Planning a reunion is easy; picking a good place to celebrate it is hard. Calling up your friends and setting a date wins half the battle, but trying to agree on one place loses it, especially with the varying personalities in the group.
To help you out, we’ve listed seven restaurants that can satisfy your friends and family. Read on and see which dining spot would make a great venue for your reunion.
1. Kko Kko Home: For the K-drama fanatics
Address: 67 West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City
Operating hours: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Munch on Kko Kko Home’s Chicken Cheese Fondue while gushing over your favorites oppas. (Images: Kko Kko PH Facebook Page)
Kko KKo Home is not an unlimited Korean barbecue restaurant that leaves its diners smelling like smoke, so if you and your K-drama chingu-deul (friends in Korean) are looking for a great Korean venue for your reunion that veers away from the usual, Kko Kko Home can be a unique choice.
Kko Kko Home is owned by TV personality Grace Lee, and the restaurant offers dishes created by her own mother. Kko Kko Home boasts of authentic Korean cuisine which will make its customers feel like they’re in a real Korean home. Its Chicken Cheese Fondue (PhP658/half, PhP988/whole) filled with melted mozzarella cheese is perfect for sharing with your fellow K-drama fanatics.
Address: Burgos Circle, Forbes Town Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Operating hours: 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Susi’s El Chimichurri Burger (Images: L, Karyl Anne Lanting; R, Leila Ayo)
Christmas can be very unforgiving on your health-buff friends, but you can still skip all the fats and carbs and celebrate in a healthier way. Susi is one such venue where you can do so. It offers gluten-free and 100% vegan dishes and steers away from animal and animal by-products such as egg, cheese, milk.
Susi’s El Chimichurri (PhP475) will make you wonder how the beet burger manages to still be vegan when it tastes like real meat. Same goes with their Mac & Geez (PhP295); it will confuse the kid in you as its cheese is actually made from soy cream and carrots.
Address: 7615 Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati City
Operating hours: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Minimalist art and fancy burgers at Gilt’s Burger (Images: L, Gilt Burger Facebook Page; R, Norman Lester Talla)
For folks who are into art and burgers at the same time, you can opt to have your reunion at Gilt Burger in Makati. Although art-inspired, it not like most artsy places; do not expect walls covered with hundreds of paintings or trinkets abounding in every corner. Instead, upon entering Gilt Burger you’ll find minimalist interiors with pops of colors and art works in their dining area.
Gilt Burger has elevated the usual burger by adding luxurious ingredients and using high quality meat. First-timers who want something familiar can opt for the The OG (PhP322) with double Angus beef patty with American cheese and the ‘saucy sauce.’
4. The Wild Poppy: For the not-so-wild party animals
Address: 2/F 5666 Don Pedro St., Poblacion, Makati City
Operating hours: Monday to Thursday, 6:00 PM to 1:00 AM; Friday to Saturday, 6:00 PM to 3:00 AM; Closed on Sundays.
The Wild Poppy’s Hoi, Belly! Bun (right) (Images: The Wild Poppy Facebook Page)
Reunions often mean partying hard and drinking harder, but if your group is too old for a hangover and rave nights, The Wild Poppy might be for you. The Wild Poppy is a creative jungle in the middle of the busy city of Makati; it is filled with pops of colors and live plants that give off a laidback feel.
The Wild Poppy is a great venue to enjoy a drink or two with your buddies minus the blaring stereos in the club. It serves a wide range of wine and liquors along with its Asian fusion menu. Among the favorites in Wild Poppy’s menu is Hoi, Belly! Bun (PhP140), a hoisin-glazed pork belly in a cuapao.
5. Barcino: For the titas who’re not afraid of ‘adulting’
Address: G/F Ayala Malls Vertis North, North Ave., Quezon City
Operating hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM; Thursday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 3:00 AM
Wine and dine and celebrate being an adult while sipping some of Barcino’s wide range of wine. (Images: Barcino Instagram)
If your group wants a swankier and more mature kind of reunion, why not try out a wine bar? Barcino is one of the most popular wine bars in the country. It has multiple branches in Metro Manila, with the one in Vertis North as its newest. It offers Spanish cuisines and wines that will elevate a usual night out.
Barcino prides itself in bringing wines from known Spanish wine regions such as Penedes, Rioja, and Ribera del Duero and other parts of the world, but it is its Sangria (PhP280/glass) that’s one of the bestsellers. Its wide range of tapas or appetizers also pairs well with its wine.
6. Cup Fiction: For the bookworms and creatives
Address: 141 White Plains, Katipunan Ave., Brgy. St. Ignatius, Quezon City
Operating hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 7:30 AM to 12:00 AM
Reunite with your fellow bookworms over a cup of coffee. (Images: Cup Fiction Instagram)
If you’re a book-lover, chances are you have a book club. What better way to celebrate your reunion than in a book café such as Cup Fiction? The café is a haven for bookworms, with works of both foreign and local authors displayed in the dining area. The best part is you can take home some of these books as they are actually for sale.
Cup Fiction has a wide range of coffee provided by #YKW. Its Flat White (PhP150) paired with its The BFG Cookie (PhP105) makes for a good company for a lazy afternoon or a chill reunion with your fellow bookworms.
7. Sangkap: For the family and the friends that you treat like one
Address: Portico, Capitan Javier St., Oranbo, Pasig City
Operating hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM; Friday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Cebu Lechon Sinigang at Sangkap (Images: Sangkap Facebook)
Despite a busy schedule, family should always be the priority. To treat your family this Christmas, you can give them a Filipino feast away from home at Sangkap. It serves Filipino dishes with influences from different provinces in the country. Sangkap’s dishes plus the rustic vibe of its interiors will make your mom and pop feel welcomed and at home.
If you have Mindanaoan roots, Sangkap’s Zamboanga Adobong Baka sa Gata (PhP360/PhP695) might be able to remind you of home. And if you’re a Cebuano or just a fan of Cebu lechon, its Cebu Lechon Sinigang (PhP370/PhP550) is not to be missed.
No matter how many cliques you have and whatever your group is into, there’s a venue perfect for your reunion. Let us know on the comment section below which dining spot fits your group!
About Patricia Marie Prado
Patricia came from the field of business and accounting but is now pursuing her dreams of being a writer. She is a self-confessed introvert and is passionate about reading, travelling, writing, movies, coffee and God. When she's not writing, she loves discovering new coffee shops/cafe and doing TV-series marathons.
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