LIST: The Exciting New Restaurants Opening in Manila in 2024

(SPOT.ph) 2023 was quite the trip for the local dining scene. But local F&B's not done yet, as the upcoming year looks to be just as—if not even more—exciting. We round up restaurants and cafés we've gotten word on the openings of, and what you can look forward to from them.

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Check out these restaurants and cafés slated to open in 2024:

Uma Nota

This Brazilian-Japanese restaurant with outposts in Hong Kong and Paris has announced that they'll be coming to our shores. They'll be opening their Philippine leg at Shangri-La the Fort, BGC with the help of the Three & B Group. 

Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill

In the last quarter of the year, SPOT.ph spotted a Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill board-up at Newport World Resorts. While the opening date is not set in stone, what we do know so far is that the target opening is around the second quarter of 2024.

What can we expect from the first Gordon Ramsay restaurant in the country? For one, the chef's signature Beef Wellington will be on the menu. As for the other steaks and other grilled meats, we’d have to wait until the restaurant opens patiently.

Liyab

Chef Charles Montañez (formerly of Alegria)'s fire isn't going anywhere as the young chef is opening Liyab, a new dégustation spot with the KGA Group. In an exchange with SPOT.ph, Montañez reveals how it'll be "tagged along with" a spacious—and swanky—VIP lounge called Anomaly, where folks can hang out after work hours. 

Nothing is confirmed on the timeline, just that it's opening next year. What we can tell you so far is that it's opening in Bonifacio Global City.

A Pizza Omakase Spot by Crosta's Chef Yuichi Ito

After opening the second Crosta Pizzeria in San Juan (following Poblacion) and sighting a Crosta Pizzeria board-up in Alabang, what's next for the accomplished, awarded pizzeria? It went international, baby. Baby Crosta opened in Niseko (a snow resort) in Hokkaido. Skiers can grab a quick eat post-ski with Baby Crosta's rectangular pizza that takes inspiration from pizza al taglio, a kind of pizza that can be served in two minutes. On the second floor, they'd be holding pizza omakase sessions, using high-quality ingredients from the area.

Now that Baby Crosta is birthed into the world, another thing Chef Yuichi Ito's working on is Manila's own pizza omakase spot, slated to open by 2024. In an exchange with SPOT.ph, the chef shares that this would have an open kitchen setup where he'll charm you with his pizza-making prowess and creativity. The place is meant to be an intimate eight-seater counter or a private room. It would also have a sibling restaurant in a bigger space, focusing on more casual eats.

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Del Unión

El Union, the beachside coffee shop in La Union, is making its way to the concrete jungle of Metro Manila with a (slightly) different menu as it opens a new store called Del Unión. From post-surf to post-work grub, the soon-to-open coffee shop will bring the famous horchata to Bonifacio High Street, and based on our FBI skills, deli sandwiches will be on the menu too.

The tentative opening of Del Union is December 2023, but as of writing, it hasn't opened yet. Our guesses are either it’ll open right before the year ends or opening will be pushed back to the first quarter of next year. Fingers crossed, everyone!

Celera

Together, chefs Nicco Santos and Chef Quenee Vilar are a powerful duo in the culinary world—and they're set to open a casual-fine dining restaurant called Celera. Going by the chefs’ mastery in creating dishes with loud and vivid Asian flavors—as what we’ve seen with their works at Café Aurora and former Hey Handsome—we're definitely excited for what they'll be bringing to Celera’s small plates and set menus when it opens in 2024.

There are no confirmed dates, which quarter, or which month as to when Celera is opening, but we do know where we can keep an eye out for it. As SPOT.ph has confirmed with Chef Nicco, Celera is opening at Comuna, a creative hub at 238 Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension, Makati City.

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Kása Palma

Balai Palma's Chef Aaron Isip, whose experience includes working in acclaimed kitchens in Paris and bagging big-time awards, takes the reins with their soon-to-open restaurant called Kása Palma along R. Palma Street in Poblacion. In an exchange with SPOT.ph, Balai Palma shares that they'll be serving a tasting menu said to be similar to Balai's but "somewhat elevated." These 2.0 dishes are thanks to the added help of a custom-built kitchen and upgraded kitchen equipment, described by Balai Palma to be of the likes that Michelin-awarded restaurants in Europe would have.

Kása Palma will also have an open counter-grill kitchen at the back exclusively using firewood (yup, no gas or electricity) to cook seafood, premium meats, and fresh veggies—and you'll be able to order these ala carte.

Mortons the Steakhouse

We know that 2024 is the year of the dragon, but what's up with all the steakhouses opening left and right? The Bistro Group is bringing Morton's the Steakhouse into the Philippines, with the target of opening its doors to all carnivores by the second quarter of 2024.

Though news came out in 2022 about Morton's opening at Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 in Makati, no updates have come out of that as of writing—so this Uptown branch appears to be the first Morton's the Steakhouse that will open in the Metro. If you're excited as we are for their USDA Prime beef, it's opening at Uptown Bonifacio, specifically at Uptown Eastgate.

iai

As we bid farewell to the institution that is Mecha Uma, there are only a few days left to dine at the Japanese omakase spot before it closes its doors on December 30. However, amid the bittersweet farewell to the nine-year-old establishment in Bonifacio Global City, the legacy continues as it opens a new chapter with iai.

Chef Bruce Ricketts, in collaboration with partner Jae Pickrell, is set to unveil iai by mid-2024. iai presents a marriage of a “chef's counter” and an “inventive sushi kappo,” kappo being a type of intimate eatery blending casual izakaya offerings with upscale kaiseki dining. This will also be in BGC.

Fogo de Chao

The Bistro Group announced in 2022 that it is bringing in five Fogo de Chao branches in the Philippines over the next six years, and it looks like the award-winning Brazilian steakhouse has set its eyes on Glorietta as its first ever Philippines branch. A board-up of the Fogo de Chão logo can be seen at on the ground floor of Glorietta 4, facing SM Makati and near Hobing Korean Dessert Café.

If all goes to plan, Fogo de Chão is set to open in Glorietta in the first quarter of 2024 and it'll be a 266-seater restaurant. So better sharpen those knives, carnivores—the steakhouse is going to open sooner than later.

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