Regina Troy Barrios

Editor’s List: The Best Halo-Halo In Manila, 2026 Edition

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<p>It’s halo-halo season again, when Manila’s sweltering heat makes an icy dessert a life essential. Luckily, halo-halo is everywhere. Unluckily, most of it is not worth your time: too sweet, too coarse, or simply built without much thought. The best halo-halo understands balance—finely shaved ice, controlled sweetness, and textures that hold until the last bite without turning to slush. We went looking across the city—from hotel counters to fast food chains—for halo-halo that still understands the assignment. This year’s list includes a southern Mindanao interpretation, a kakigori-inspired glass, a Negrense take, and a hotel grande dame that has been doing this longer than most of us have been ordering dessert.</p><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/azuki.toyo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Azuki Toyo</strong></a></h3><p>AzukiToyo’s halo-halo is a Japanese kakigori-inspired version, where finely shaved ice is built to hold the components rather than blend them together. Ube appears in multiple forms, langka shifts between fruit and sauce, and small pockets of leche flan emerge as you dig in. Each spoonful changes slightly, the dessert revealing itself layer by layer. A playful dessert to eat. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776839583652Azuki Toyo 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Japanese kakigori-inspired halo-halo | Photo: Azuki Toyo </span></span></span></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bebang.halohalo/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Bebang Halo-Halo</strong></a></h3><p>Bebang calls itself the creamiest halo-halo in the solar system—and it’s hard not to take the claim lightly once it arrives. The Royal Halo-halo is a maximalist glass built on leche flan, pandan jelly, strawberry, peach, blueberry, mango, sago, ube halaya, macapuno, pistachio, cashew, and mallow fluff, finished with shavings of 24-karat edible gold. It is indulgent, playful, and unapologetically over the top. We love how it’s designed for delivery, so it hold its texture to the last spoonful.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVNrFQqiY-i/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1080&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A393006%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/halfsaints/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Half Saints</strong></a></h3><p>This playful, chef-driven halo-halo is light and layered, and comes in two versions: Ube Cheesecake Hālo-Hālo, layered with house-made ube halaya, cream cheese, and graham crackers; and Banana con Hielo Hālo-Hālo, with banana, butterscotch, sago, almond-cashew praline, mochi, shaved ice, coconut tres leches foam, leche flan, and rice crispies. Available until June.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776839948612Half Saints ed.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Banana con Hielo and Ube Cheesecake Halo-Halo | Photo: Half Saints</span></span></span></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ilustradorestaurant/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Ilustrado</strong></a></h3><p>Ilustrado’s halo-halo is a classic, heritage-inspired version served in Intramuros, is composed of finely shaved ice and creamy milk layered with sweetened plantains, sweet potatoes, jackfruit, coconut jelly, red beans, macapuno, and pinipig. It is finished with leche flan and ube ice cream. A refined, traditional halo-halo that leans on balance, quality ingredients, and a sense of history.</p><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/manamph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Manam</strong></a></h3><p>Manam’s halo-halo is a modern Filipino version of the classic, made with finely shaved ice and evaporated milk layered with macapuno, langka, sweetened beans, and assorted jellies. It is finished with a slice of leche flan and a scoop of ube macapuno ice cream. The result is creamy, rich, and deliberately indulgent, a dessert designed to be the perfect finale after a huge meal of Filipino comfort food.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840182491Manam2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Manam</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/milkywaycafe_makati/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Milky Way Café</strong></a></h3><p>Milky Way Café’s halo-halo is a classic, old-fashioned interpretation from a decades-old institution, and one of the most perfectly proportioned versions in the city. Red and green gulaman, beans, macapuno, kaong, saba, and ube sit in finely shaved ice and milk in careful balance. Nothing is exaggerated, nothing is missing. A simple, enduring halo-halo done exactly as it should be.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840241272Milky Way.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Milky Way Café</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/noburestaurantmanila/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Nobu Manila</strong></a></h3><p>This Japanese interpretation of halo-halo debuted in 2015 as part of a multicourse dinner. It reimagines the Filipino classic through Japanese technique and ingredients, using coconut water snow as its base instead of shaved ice. Layered into it are yuzu gelée, green tea crisps, adzuki beans, coconut sesame mochi, sweet condensed milk, and ube ice cream. An elevated, luxe take on halo-halo.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840323870NOBU HALO-HALO.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Nobu Manila</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/palmgrillph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Palm Grill</strong></a></h3><p>Palm Grill’s knickerbocker is an authentic Zamboanga-style dessert made with chunks of fresh fruit—typically mango, banana, and watermelon—folded into sweetened cream and coconut jelly, and topped with strawberry ice cream. There is no shaved ice here, so the fruit stays front and center. A famous delicacy from southern Mindanao.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840383104Palm Grill 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Knickerbocker | Photo: Palm Grill </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/razonsofguagua.ph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Razon’s of Guagua</strong></a></h3><p>Razon’s of Guagua is a Pampanga classic built with just three essentials: saba, macapuno, and leche flan. The finely shaved ice dissolves almost on contact, while the thick and creamy base pulls it all together. There is also a KLM version with keso, langka, and mais, topped with cheese ice cream and cornflakes, but the original remains the reference point.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840503299Razons.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Razon&#x27;s of Guagua</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sarsa_mnl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Sarsa</strong></a></h3><p>Sarsa’s halo-halo is a Negrense interpretation, made with 14 ingredients that include salted leche flan, thick house-made ube halaya, and muscovado saba. A rich ube milk mixture is poured over the finely shaved ice, seeping through the layers until everything turns soft, dense, and creamy. Crisp piaya adds a crackle of contrast.</p><div><br/><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840571868Sarsa 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Sarsa </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thepeninsulamanila/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>The Peninsula Manila</strong></a></h3><p>Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo once said The Pen was the first to serve halo-halo in oversize bowls in a classy setting. And after all these years, we still adore the iconic Halo-halo Harana at The Lobby. A toothsome mix of leche flan, chickpeas, sweetened beans, jelly, kaong, nata de coco, ube, sago in syrup, langka, macapuno, and evaporated milk, it is meant for sharing and finished with a generous scoop of ube ice cream and a snowfall of toasted pinipig.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776840685530Peninsula.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Halo-Halo Harana | Photo: The Peninsula Manila </span></span></span></div>

<p>A curated guide to the best halo-halo in Manila for 2026, featuring standout versions from classic institutions, regional interpretations, chef-driven creations, and luxury hotels that define the city’s evolving dessert landscape.</p>

A curated guide to the best halo-halo in Manila for 2026, featuring standout versions from classic institutions, regional interpretations, chef-driven creations, and luxury hotels that define the city’s evolving dessert landscape.

Editor’s List: The Best Halo-Halo In Manila, 2026 Edition

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Editor’s List: The Best Halo-Halo In Manila, 2026 Edition

Troy Barrios

Published April 22, 2026 02:53 PM PHT

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