Whether it's for the cocktail concoctions or the ambience, everyone has a default bar that they like going to for a couple of drinks with friends and to loosen up after a hard day at work.
For Nescafe Gold Spot Awards judge Aileen Anastacio, a good bar is all about the ambience, signature drinks, price points and a good list of bar chow. "The bar chow should taste good too, and they should have good music.'"
For fellow judge JJ Yulo, the bartender makes a great bar. "It's also about the kind of cocktails they serve, and for me–also extremely important is the music they play. It's a total package."
Foodie, Nescafe Gold Spot Awards judge and actress Cherie Gil says, "I think a bar should have a wide variety of drinks to offer, from cocktails to wines and champagnes. Also, a bar must have a yummy selection of appetizers to go with the drinks. I like bars with smiling bartenders and servers, the ones that give you the vibe of 'let's have fun' and 'I'm here to serve all your needs.'
Moreover, the ambience is very important too. The music should be just the right volume, soft enough to be able to speak with the people next to me and not have to scream to be heard."
In Manila where the partying stops only when the last person steps out the door, there are several spots that raise the bar when it comes to serving drinks:
Music: Lounge
Ambience: Cozy, lounge feel
Crowd: Young professionals and expats, wine lovers
Best-selling wine: Bestsellers vary
Best nights to visit: Fridays and Saturdays
Cav in Bonifacio High Street was first to come up with a novel idea of setting up a "wine vending machine," with a good selection of wines in dispenser-like containers, ready for budding oenophiles to get a sip for tasting, or enjoy a half or a full glass. A place that encourages wine education by allowing you to sample different kinds of wine before settling on a bottle, their wine cellar and wine list also offers serious wine enthusiasts options that may not be included in their wine "vending machines."
According to owner Markus Gfeller, "Cav's casual feel, huge wine selection, contemporary bar chow menu, ambience, the Enomatic, our wine dispensing machine, and wine and food pairing program, make it a unique and prime nightspot in Manila."
Music: Spanish
Ambience: Cozy and laid-back
Crowd: Young professionals, wine enthusiasts
Best-selling wine: Beronia, Valformoso Cava, Claudia
Best nights to visit: Fridays and Saturdays
Open since 2006 in Ortigas, the wine shop-turned-tapas bar offers one of the most extensive selection of Spanish wines. Aiming to familiarize Manila to wine drinking and Spanish culture, wine bottles at the bar are sold at the same price as if you were buying retail.
According to Jacquelin Gobing, assistant manager of Barcino, "Barcino is a place where you can find both young and old in the same nightspot, enjoying with their friends or having business meetings. It's a place where there's value-for-money wine and tapas."
Music: Varies nightly: Kat Aggarado (Mondays), The Red Cats (Tuesdays), Manila Paris Confidential (Wednesdays), Skarlet and DJ Cocoy Puyat with '80s Night at Martinis (Thursdays), David Starck and Latin Jazz Night till 1 a.m. and after-hours with Cocoy Puyat (Fridays) and Music and Wine Nights with Elian Habayeb and Ines Cabarrus on Saturdays
Ambience: Laid-back and sophisticated
Crowd: Late 20s and beyond, young professionals, businessmen, celebrities, expats
Signature drinks: Any of the martini drinks, the Manileño, the 007 and the Choco-Chili Martini
Best nights to visit: "Every night is different at Martinis"
Martinis, located at the Mandarin Oriental Manila, offers a wide range of cocktails and imaginative martini drinks. With live jazz music, Art deco interiors and servers wearing cocktail-colored wigs, the martini menu, with drinks such as Choco-chilli Martinis, Sake Martinis and Ginger Martinis, is worth exploring.
"Martinis keeps things interesting by combining all the elements of a good night out. Our cocktails are made with premier alcohol and are freshly made; we mix up the entertainment just to keep things fresh. We create unforgettable parties and events. It's about giving customers the most premium experience–from our drinks, to our service," shares Martinis manager Paolo Quimson.
Music: Breakbeats, funk, Latin, drum n' bass (Thursdays) with DJs Red-i Soundsystem, Mark Zero, Caliph8 and more; Club music from dancefloors worldwide (Fridays) with DJs Badkiss and Kristian Hernandez; House music for the purist (Saturdays) with DJs Kristian Hernandez and Gutsy Au
Ambience: Laid-back chic
Crowd: Young professionals, foreigners and expats, the artsy set
Signature Drink: The "M", Lychee Thaitini, Red Metropolitan, Mojito Q and the "J"
Best nights to visit: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
The restaurant near the Ayala Museum at Greenbelt 4 turns into a nightspot at dusk, with perfect music in the background that ranges from jazz to chill-out tunes. With a satisfying bar list, which includes the "M", Museum Café has become a destination for after-work cocktails and weekend hang-out for Manila's partying set.
Says Andrej Wisniewski, owner of Museum Cafe, "M Cafe is known for its innovative and different live sessions, mixing DJs with live musicians and performers every Thursday, Friday and now, Saturday nights. We are constantly producing cutting-edge and experimental performances, including mashups of house, Brazilelectro, breakbeats, Latin, drum n' bass, and dancehall, with international and local DJs. It's one of the most unique venues and night spots in Manila."
Music: Down tempo, Latin and salsa music on weekdays, pop jazz on Friday and Saturdays
house music and mashups from 9 p.m. onwards daily
Ambience: Chill, steady
Crowd: Foreigners who come in for the sunset views, the party crows comes in at 9 p.m. onwards
Signature cocktails: Spicy mango margarita and the Cucumber mojito
Best nights to visit: Wednesdays
Located at the second floor of Sunset Quay in Manila Ocean Park, White Moon Bar opened in late 2009. Boasting of having the best view of Manila's sunset along the strip of Roxas Boulevard, White Moon's ambience, open-air setting, bar list and music make it one of the more interesting nightlife destinations in Manila.
Gabriel Tabalon, managing director of Projekt Blast Corporation, which owns WhiteMoon Bar shares, "The Whitemoon experience is all about freeing one's self under nature's watchful eyes. We also see to it that our DJs know the kind of songs our guests would like to listen to, even if we are known to have down-tempo music. We have the perfect ambience already so what we do is plug the right music to bring them to a state where the only thing that matters at that moment is their drink and their imagination."
Which spot deserves the award for Best Bar? Vote now.
Photographs from Sean Tirona (Museum Cafe), restolicious (Barcino), mandarinoriental.com/manila, Kat Tabalon (WhiteMoon Bar) and Karl Bustamante (Cav).
