10 Date-Worthy Restaurants
Your table for two will look its best in these lovely culinary haunts
With Valentine's Day a few days away, you might be looking for a special place where you and your significant other can spend some quality time while enjoying good food. Aside from checking the menu, you may want to research on the restaurant's overall ambiance, too. To help you prepare for the day of hearts, we've rounded up 10 choices that you may want to consider:
1. Lemuria
- 5 Julieta Circle Horseshoe Village, Quezon City
- Contact Details: (02) 724-5211 | 722-2185 | 721-5352 | (0927) 428-4202 | lemuria[at]brumms.com.ph
Romance will certainly come alive in this fine dining staple. Tucked in a hidden corner of Quezon City, this house turned restaurant has been the site of many a proposal.
Its excellent menu, lush garden, warm bricks accents, terracotta tiles, and dim lighting set a wonderful stage to celebrate love. If you’re a sucker for V-Day clichés, this is the place for you.
2. Elbert's Steak Room
- 3/F Sagittarius Building III, 111 HV de la Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City
- Contact Details: (02) 519-8665 | (0917) 529-9392 | steakroom.com
Perfect for the cosmopolitan couple, this chic spot in Salcedo Village plays host to a great wine selection and, as the name implies, impeccably tasty steak. Wooden floors, club chairs you can sink deep into, cushy seating, and a quiet, low-key ambience pair warmth and comfort with the restaurant’s signature upmarket style.
3. Mecha Uma
- 25th Street, btween 5th and 6th Avenue, RCBC Savings Bank Corporate Center, Bonifacio South, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
- Contact Details: (02) 801-2770 | (0917) 544-3226
Japanese food is so prevalent in and around the city, you can get your sushi, ramen, and tempura fix practically anywhere and at any budget. For Valentine’s Dday, you’re probably going to want something a little more upscale, a little more special. For premium taste, inventive cooking and interiors that ship you straight to the heart of urban Tokyo, you won’t go wrong with Mecha Uma.
4. Tahanan Bistro
- Upper floor, Benji Reyes’ residence, Lores Farm Subdivision, Antipolo (access through Ortigas Avenue Extension and Sumulong Highway)
- Contact Details: (0925)880-1487 | info[at]tahananbistro.com
Furniture maker and master woodworker Benji Reyes has been known for many years for his rustic, organic furniture and his bucolic Antipolo home. The breezy home’s second floor is now home to a Filipino-themed restaurant—a perfect match for the greenery you find looking back at you through the windows, and the cool mountain air. Nature lovers and those who love the slow life will easily feel at home right here.
5. Blackbird
- Ayala Triangle Walkways, Makati
- Contact No. (02) 828-4888
Nostalgia rings strong and true here at the former Nielson Tower. The former airport set right beside the Ayala Triangle Gardens has evolved over time. It was once the setting for Filipinas Heritage Library, as well as a venue for parties and events. These days, the fine dining of Blackbird pairs well-known plates with the romance of old Manila.
6. Antonio's
- Purok 138, Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City, Batangas
- Contact Details: (0917) 899-2866 | (0918) 899-2866
No list of romantic restaurants would be complete without this out of town staple. If you’re ready for a drive out of the city, it would serve you well to enjoy the iconic tiles, the beautiful chandeliers, and the high ceilings of Antonio’s.
7. Ninyo Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge
- 66 Esteban Abada Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
- Contact No. (02) 426-0301
Esteban Abada and the Katipunan area have evolved to become a fun, eclectic community, offering tastes that cater to everyone from the neighborhood’s university students all the way to long-time residents tucked away in the surrounding villages. For many years, Ninyo has offered fine dining for the QC crowd. Its lush greens paired with the house-turned-restaurant vibe give diners several pockets that offer privacy and intimacy perfect for V-day dining.
8. Gallery Vask
- 5/F Clipp Center, 11th Avenue corner 39th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
- Contact No. (02) 217-6563
Romance and fine art go hand in hand, and this posh restaurant offers both along with fine tapas, special courses, as well as degustation menus. Great for those seeking to find an extra-special gastronomic experience, Vask is set in an expansive space that houses a wide range of art too. Who knows—your date may just pick up an art piece along with the tab?
9. Van Gogh Is Bipolar
- 154 Maginhawa Street, Diliman, Quezon City
- Contact No. (02) 824-3051
If you’re looking for an off the cuff, endearingly oddball place to bring your manic pixie dream girl date, then this is the spot for you. Already making waves before Maginhawa street became home to a flurry of restaurants and student-friendly hotspots, this funky restaurant offers an experience unlike any other. Filled with tchotchkes and teapots, artworks and old furniture, it’s the perfect setting to fall in love in an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole.
10. Cup Fiction
- 141 Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
- Contact No. (02) 814-3031
Who says Valentine’s Day means going out for a fancy dinner? If you’re in the mood for a low-key hang instead, this café is new, comfortable, and perfect for that Instagram photo.
Go below the radar and redefine how you’re spending your hearts day with this coffee shop’s polished concrete floors, pretty shelves, and its signature mural wall.
