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This Under-the-Radar Bar in Makati Makes Room for Intimate Conversations and Cool Cocktails
The Grasshopper Bar is the perfect spot for a nightcap.
by Louise Lizan
Published on Aug 16, 2025
The Grasshopper Bar
OPL building, C. Palanca Street, Makati City
Instagram: www.instagram.com/grasshopperph
Open from 5 p.m. 'til late, Monday to Sunday
(SPOT.ph) Metro Manila bars can't seem to get enough of the speakeasy treatment. Maybe it’s the thrill of chancing upon one a la Alice in Wonderland and discovering a new world that you'd walk past without a second thought on any other day; maybe it’s the laid-back vibe that lets you actually hear what your companion has to say, and converse minus the risk of a sore throat the next day from yelling. But what speakeasy-inspired places like The Grasshopper Bar in Makati definitely don't cut corners on are the food and drinks that stimulate all the senses beyond getting one buzzed and only physically full. And name aside, this place won’t have you hopping from one spot to another to get all three green flags in one go; it's the perfect spot to unwind after a stressful week, whether you're alone or with company.
Also read:
This Laid-Back Mandaluyong Bar Makes It Easy to Feel Like a Regular
The Grasshopper Bar in Makati
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This unassuming double black doors lead to a fun and chill time with The Grasshopper Bar..
One could easily say that The Grasshopper Bar was designed to be easy to miss (especially with pre-game drinks in, so better look closely) as it's only indicated by a lone, brass gold grasshopper figure along Carlos Palanca Street. But a reward awaits the vigilantly curious: make your way through the double black doors and you'll find there’s much more to appearances than meets the eye. Hint hint, so you know where to look: the bar is situated under Mansion Sports Bar and Lounge, which customers almost always mistake for the speakeasy. Longtime residents and office workers around the area may remember the spot as a former convenience store branch.
Once inside, you’ll be greeted by darkness. There's light emanating from the bar and the tables, but otherwise, you’ll be mostly enveloped by shadow—but the kind that evokes a sense of calm. The music is far distant, but it'll still get your head bobbing along anyway. It isn’t intrusive, so you get to hold (and actually hear!) conversations with your companions while lounging in Grasshopper's plush green seats.
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This is where the magic happens. Sometimes quite literally, as a certain bartender does magic tricks..
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Looking for a fun, chill night with your close friends? You can make good conversations inside The Grasshopper Bar's plush booths..
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The green and brown hues and gold details blend together perfectly..
The bar, helmed by Lester Ligon, Abby Quilal-lan, Ken Bandivas, and Marc & Tiffany Sy, has been serving customers since 2023—and after a little over two years, they decided it was high time to change the menu. They're introducing sixteen signature cocktails and more bar chow that are designed to be noshed on alongside their drinks.
Millennials and Gen-Z visitors make up most of the crowd here. On weekdays, the Grasshopper Bar is visited by office workers looking to unwind after stressful meetings—but their strongest days are, of course, during the weekends. The street where it’s located is busy enough as it is (as is the case with most clubs and bars these days), and so this is the perfect place to end the night.
The Grasshopper Bar’s drinks and food speak intimately and intentionally to its customers.
It’s not just your friends who you'll hear clearly inside the confines of The Grasshopper Bar, but also their new revamped menu. Despite having more drinks—there are now 16 signature cocktails (and more to follow)—the overall lineup is simple and deeply rooted in our culture, which will get you reeling in with familiar flavors as you go through some of them for the night. They carry the underrated, local ingredients from provinces, but speak to the customers loudly in taste.
Each drink on the menu (which goes from lightest to strongest) has tasting notes as well as a breakdown of the ingredients inside the glass. Of course, you are more than welcome to approach any of their staff members to walk you through the drink you want—heck, they can even wow you with a cool magic trick. Yes, there's a certain bartender who makes magic, quite literally, inside. Never the same tricks, so there's something new to look forward to every time you visit.
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This is the drink The Grasshopper Bar welcomes us with..
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For light, refreshing cocktails, we definitely loved the Belladonna (P580) which seems to conjure images of sampaguita; the V for Ventura, which has tultul salt around its rim; and the Hollow Echo (P550), reminiscent carbonated melon juice..
We got started with, of course, the Grasshopper, which is their classic cocktail that will remind you of a mint and chocolate candy from your childhood. This glass of Giffard creme de menthe green, Giffard creme de cacao, heavy cream, and nutmeg is priced at P420.
One of the drinks we had the pleasure of tasting was the V for Ventura (P600)—a bright, refreshing, and spicy drink with the flavors of guava, lime, carrot, shishito peppers for a kick, and asin tultul, the artisanal salt from Guimaras that adds just a touch of subtly savory, mineral contrast to the mix. Another drink to watch out for is the Salt Spoils the Broth (P550), where a warm foam of salted egg and Advocaat gives way to the cooling Fontbonne French herbal liquor and Batirol chocolate milk.
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From left: Petal to the Metal (P580) boasts of clarified dalandan juice, cayenne pepper sous vide Glenfiddich 12, and osmanthus tea cordial in a glass. It's sour with a kick; the Salt Spoils the Broth (P550) is both warm and cold at the same time; and last, Native Tongue (P600) has the taste of green mango verjus, maraschino liqueur, and french herbal liqueur..
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We also tried few of their strongest drinks: L-R, Hair of the Dawn (P580) and Sakurab Gibson (P550)..
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Instead of the usual spinach dip, The Grasshopper Bar serves a laing dip..
Like their drinks, the food has touches of local staples in it. Take, for example, the classic Popcorn Chicken (P425), partnered with calamansi aioli that gives each bite of the fried bird salty-tangy contrast; the Laing Dip with Cassava Chips (P425), a more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts situation with the way the crispy chips bring dimension to the creamy laing; and the Drunken School Prawns (P495), where sukang Sinamak from Iloilo enlivens crispy, umami fried prawns marinated in gin. Regional vinegars shine here, even in the dark; this bar rotates between using sukang Paombong from Bulacan, sukang Iloco from Ilocos, sukang Watwat from Baguio, sukang Tuba from Quezon, sukang Pinakurat from Iligan, and sukang Kid-Apo from Mindanao-Kida Pawan.
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Munch on classic bar chow with a Filipino twist..
If you need something heavy before all the drinking, the Filipino-Style Steak & Frites (P1,895) is the perfect choice. Underneath the AUS Angus Hanger Steak and accompanying fries sits a Filipino-style kare-kare and peppercorn sauce—it's silent, alright, but deadly stuff (in terms of deliciousness, of course).
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Hands down the highlight of the night. We still dream of this plate to this day..
You know those moments when you know it’s time to go home? You’ve had your fun and you're smiling ear to ear. The food's filled you up, and now your mind's a bit buzzed. You've had conversations where you’re not yelling to get them to come with you to the bathroom.
In this space, it’s the drinks, food, and close conversations that will speak to you the loudest. It’s intimate and chill—and you’ll be ready to happily call it a night. Those black doors you thought contained nothing? You'll come out of it with not just your bellies full and appreciative of local tastes, but also with your mind and heart light.
With everything in Metro Manila seemingly in a rush, and with everyone having something to say, this is where you can come to slow down and let the food, drinks, and the vibes speak for themselves.
Louise is your resident "go, buy it" friend. When she's not dying her hair all colors of the rainbow, she's either playing horror games or taking mirror pics.
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