsor Square, Antonio Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City

While Takumi falls under the Vikings Group portfolio, the restaurant is operated by a company from Kyoto—and the menu reflects that ambition. It is broad by any measure: grilled meats, sushi, noodles and among the more comprehensive yakitori and tempura listings in the city. The standout is their warayaki offering, a traditional cooking method from Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku Island that involves searing ingredients over an open fire fuelled by burning rice straw—producing a pronounced smoke and char that few kitchens here can replicate. That said, one question remains: can the kitchen sustain that breadth without compromising quality? Only one way to find out.

Location: Globill Mansion, Poblacion, Makati City

Part café, part listening room, part creative huddle—Pocket is a compact space in Poblacion built around music, art, coffee and the kind of conversations that outlast a single drink. Early standouts from the speciality coffee menu include a tiramisu with coconut water and a citrusy Sunrise with mandarin orange, while the Ramos Pink Fizz should intrigue the barflies among us. The snack menu leans into collaborations, with drops like a mochi-madeleine-canelé hybrid by Tandem’s chef Mikee Lopez Tan and a Spanish bread tossed in croissant flakes by 5G Coffee House. 

See also: Where to buy matcha powder in the Philippines: 5 local brands to know

Location: The Shops at Ayala Triangle, Makati City

Two years after making his fine dining debut with Taupe, chef Francis Tolentino expands his repertoire with Cerulean—a seafood-focused restaurant that draws from the abundance of Philippine waters through a modern Southeast Asian lens. The à la carte menu includes scallop dumplings, crab chawanmushi, tiger prawn sambal pasta and malasugi claypot rice, among many others. Interior designer Noel Bernardo of EC Studio and Cebu-based furniture designer Vito Selma carry the concept from plate to space, building a setting that immerses diners in deep blue.

Location: Santolan Town Plaza, San Juan City

Metro Manila’s sandwich game has evolved considerably—and Mid Kid Deli Café is the latest to make a case for it. The menu is lean and confident: a breakfast sandwich on pretzel bread, Sammie’s lox bagel with cream cheese, a pastrami sandwich with the works. A housemade cola rounds out the drinks, designed for washing down whatever you order. Located at Santolan Town Plaza, it works equally well as a sit-down pitstop or a grab-and-go.

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