5 must-try restaurants in San Juan City
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The little city of San Juan is home of restaurants with mouthwatering dishes with hefty serving. The food industry is booming in the city but some are yet to be discovered.
The little city of San Juan is home of restaurants with mouthwatering dishes with hefty serving. The food industry is booming in the city but some are yet to be discovered.
To share some of the “hidden treasures” that are a must-try for foodies, GMANetwork.com gathered some of the restaurants that you should consider when visiting San Juan.
Flossom Kitchen + Café (average cost of meal: Php 500)
If you're looking for a unique dining experience, Flossom Kitchen + Café is the place that you should visit.
The restaurant serves not only delicious meals in generous servings; they also provide a unique experience by serving edible flowers. According to their marketing manager Janna Arceo Lim, “We serve modern comfort food with a twist. Our food items are usually the common favorites of most Filipinos. We serve our food with edible flowers as garnish.”
Flossom is also known for their eccentric menu like how they recreated the Pinoy favorite champorado. “Our Ube Champorado is a classic go-to for everyone.”
Additionally, Flossom is known as one of the Instagrammable restaurants in the city.
Oyasumi Ramen (average cost of meal: Php 370)
Oyasumi Ramen is a must-try for Japanese food lovers. The restaurant makes every single part of their dish from scratch. Plus, they learned it straight from Japan.
“The team behind Oyasumi Ramen started out by creating their own noodle flavors and from there, the next step was to make the appropriate soup and ramen base. One of our owners worked under a ramen shop in Yokohama, Japan, where Iekei ramen originated. This became the heart of all our ramen dishes.”
Oyasumi Ramen serves different types of ramen to cater every taste bud. They also have their homemade add ons like ice cream and cheesy risotto.
“Some of our popular ramen are our La Paz Ramen (inspired by the Filipino La Paz Batchoy), Tonkotsu Tantan (nutty and Chinese-inspired), Black Pepper (an amped up version of our Iekei), and Shio Butter Scallop (a light clam-based broth with torched scallops for those looking for a lighter meal). Our ice cream is also popular since we make them ourselves and flavors change all the time. And of course, off-menu is the Cheesy Risotto - which takes your leftover ramen soup into a risotto.”
Guevarra's (cost per head: Php 599-699)
Guevarra's is one of the most-heard but haven't tried food places as it is hidden in San Juan. The restaurant is known not only for serving buffet of Filipino food but also because of their heritage house from the '20s.
“Besides our traditional and modern Filipino menu created by Master Chefs Roland and Jac Laudico, we are known for our Heritage house which was built way back in the 1920s.”
The restaurant also takes pride in their food preparation. “We make our food from scratch, no instant broth or sauce mixes. Even our lechon which is part of our buffet is made in house. We try to protect the inherent flavor of the cuisine by using natural ingredients and staying as close to traditional methods as we can in our modern kitchen.”
Cafe Sansó (average cost of meal: Php 400-700)
If you're into art and is also a foodie, Cafe Sansó will be your destination. It is situated beside the Sansó museum where they give tribute to one of the highly regarded modernists in Philippine art, Juvenal Sansó.
Cafe Sansó aligned their menu to the history of the artist. "Our restaurant is known for serving Neo-Spanish comfort food. Our food items are inspired by the countries where master Sanso stayed in Europe and in the Philippines."
Additionally, they serve a unique dish that can only be found in their restaurant. "We serve our iconic Francesinha sandwich. It's Portugal's famous sandwich and we are the only restaurant in Manila that serves that sandwich. Our new menu will showcase new items like Bagoong Paella, Mojo Chicken and Pulpo Gallego, but we'll still retain the best sellers like Churrasco Pork Belly, Mushroom Chicharones and Mussels in white wine sauce."
Fukujin Izakaya (average cost of meal: Php 400-800)
A progressive Japanese restaurant is also hidden in San Juan. According to Fukujin Izakaya's Executive Chef Paul Castillo, they provide a different kind of dining experience for people who are fond of Japanese food.
"Fukujin Izakaya is known for the progressive Japanese Cuisine that we serve. We don't claim to be authentic, but progressive. We innovate traditional Japanese dishes, integrate imported and local ingredients, and we create something different that our guests can try. We stand out of the normal Japanese cuisine, but also progress and push the envelope to another level."
Chef Paul also noted that they have a way array of dishes to choose from so there will be a lot of options for their customers who are open to trying something new.
Having progressive Japanese dishes definitely distinguishes us from all other Japanese restaurants. We have Smoked Duck Ala Mansi, Roasted Bone Marrow, Wagyu Japanese Steaks from Japan, we also have ramens, nabe-meshi, noodle dishes, kushiyakis, sashimis, maki, salad, and a whole lot more. Aside from our progressive dishes, we also have traditional dishes such as ebi tempura, tonkatsu, and chicken teriyaki.
