Cover The only bread guide you’ll ever need: find out where to get the best sourdough, focaccia, brioche and more in Metro Manila (Photo: Unsplash / Nadya Spetnitskaya)
The only bread guide you’ll ever need: find out where to get the best sourdough, focaccia, brioche and more in Metro Manila (Photo: Unsplash / Nadya Spetnitskaya)
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Discover the top bakeries in Metro Manila offering the best freshly baked bread, from classics like sourdough and focaccia to unique specialities like pretzels and schiacciata
Few things satisfy quite like well-made bread. Whether it’s the tender pull of brioche, the springy bounce of focaccia or the inimitable complexity of sourdough, bread has a rare ability to comfort and captivate in equal measure. It anchors our tables, fuels our mornings, and, when done exceptionally well, becomes a quiet luxury worth seeking out.
Below, Tatler Dining assembles the best places to order bread in Metro Manila, chosen through hundreds of reader recommendations and our editors’ own picks. From micro-bakeries pushing the craft forward to cult favourites beloved for consistency and charm, these twelve bakers showcase the range and creativity of Manila’s growing bread scene.
Read on for our ultimate guide to the must-try breads in Metro Manila.
This list is in alphabetical order.
Read more: Tatler’s ultimate guide: where to order the best cookies in Metro Manila
1. Booya Bagels
Location: Glorietta 3, Makati City; Serendra Mall, BGC, Taguig City
Booya Bagels remains top of mind for its eponymous bagel sandwiches, from classic iterations like the lox with herb and garlic schmear to borderline outrageous creations like the Unicorn Poop with Oreo, candy sprinkle and birthday cake schmear. Have fun building your own spreads at home with their loose bagels, including the whole wheat, rye, triple chocolate, everything and cinnamon raisin bagels. The Sana Ol, is among their newest bagels, a riff on the everything bagel with peanut, kaffir lime, pinipig, dilis and chilli flakes.
2. Brie & Rye Bakery
Location: Pasig City
Helmed by Richie and Myka Manapat, Brie & Rye Bakery (named after their kids) offers some of the most unique loaves around, specialising in German breads. Their selection of kastenbrote (literally “boxed bread”, referring to tinned loaves) has included vollkornbrot (wholemeal and rye with cooked wheat berries), roggenkastenbrot (sourdough rye), sonnenblumenbrot (wholewheat and rye with sunflower seeds) and saatenbrot (dense seeded rye with pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and linseeds, free of wheat). The Bavarian-style pretzels are not to be missed either—they’ve also created pretzel buns perfect for sandwiches and sliders.
Read more: Richard Manapat's Brie & Rye Bakery
3. Chef Josh Boutwood
Location: The Test Kitchen, Rockwell, Makati City; Ember, Greenbelt 3, Makati City; Juniper, Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City
Anyone who’s dined at chef Josh Boutwoood’s restaurants will know very well that he makes some of the best breads in town. His sourdough has become somewhat of a signature: beautifully chewy with marked tang, thanks to his nearly nine-year-old starter, Sebastian. The good news? You can order whole loaves to take home. Simply arrange for pickup at The Test Kitchen, Ember or Juniper with at least 24 hours’ notice.
Tatler Tip: The Test Kitchen will soon launch holiday hampers featuring their sourdough and house-made butter.
4. Harina Studio
Location: Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Championing the principles of slow food, Harina Studio is a home-based operation that prides itself on its quality ingredients and consistent products. Head baker Daischiell Cledera took up culinary arts at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde before pursuing training abroad, eventually returning home to work as a pastry chef at various restaurants before opening Harina Studio. She made her first loaf of sourdough in 2016 and never looked back.
Today, Harina Studio offers two basic sourdoughs to suit your preferences: the blonde with a mellow tang and the brune with a nuttier depth. In addition, Cledera offers garlic-asiago sourdough plus brioche and milkbread in various shapes and sizes. Beyond bread, she also creates a stunning tomato galette with a sourdough pie crust and hot honey, among other baked goods. The chocolate chunk cookies, the very first item she sold, even before her sourdoughs, also remain on the menu—chewy with a crisp exterior, with a distinctively dark brown colour that can only mean lots of flavour.
Tatler Tip: Explore the holiday menu featuring pan de sal with queso de bola pimiento, sapin-sapin brioche and a bright calamansi butter cake.
5. Likhang Harina
Location: Pasig City
Likhang Harina showcases sourdough in all its versatility. Expect a full spectrum of flavours, from classic country and rye to jalapeño cheddar, cranberry walnut, double dark chocolate and rosemary focaccia. Baker Janna Lim also folds sourdough discards into her well-loved cookies, achieving an addictive chew. Beyond sourdough, she also bakes a cinnamon-orange morning bun and a matcha yama shokupan.
Tatler Tip: The deli is open daily from 7am onwards, serving spinach three-cheese dip, kimchi grilled cheese sandwich, chicken salad bites and even lasagna. Can’t get enough of sourdough? Try their sourdough pasta, too.
See also: Food fermentation in Asia: a culinary atlas of pickles, pastes and probiotics
6. Maker and Made
Location: Milestone at Fifth Avenue, BGC, Taguig City
This Australian-inspired brunch spot takes sourdough seriously—so much so that guests can even sign up for one of their sourdough workshops. Past sourdough classes have included workshops for country-style loaves, focaccia and even doughnuts and pizza. Just interested in picking up some bread? Browse Maker and Made’s selection of sourdough, including the sourdough pan de sal, sourdough bagel, and sourdough “Ad-Rye” made with adlai and rye.
Tatler Tip: Maker and Made also hosts workshops for coffee, pasta, matcha and other specialities. On December 11, they’ll be hosting an advanced sourdough masterclass and workshop by guest chef Paul Albert, fermentation expert and father of their 160-year-old sourdough starter, Kolby.
7. Manila Bake
Location: Quezon City
Manila Bake first caught our attention at Metronome, where chef Miko Calo spotlighted local artisans through a collaborative bread basket. One standout was a mini multigrain loaf with black rice, adlai and monggo, crafted by Manila Bake’s Gretchen Consunji-Lim.
This barely scratches the surface of Manila Bake’s impressive range. The black rice and whole wheat loaf remains a bestseller, while the sweet potato dinner rolls, banh mi baguettes, chubby milk bread and City Sour sourdough all have devoted fans. Sweet offerings like calamansi muffins, brioche cinnamon rolls and buñuelos further round out the selection.
Tatler Tip: Consider ordering their frozen Chinese scallion pancakes—one reader even uses them to transform leftovers into fun wraps and make meals more exciting for kids and adults alike.
Read more: From Melbourne to Manila: Kariton reimagines Filipino flavours through gelato
8. Naked Bakery
Location: Quezon City
A straightforward bakeshop with “nothing to hide”, Naked Bakery only has four breads on the menu: a brioche bun, a brioche loaf, a sourdough loaf and the most intriguing of the bunch, the schiacciatta. Hard to spell but easy to enjoy, this Italian-style bread is favoured for being light and airy, with a chewy centre and slightly crisp exterior, making it the ideal vessel for sandwiches.
Tatler Tip: They suggest enjoying the schiacciatta with some mortadella, mozzarella, mayo and pesto—but we recommend snagging a jar of their compound butters for an easy flavour booster. Opt between the Hulk Butter with fresh garlic and herbs, or the spicy Hellboi with Calabrian ‘nduja.
9. Needletail Bakehouse
Location: Central Square, BGC, Taguig City
Needletail Bakehouse keeps its menu concise but compelling. Their signature sourdough, made with freshly milled organic einkorn, delivers deep, nutty flavour, while a seeded variation offers added texture and nutrition. Convenience is another draw: simply drop by their Central Square shop for a quick bread fix, and treat yourself to their sea salt chocolate chip cookies or brioche doughnuts while you’re there.
Tatler Tip: Needletail Bakehouse’s Suzette rum cake is back for the holidays. This elegantly simple wreath-shaped orange butter rum cake is perfect for gifting, soaked in rum butter sauce and adorned with roasted almonds and candied orange peels.
10. Paolo Vasquez
Location: Makati City
Small-batch by design, Paolo Vasquez bakes only a dozen loaves a day. His signature sourdough country loaf, baked in a Dutch oven, is the constant, though he occasionally releases limited runs of seeded, jalapeño cheddar, cranberry walnut and other fun experiments. Pre-orders are essential, but keep an eye on Instagram for surprise extras.
11. Scratch
Location: Comuna, Makati City
Scratch has easily become one of the hottest brunch spots in the city, attracting regular lines out the door week after week. While their space operates as a commissary on weekdays, you can also pre-order their bread: signature sourdough, seeded sourdough, brown butter oat porridge sourdough, focaccia and banana loaf. Our pick of the bunch? Their moreish, if not slightly addictive soft pretzel, served with burnt honey cream.
Tatler Tip: When visiting the shop on weekends, don’t miss out on their crowd-favourite cardamom bun.
12. W Bakehouse
The most popular recommendation from our readers!
Location: Mandaluyong City
Paolo and Dane Wong’s micro-bakery has grown into a bustling operation serving both loyal customers and F&B establishments. Specialising in naturally leavened, slow-fermented breads, W Bakehouse’s sourdough takes centre stage, with readers highlighting their sharp cheddar sourdough. Craving something sweet? Their Liège waffles and honey butter tarts also received special mention.
Tatler Tip: Their holiday line-up is worth exploring: rosemary focaccia, dark chocolate brioche babka and a playful shokupan de sal—a cross between Japanese milk bread and the local pan de sal.
About
Lauren’s love for food came much later in life than one would expect— an obsession awakened in the streets of Melbourne’s multicultural dining scene. Armed with this newfound passion, she returned to the Philippines determined to discover the best eats in her home country, with a personal advocacy to champion local cuisines and homegrown talent. Nothing is off-limits; if it’s delicious, it’s worth celebrating.
Work
As Tatler Dining associate editor, Lauren covers all things food and drink, from listing the latest openings in our monthly Dining Radar to interviewing chefs and bartenders about the biggest obstacles crippling the industry today. Beyond the digital space, she also organises Tatler Dining’s tentpole events, including Off Menu and Tatler Dining Kitchen, as well as the annual Tatler Best Philippines awards night and guide launch, detailing the best restaurants in the country.
For leads and event invites, contact her via lauren@tatlerphilippines.com or follow her on Instagram at @laurengolangco.
Photo: Ralph Mendo
