Regina Troy Barrios

Dua Lipa and Mark Zuckerberg Love These Churros. Now They’re in Manila

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Dua Lipa is a fan of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chocosangines/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chocolatería San Ginés</a>. So is Mark Zuckerberg. Rafael Nadal stops by when he&#x27;s in Madrid. Naomi Campbell, Stevie Wonder, Willem Dafoe—they&#x27;ve all made the pilgrimage to the narrow alley in Old Madrid where churros are served the traditional way, with chocolate so thick it barely moves when you tilt the cup.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17779518022902.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>From Julio Iglesias and Naomi Campbell to Jimmy Carter—San Ginés is everyone’s guilty pleasure | Photo: San Ginés PH</div>That alley now has a Manila address. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sanginesph/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">San Ginés</a> has opened at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thepodiummall/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Podium</a>, its first outpost in Asia.In Madrid, San Ginés is not so much a restaurant as an institution. People queue for those crisp, yielding churros at all hours—from early breakfast to 4 A.M. runs after the clubs close. You&#x27;ll see people still dressed for the night standing next to early-shift workers. Nobody is too important, too tired, or too famous to wait in that line.San Ginés at The Podium keeps all the essentials: the Spanish tiles, an open station where you can watch the churros being piped and cut, and a wall of famous faces—every photograph taken inside the original Madrid chocolatería, not staged but captured real moments of people who genuinely love these churros and just happen to be famous<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777951906851Workbench Thumbnail.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>The wait is over: San Ginés opened at The Podium | Photo: San Ginés PH</div><h3>One bite and you&#x27;ll understand</h3>The churros are excellent, and they&#x27;re made in the same tradition that has defined San Ginés since 1894.They come hot, crisp on the outside, soft inside, and light enough that you forget they were fried at all. Eat them immediately. They are best in those first few minutes; after that, they are still good, but they are no longer quite the same.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17779522916091.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Delicious golden churros and thick chocolate | Photo: San Ginés PH </div>Yes, you come to San Ginés for the churros. But don&#x27;t leave yet. The rest of the menu deserves attention.We tried the Tortilla Española, which may surprise you — it&#x27;s cooked Madrid-style, runny in the center, rich with onions. &quot;A dry tortilla is a frittata,&quot; says owner Shaan Chainani Suresh, with conviction. The Patatas Bravas are crisp, with a proper salsa brava. There is chistorra, a thin, fast-cured Spanish sausage with deep paprika heat, and the gambas are good. Order those too.Shaan says new dishes will arrive every two weeks. Some will be Manila exclusives — developed for the local market and approved by the Spanish principals, on the condition that they remain true to the character of San Ginés. He is especially anticipating a mussels-and-chips dish with Tabasco, which he is confident will be a crowd favorite. &quot;You take one piece of mussel, put it on a chip, and add Tabasco,&quot; he explains. &quot;You&#x27;re going to tell me it sounds strange, and you&#x27;re not going to understand it until you try it.&quot;The menu also features Spanish tapas and a small selection of paellas<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777952356628DSC09231.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Watching fresh churros frying in hot oil | Photo: San Ginés PH </div><h3>How San Ginés came to Manila</h3>San Ginés is in Manila because Shaan made the case for it—and then did the work to prove he deserved it.He grew up in Spain, married a Filipino, Neelam Gopwani, and began spending more time in Manila. When the idea of bringing San Ginés here came up, the Trapotes family — who have owned Chocolatería San Ginés for generations — had one condition: Shaan had to work in their store. So he did. Three months at the original Madrid chocolatería, making churros, clearing tables, doing whatever needed to be done.At one point, he even served churros to Mark Zuckerberg.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777952393266DSC09054.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/> Cath Sobrevega, Neelam Gopwani, Julia Barretto, and Shaan Chainani Suresh at San Ginés Manila | Photo: San Ginés PH </div>Even before Shaan came into the picture, the Trapotes had already noticed something: Filipinos kept stopping by San Ginés on the way to the airport, suitcases in tow. &quot;They&#x27;d say, &#x27;We&#x27;re going to catch our plane — can we please go to the front of the line?&#x27;&quot; Shaan said. It happened so often that when the time came to choose the first Asian outpost, Manila was the only answer.Shaan&#x27;s favorite memory of San Ginés has nothing to do with expansion plans or franchise agreements. It goes back to childhood. He was walking with his mother when she asked if he wanted churros. They lined up like everyone else, waiting in the cold. When the churros arrived — piping hot, the only way she&#x27;d have them — he understood something that has stayed with him ever since: this was the kind of place you never stop returning to.He has been going back ever since. And now, he has brought San Ginés with him to Manila. <div> </div><div>San Ginés is now open at SM Podium. Follow <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sanginesph/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@sanginesph</a> on Instagram for updates.</div>

Madrid’s legendary Chocolatería San Ginés arrives in Manila, bringing its century-old churros tradition—and the question of whether the hype is justified.

Madrid’s legendary Chocolatería San Ginés arrives in Manila, bringing its century-old churros tradition—and the question of whether the hype is justified.

Dua Lipa and Mark Zuckerberg Love These Churros. Now They’re in Manila

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Dua Lipa and Mark Zuckerberg Love These Churros. Now They’re in Manila

Troy Barrios

Published April 29, 2026 04:50 PM PHT

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Updated May 05, 2026 11:53 AM PHT

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