8 Best Restaurants in Manila by Area and Budget

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8 Best Restaurants in Manila, Grouped by Area

Prices and hours checked November 2026. Entries run from special-occasion dinners to food-court staples, with the neighborhood named first because cross-city traffic shapes any Manila food day. Check the current star and Bib Gourmand status of any Michelin-linked pick on the Metro Manila Michelin listing.

1. Ilustrado, Intramuros

Ilustrado has served Filipino and Spanish food since 1989 at 744 Calle Real del Palacio (Gen. Luna) inside the Walled City. Order the Paella Ilustrado, the ox tongue Lengua Con Setas or the Bagnet with Classic KBL Sauce. Dessert is the show: Mango Jubilee for two is flambeed at the table.

Pair lunch here with a walk to Fort Santiago, where the Intramuros Visitors Center is open daily from 8:00AM to 5:00PM. Skip it if you want a quick, cheap meal, since this is a sit-down heritage dinner.

2. Gallery by Chele, Taguig

Gallery by Chele serves a changing tasting menu of Filipino and Southeast Asian flavors with modern techniques. It sits at 5/F Clipp Center, 11th Avenue corner 39th St, Taguig. The restaurant opened as Gallery VASK in 2013 and took its current name in 2018.

Signature touches include a calamansi butter course with tiger prawns and a Puto Bumbong cocktail made with banana leaf and coconut. Skip it if you dislike long, set-menu meals or travel on a tight budget. Reserve well ahead for dinner.

3. Locavore Kitchen & Drinks, Eastwood, Quezon City

Locavore cooks modern Filipino dishes from local farm ingredients at 1880 Eastwood Ave. Chef Mikel Zaguirre brings a French-trained approach to classics like sisig. Try the fried oyster sisig, the pancit luglog or the Green Curry Bicol Express made with short ribs braised for 5 hours.

It carries a Michelin Recommended listing, per recent coverage. Skip it if you want a quiet, formal room, and note that Eastwood is far from Intramuros and Makati in rush-hour traffic.

4. Manam, Ortigas

Manam is a casual Filipino restaurant with a twist, and most non-dessert dishes come in small, medium or large portions. Order several small plates so you can try more dishes. At the SM Megamall Manam Cafe, the Crispy Pancit Palabok is ₱200 and the Crispy Beef Tadyang is ₱355.

Three Cheese Ensaymada runs ₱200, Bibingka De Leche ₱240 and Ube + Sago ₱110. Skip it if you want a tasting-menu evening, since this suits groups sharing plates.

5. Coral Garden, Banawe, Quezon City

Coral Garden has served Chinese and Fujianese dishes on Banawe St since 1978. Order the Oyster Cake, the Crispy Bean Curd with House Special Black Sauce or the Coral Supreme. Menu items like stir-fried pork kidney are Fujianese, not Filipino.

Dine here for Chinese food in Quezon City, not in Binondo. Skip it if you avoid offal.

6. Gloria Maris, Greenhills

Gloria Maris, on the corner of Missouri St in Greenhills, San Juan, is a fine-dining Chinese restaurant known for dim sum and family-style dishes. Order Peking Duck served two ways, with table-side slicing for the first course.

It also has private rooms and banquet halls, so it suits celebrations and big tables. Skip it if you are dining alone or on a small budget.

7. Mendokoro Ramenba, Taguig

Mendokoro Ramenba is a locally owned ramen bar at 26th Street, Icon Plaza RCBC Building, Taguig. You order at the cashier and wait for a seat at a long counter circling the kitchen. Noodles are made in-house. The tantanmen mixes chili oil with a milky broth.

Ask about off-menu bowls like Super Chashu Ramen. Skip it if you want table service or a long, relaxed meal.

8. Kipp's Chicken, SM Megamall

Kipp's Chicken has sold fried chicken since 1981, in the food courts of SM Megamall and SM Southmall. The Megamall address is EDSA corner J. Vargas Ave., Mandaluyong, in Ortigas. Order the fried chicken with home-style gravy and Spanish rice.

This is the budget pick on the list, and a fast stop between sights. Skip it if you want a sit-down dinner with atmosphere.

Planning Best Restaurants in Manila by Area

Group meals by neighborhood, because Metro Manila spans several cities. In Bonifacio Global City, most destinations are a 5-15 minute walk apart, so Gallery by Chele and Mendokoro Ramenba fit one BGC day. BGC is about 20-30 minutes by car from NAIA Airport, traffic permitting, and the BGC Bus connects it with EDSA Ayala and Market! Market!. Binondo is around an hour from the airport and only a few minutes from Intramuros, so pair Ilustrado with the Binondo walking food route. For dish-level ordering, see the guide to Filipino dishes in Manila. For dessert, try the best halo-halo spots. The area-by-area Manila eating guide covers more neighborhoods. The Department of Tourism's official travel site lists regional experiences.

Mistakes to Avoid When Eating Out in Manila

Book tasting menus and special-occasion dinners early, since Gallery by Chele is a set experience. Check the branch before you go, because Manam, Crisostomo and Barcino run several locations. Do not plan Eastwood, Intramuros and BGC in one evening. Do not treat Coral Garden or Gloria Maris as Binondo stops, since they are in Quezon City and Greenhills. Greenhills Center is also undergoing redevelopment, so expect construction nearby.