Makati is Manila's business district, with towers and some of the best bars in the country, and BGC is next door. Run Rabbit Run, the Apotheka techno club, the Commune café, the El Chupacabra taquería, two churches and the memorial cemetery come from my list of saved places. It had hardly any food, so I added the Manam, Blackbird and Toyo Eatery restaurants, Yardstick Coffee and The Curator and oto bars on the advice of travel guides and blogs, and checked them on Google: still open, rated 4.2 or higher. Every description is put together from Google Maps reviews; I'll add my own notes after the trip.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 100 ₱ ≈ $1.60.
In short
- Filipino food: Manam by Ayala Triangle is easy and affordable; Toyo Eatery is a tasting dinner you eat with your hands. Book ahead.
- Dinner in an old airport: Blackbird in the 1937 Nielson Tower, with an art deco interior.
- Cocktails: Run Rabbit Run and oto in Poblacion, and The Curator in Legaspi Village.
- Tacos and beer: El Chupacabra in Poblacion, open until 1 a.m. every day.
- Coffee: Yardstick Coffee in Legaspi Village, for a sea salt latte or a filter of Filipino beans, or Commune in Poblacion, open from 8:00 until midnight.
- Quiet among the towers: Manila American Cemetery in BGC and Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park.
Makati and BGC
Manam at the Triangle
Ayala Triangle · Filipino food · 500–1,000 ₱ (≈$8–16) · Mon–Fri 10:00–22:00, Sat–Sun 9:00–22:00
Google Maps · booking · Ayala Triangle Walkways
According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 1,400+): the flagship of a popular modern Filipino chain, and the only branch that takes bookings and has dishes you won't find at the others. Reviewers praise the watermelon sinigang and the beef short rib sinigang, crispy sisig, shrimp Bicol express and chicharon bulaklak; you can order small plates to try more. Many are pleasantly surprised by the bill. At peak times it's hard to get in without a booking.
Blackbird
Ayala Triangle · restaurant in an old airport building · daily 11:00–22:00
Google Maps · website · Nielson Tower, Makati Ave
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 2,100+): a restaurant in Nielson Tower, the 1937 terminal of the old airport from when Makati Ave and Paseo de Roxas were runways. An Art Deco room with a spiral staircase, a garden terrace and good cocktails. Reviewers praise the lamb rendang, the massaman lamb shank, the Scotch eggs and the burnt butter ice cream. Many found the food just fine; you come for the setting. Book ahead.
Toyo Eatery
Karrivin Plaza · tasting menu · from 5,000 ₱ (≈$80) · Tue–Sat 18:00–23:00
Google Maps · website · The Alley at Karrivin, Chino Roces Ave Ext
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 790+): the restaurant Asia's 50 Best has named the best in the Philippines. The tasting dinner here is filling: dishes are served to share, and in the kamayan format you eat with your hands. The chef tells the story of ingredients from all over the country; reviewers single out the siomai with rice, the sisig and the tuna kilawin, and you leave with a bottle of house lambanog. Dinner only; book well ahead.
El Chupacabra
Poblacion · Mexican taquería · 500–1,000 ₱ (≈$8–16) · daily 11:00–1:00
Google Maps · Facebook · 5782 Felipe
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 2,400+): a street taquería in Poblacion that regulars have loved for over ten years, with painted walls you can write on and cold, cheap beer. Reviewers praise the tacos (California fish, carnitas, sisig, birria) and the horchata. Downsides: the burrito and quesadilla are much lighter on filling than the tacos, the carne asada is on the sweet side, and service slows down at peak times.
Yardstick Coffee
Legaspi Village · coffee shop & roaster · up to 500 ₱ (≈$8) · Mon–Thu 7:00–20:00, Fri–Sun 7:00–22:00
Google Maps · website · 106 Esteban St
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 1,300+): a spacious coffee shop where locals come after a run or to work on a laptop. Reviewers praise the sea salt latte and filter coffee from Philippine beans such as Atok. The queue can be long, especially on Sundays, but it's well organised. Some found the coffee ordinary and the sandwiches hit-and-miss.
Commune Café + Bar + Roastery
Poblacion · café, bar and roaster · up to 500 ₱ (≈$8) · Sun–Thu 8:00–0:00, Fri–Sat 8:00–1:00
Google Maps · website · 36 Polaris
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,500+): a roomy café-bar brewing Filipino coffee, where at weekends the tables are nearly full within half an hour of opening. Reviewers praise the espresso, the sweet buko pandan latte, the pesto pasta and the sandwiches; there are pour-over workshops, an events room upstairs and resident cats. Downsides: desserts are small for the price, and some find a few dishes too salty.
The Curator Coffee & Cocktails
Legaspi Village · café by day, cocktail bar by night · up to 2,000 ₱ (≈$32) · daily from 7:00; Mon until 17:00, Tue–Thu & Sun until 0:30, Fri–Sat until 1:30
Google Maps · Instagram · 134 Legazpi St
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 870+): a coffee shop by day and, at night, a speakeasy from the Asia's 50 Best Bars list. The bartenders tell stories and build drinks around your taste, even off the menu; the black sesame cocktail gets a special mention. The downside: not everyone thinks a cocktail at around 700 ₱ is worth it. Sit at the bar if you want to talk to the bartenders.
Run Rabbit Run
Poblacion · cocktail bar & coffee shop · 500–1,000 ₱ (≈$8–16) · coffee Mon–Sat 8:00–16:00; bar Mon–Wed 18:00–1:00, Thu until 2:00, Fri until 3:00, Sat 20:00–3:00, Sun 18:00–1:00
Google Maps · website · 4347 B. Valdez St
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 380+): for many, the best bar in Makati, a former speakeasy that's no longer so hidden. The bartenders suggest drinks after a chat; reviewers praise the Monocle, the Dirty Monkey, the Tipsy Halo Halo made with ube rum and local spirits like Don Papa rum. With your drinks: fries with banana ketchup. Good for a date or a group; a few cocktails run sweet.
oto
Poblacion · cocktail bar · 500–1,000 ₱ (≈$8–16) · Tue–Thu and Sun 11:00–1:00, Fri–Sat 11:00–2:00, closed Mon
Google Maps · Instagram · 5883 Enriquez
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 290+): a small cocktail bar with a great sound system, the one people suggest when you ask where to go in Poblacion. The bartenders happily mix things that aren't on the menu and tell you which bars to try next; reviewers praise the balanced signature cocktails and bar food like calamari. Hardly any complaints.
Apotheka Manila
Poblacion · techno club · 500–2,000 ₱ (≈$8–32) · Wed–Sat 21:00–4:00
Google Maps · Instagram · Dona Carmen St, corner of General Luna St
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 150+): a club with a big dance floor playing techno, not EDM, and working air con. Tickets are sold online in advance. Reviews are split: some danced all night, others complain about fog so thick you can't see, repetitive music, hard concrete benches in the VIP area and no song requests. Go if techno is what you're after.
Santuario de San Antonio
Forbes Park · church · Tue–Sat 8:00–17:00, Sun 9:00–16:00, closed Mon
Google Maps · website · 3117 McKinley Rd
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 1,500+): a 1950s church in Forbes Park near the entrance to BGC, a favourite for weddings, with a simple cream-and-white façade and a gilded altarpiece. It's air-conditioned inside, and Sunday mass is in English. The car park is big but fills up fast. Couples who married here complained about how weddings are handled.
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
BGC · war memorial · daily 9:00–16:45
Google Maps · website · 1634 McKinley Rd, Taguig
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 460+): a memorial cemetery of about 60 hectares with more than 17,000 graves, most of them American soldiers killed in the Second World War; Filipino forces are honoured too. Rows of white marble headstones, clipped lawns and mahogany trees stand in sharp contrast to the BGC towers next door. The visitor centre has interactive displays on the war. One of the quietest, best-kept places in Manila.
One last thing
Toyo Eatery only opens Tuesday to Saturday, so book ahead; Santuario de San Antonio is closed on Mondays too. Manila American Cemetery closes at 16:45, so go in the afternoon and spend the evening in Makati, where the restaurants and bars are close together. Run Rabbit Run is a coffee shop by day (Mon–Sat 8:00–16:00), and Apotheka sells its tickets online in advance. Commune, El Chupacabra, oto and Run Rabbit Run are a few blocks apart in Poblacion, easy to string into one evening; oto is closed on Mondays.
More on Manila: Intramuros and Ermita, Binondo and Escolta.