Summer in the city isn’t all that bad when you know that the likes of Ginza Gyu have loaded the season with neat affairs that hit all the right spots.

Especially so for Ginza Gyu, which has certainly carved and earned its own space in the Japanese food-loving Manila market. Raspberry Kitchen Group’s Maxine Sanz and co-founders Richard Sanz and Queen and Michael Jiang took it upon themselves to launch Ginza Gyu to deal with “the challenge of finding damn good Japanese beef bowls in a sea of takeout options.”

It proved to be a success at the height of the pandemic but thriving in the cloud wasn’t just the end goal.

Sanz opened their first brick and mortar in Makati in 2023 and demonstrated why Ginza Gyu in physical form is a welcome addition to the community. Many of the bowls (and even the elegant space) have a cinematic feel—not only because the team is dedicated to creating “the best wagyu steak bowls” but also with which they utilize quality ingredients and creative flavors to recreate the taste and feeling of Japan in the Philippines.

Here, the donburis are more dramatic yet approachable, the mains and small plates are exuberant yet not overboard. There is a “golden bowl” befitting its shiny name—wagyu, foie gras, salmon, unagi, and ikura all comprise the content of the fantasy dish for an experience that takes customers to the streets of Tokyo—or anywhere in Japan, really.

There is a “golden bowl” befitting its shiny name—wagyu, foie gras, salmon, unagi, and ikura all comprise the content of the fantasy dish for an experience that takes customers to the streets of Tokyo—or anywhere in Japan, really.

But there are also plenty of classic and clever—and sometimes classically clever claypot—moments everywhere on the menu.

The four-mushroom bowl is a highlight with its interplay of texture and umami from the shiitake, shimeji, oyster, and enoki sitting on richly flavored rice. It’s delightfully frenetic in its energy, especially when paired with a cocktail like the pretty Gin & Tea.

And while a truffle udon doesn’t sound inventive at first, combining beloved ingredients together and transforming them into a soupier and creamier bowl encapsulates what Ginza Gyu does best: taking classics and tweaking them with touches and motifs that define the Ginza Gyu stamp.

It still feels new and familiar. Masterful in their restraint but ambitious enough to bring in new customers.

So it isn’t a surprise that a year later since opening in Makati that Ginza Gyu has cultivated a loyal fanbase to their Japanese “funhouse”—in reference to the layers and layers of joy found in their dishes. It also isn’t a surprise that they are throwing a lively birthday bash on Apr. 10 and offering their spicy tuna tartare for one peso per piece for one day.

You could call it a crazy deal but there’s something poignant about a food brand celebrating an anniversary that is as much about spectacle as it is community. And to that, we’re blowing a blast of confetti while we partake in a spicy summer feast.

A minimum spend of any bowl per person at the table is required to avail of the promo, with each booking slot at a maximum of 90 minutes. Visit Ginza Gyu on Instagram for reservations.