At Makati’s Rockwell Center, Navarra suggests Grace Park, where the menu reflects both Filipino tradition and the Italian training of its late chef, Margarita Forés. The adobo, a soy sauce and vinegar stew, uses lamb instead of the usual chicken, while the sisig, normally a sizzling plate of pork jowl and belly, is made with spider conch meat and crispy fish maw. Grace Park does straight classics too, like a lechon, or whole-roasted pig, for Sunday lunch.
Espresso and martinis
Pairing coffee and cocktails is the latest trend in Makati, Navarra says. He touts spots in Legazpi Village like Curator Coffee & Cocktails, a café that at night transitions into a bar often helmed by guest mixologists from cities including New York, Singapore, and Seoul, and Ito, which offers prix fixe “drinking sessions” featuring espresso-based concoctions, matcha, and nonalcoholic tipples along with snack pairings. “I work with the same farmers as they do,” Navarra says of Ito, “so I enjoy seeing the same produce we use at Toyo come to life in cocktails.”
Shop smart
Navarra shops right in The Alley at Karrivin, the Makati building complex that houses his restaurant. Aphro sells locally made stoneware, ceramics, and textiles, while the galleries Artinformal and the Drawing Room focus on Filipino artists. Eco-friendly Ritual stocks heritage goods, skin-care products, and books. “I visit them whenever I can,” Navarra says. He also suggests the designs of Carl Jan Cruz, who created Toyo’s uniforms: “His showroom in nearby Taguig has everyday wear as well as special pieces.”
This article appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.