10 New Family Friendly Restaurants The Clan Will Love
Yes, even your picky, hard-to-please relations will impressed!
It can be a challenge to find a restaurant the whole family will love. Especially if it’s the extended family with grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins and little ones. You’re looking for delicious food served in generous quantities, a comfortable space that can accommodate seniors and little ones, friendly service, and a menu that can cater (or adjust) to all the various needs of the family. Plus, a little style and food that will wow you! Because why should family reunions be dowdy, bland or boring, anyway?
In the sea of new restaurants that opened in Manila in the past two years, we selected these ten for just these reasons. Not only do they provide all the things we’ve already mentioned, their menus offer food that both familiar yet surprising, with delicious little touches that make old favorites seem new again. Rediscover your childhood or go on a delicious food adventure, it's all possible at these places.
P.S. We noted the restaurants that have al fresco spaces and private rooms available, so you don’t have to call and ask!
P.P.S. In case you're wondering, the restaurants are arranged in alphabetical order. Easier for you to find something you accidentally scrolled past. Enjoy!
Family Restaurants 2023
Family Restaurants 2023
Azadore
Designer Ivy Almario and Chef Tatung collaborated to create this stylish retro space that brings back all your favorite memories of family reunions, with the whole clan gathered over favorites like paella mixta with chicken, shrimp, clams, chorizo and a bottom layer of chewy burnt rice; a richly-sauced callos with smoked chorizo, Southern-style fried chicken with gravy and Bourbon barbecue sauce, and comforting soups like Nenit’s molo soup with shrimp and pork dumplings. There are premium steaks to share, sourdough pizzas that taste like the pizzas of childhood, and all the best dishes you remember from lola’s table all those years ago. The beautiful home-turned-restaurant has a joyous vibe with wide al fresco spaces perfect for dinners, and private rooms for more intimate parties. This is officially our new happy place in Quezon City. 0917 101 0070 | FB: @azadorequezoncity | IG: @azadore.qc | 111 Scout Fernandez Street, Sacred Heart, Quezon City.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Bom Gosto
The menu reads like it belongs to a quaint restaurant in a fishing village in southern Europe where the fish is so fresh it’s meat still has that unbelievable sea-sweetness. You’ll find delicacies from Spain, Italy, France and Portugal with lots of classics like almejas a bulhao pato, Portuguese clams steamed in garlic, cilantro and white wine. Or herb crusted fish with garlic lemon hollandaise, lamb rack with marbled potatoes, and a delectable rib eye with olive oil, charred red cabbage and red bell pepper confit. Ask for the catch of the day, explore the slim but stellar wine list, and end on a sweet note with custardy French eclairs or a creamy torrija de chocolate. My only regret is that the restaurant is located in a mall, which somewhat detracts from the illusion of dining in southern Europe. But one merely has to shrug and eat some more of the delectable dishes to be swept away once more into gourmand-land. 0917 576 0888 | FB: @bomgostoph | IG: @bomgostoph | Level 3, The Podium, 18 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Café Fleur
Whisk the family off to a fresh tropical destination, aka Café Fleur. The two-year-old restaurant has a boutique hotel vibe, with a welcoming palette of neutrals, cool blues and warm wood. There’s a semi-al fresco space with garden-style seating. Created by Chef Sau del Rosario in tribute to his mother, the menu offers the most stylish, delicious comfort food as only Chef Sau can make them, from the signature champignon pasta to the duck cassoulet smoked bacon with sausage and cannelli beans. Absolute must have: Chef Sau’s Vuco Fye for dessert — so good you’ll be wanting to take home a whole pie with you. Best to reserve a table in advance, the place gets full fast. 0917 192 8343 | FB: @cafefleur.ph | IG: @cafefleur.ph |cafefleur.ph | 5893 Enriquez Street, Poblacion, Makati.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Casa Buenas
With its elegant chandeliers, capiz wall motifs, machuca tiles, and hand-carved hardwood floors, Casa Buenas is of the most beautiful new spaces in the metro. This is the home of delicious Spanish-Filipino cuisine with such crowd favorites as paellas and grills, and some Filipino classics — they even have a luscious chicken adobo cooked with gata and served in a coconut shell! For private dining, ask for the Gazebo or La Cupula, or reserve the large table in the center of the restaurant. 02 7908 8988 | FB: @casabuenas.ph | IG: @casa_buenas | GF Newport Ground Wing, Resort Drive, Newport World Resorts, Newport City, Pasay
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Deo Gracias
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Jamboree Street in Quezon City is the (nearly) two-year-old culinary playground of Chef Heny Sison and Alex del Hoyo Gómez who hails from Burgos. Here is where to go for fun yet family-friendly Spanish cuisine with such treasures as Cuarto de Cochinillo, a quarter of Castilian-style roast suckling pig served with Andalusian marinated potatoes and salad greens; lengua estofado with pearl onions and cassava chips; and Galician-style pulpo a la gallega with sobrasada cream and pimenton oil. And while we know paellas are ubiquitous on restaurant menus in Manila, their paella de verduras (vegetable paella) has a delightful freshness. With a great wine and cocktail menu, al fresco seating, and enough space to host a large family, this is a great choice for weekends with the clan. Private rooms available. 02 7005 6741 | FB: @deogracias.ph | IG: @deogracias.ph |12 11th Jamboree Street, Quezon City.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Jones All Day
The perfect spot for a gathering of picky eaters who all want their own thing. Jones All Day is an all-around type of bistro serving all-day breakfast, with pastas, pizzas and an eclectic menu of European, American and Asian favorites. With a raw seafood bar, fresh baked bread, and even an artisanal grocery on the premises —if you can’t find what you want here, it doesn’t exist yet. Jones All Day has a warm homey vibe, comfortable seating and an outdoor space perfect for cool summer evenings. 0917 836 2173 | FB: jonesalldayph | IG: @jonesalldayph | GF Serendra, BGC, Taguig.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Rumba
Who said family-friendly restaurants can’t be swanky? Just head to Rumba, a stunning jewel-box of a restaurant with an extensive menu of Mediterranean dishes from Italy, France and Greece, with an especial emphasis on the deep smokey flavors produced in a Mibrasa charcoal oven. Unique offerings include salmon ahumado, smoked salmon wrapped in an air baguette with honey-truffle sour cream and generous amounts of caviar. The dishes are served family-style, including the cheese — I mean the whole wheel of Camembert melted to spread over Melba toast. Must tries include arroces al carbon (charcoal rice) served and with a theatrical flourish. Adults can sip on cocktails, kids will love dessert. 0915 856 4264 | FB: @rumbaphilippines | IG: @rumba_ph | The Shops at Ayala Triangle, Makati Avenue, Makati. (Photo: Paola Aseron)
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
The Loggia by Margarita Forés
Set in a restored prewar mansion, with lots of garden space and romantic charm, The Loggia at Palacio de Memoria is where to go for Italian-Filipino cuisine by its eponymous chef, who was recognized as Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2016. Order the family celebration platters, huge enough to feed the clan. Savor the Paella con Cochinillo or the Paella Setas with mushroom, soffrito and saffron perfume; the duck breast sous vide estofado with fresh and dried mangoes; the lamb with mint butter and grilled polenta with Parmesan cream. The kids can play in the garden while you linger over dessert and drinks. 0917 711 3714 | FB: theloggiaatpalacio | IG: @theloggiaatpalacio | 95 Roxas Boulevard, Parañaque.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Tsokolateria
Perched on the roofdeck of SM Aura, Tsokolateria’s branch in BGC captures the fresh, windy charm of it’s original outlet in Tagaytay. It’s the kind of cozy, charming restaurant that titas and moms adore, complete with a tiny section showcasing Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu’s beautifully-curated line of home decor from sister brand My Happy Home. Everything about Tsokolateria is made with love, especially the generously-portioned dishes — a delightful combination of Filipino favorites and familiar comfort food. Standouts include the flatbread pizzas, the longganisa fundido (oh yum!) with Baguio longganisang hubad to be dipped in melted cheese, the alimango and aligue pasta, the smoked black pasta palabok (you’ll dream about this), and oh, too many to list because how can you choose when they’re all so good? Bring the entire clan, age and inclination won’t matter because they will all fall in love with this very happy place. 0927 323 6513 | FB: @tsokolateria | IG: @tsokolateria | Skypark, Level 5, SM Aura Premier, BGC, Taguig.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Villa Parmigiano
Family dining in a lavish Italian villa is the promise at Villa Parmigiano — and it doesn’t hurt that it’s outside Metro Manila proper. This is the home of cucina Italiana where simple ingredients like tomatoes, olive oil and garlic transform into the most delicious food. We recommend the ravioli filled with creamy pumpkin and ricotta with truffle and ricotta cream sauce, and the Neapolitan-style pizza topped with grapes, mortadella, Parma ham, marinated artichoke hearts and Parmigiano Reggiano. The show stopper is red snapper stuffed with garlic, spices and herbs then roasted and served with prosecco herb butter sauce. Even the simplest dish — the cacio e peppe — is sublime, finished inside a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. There’s lots of space for the family, and an al fresco area for sipping wine in the evenings. 0927 884 7535 | FB: @parmigianoph | IG: @parmigianoph | Daang Hari Road, Alabang West, Las Piñas.
Photo Credit: RESERVE A TABLE
Lead photo: The Loggia by Margarita Forés, Jones All Day, Casa Buenas
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