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Bars & Spirits

7 stories

A curled fried octopus tentacle with a lemon wedge and a dollop of aioli on a dark ceramic plate at Juniper in Ortigas

Drops of Juniper

Juniper, like its namesake botanical, weaves a story of depth, complexity, and quiet strength. It’s a restaurant, yes, but it’s also an exploration.

By Igan D'Bayan · March 27, 2025
Weihenstephan beer bottles chilling in an ice-filled wooden tub, ringed by empty branded wheat-beer glasses

Bigger, better and Bavarian to the core

Oktoberfest returns to Newport World Resorts this October, with Weihenstephan brews, Bavarian feasts and Austria’s AnTon Showband.

By Igan D'Bayan · September 12, 2024
Group portrait of TGI Fridays One Ayala team members in their black uniforms posing together inside the restaurant

Mojo risin’: A tale of set meals and endless mojitos

Bottomless mojitos, set meals and a little existential drift: an afternoon at TGI Fridays One Ayala, where P345 buys as many mojitos as the heat demands.

By Igan D'Bayan · July 18, 2024
The Bistro Group executives Lisa Ronquillo-Along and Divine Peralta smiling in front of a brightly lit modern restaurant interior

A night of dragon potions and Red Lotus eaters

A dinner of Sichuan Sour and Shanghai Spritz becomes a night of wild print-industry tales, at a resto-bar built for lowering your defenses.

By Igan D'Bayan · April 21, 2024
Bartenders in black mix cocktails behind a bar lined with martini glasses, a wall of shochu and sake bottles glowing behind them

Communing with Japanese spirits

Not guzzling but communing: an evening of Kagoshima sweet potato and barley shochu, four cocktails and folklore at a Bonifacio Global City izakaya

By Igan D'Bayan · February 15, 2024
Richard Paterson raises a nosing glass of whisky in a navy blazer and striped tie

If a Jackson Pollock painting were a drink, it would be single malt Scotch

Richard Paterson, the nose behind The Dalmore, holds court in Uptown Bonifacio on casks, memory, and why a great single malt behaves like a Pollock.

By Igan D'Bayan · September 1, 2018
Patrons gathering at the bar inside the legendary Penguin Cafe in Malate

Last rites at Penguin

A last drink at Penguin Cafe in Malate: Noli Aurillo plucking, a Rolling Stones epitaph, and thanks for all the fish crackers.

By Igan D'Bayan · January 4, 2010