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Toyo Eatery

Manila

• Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award 2023
• The Best Restaurant in the Philippines 2023

The Philippines-focused restaurant that puts people and the planet first

On the Pass

Jordy Navarra

What’s the hype? Having made its debut into Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants as the One To Watch in 2018, Toyo Eatery has continued its rise, joining the list proper in 2019 and now winning the prestigious Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award 2023. Run by husband-and-wife team Jordy and May Navarra, the restaurant prioritises Filipino produce and people, fostering long-term relationships with local farmers and artisans.

On the menu: With both à la carte and tasting options, Toyo Eatery presents Filipino ingredients in modern ways, playing with fermentation and preservation techniques to create the boldest flavours. The signature dish is a collection of 18 vegetables in a unique salad, named Bahay Kubo after a popular Tagalog children’s folk song. Other highlights include an adaptation of a popular street food pork barbecue dish, served three ways, and the Tortang Talong eggplant omelette with banana catsup.  

Who’s the chef? Jordy Navarra worked at former World’s Best Restaurant The Fat Duck in Southeast England, and Asia’s 50 Best regular Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, before opening Toyo Eatery in 2016 with his wife, May. He developed the concept and menu around his own memories and heritage, as well as that of the Filipino people.

Planet-first approach: Toyo Eatery has been named winner of the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award 2023 for its combination of commitments to the environment via its efforts to minimise its carbon footprint and source its ingredients locally, and to the cultural heritage of the Philippines, which it helps to preserve through fostering relationships with local farmers and artisans. The restaurant removed beef from its menus in 2022, and half its dishes are now vegetarian or vegan.

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