These Makati breakfast spots serve dishes and drinks that will perk you up and get your day off to a good start.
For that early business meeting
Dean & Deluca
G/F, Edades Tower 18, Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell Center; 128 De la Rosa St., Legazpi Village
This New York favorite serves bagels, bagel sandwiches, pancakes, omelettes, waffles and more. Try the Cast Iron Breakfast (scrambled egg with sautéed mushroom, grilled tomato, sausage, bacon, baked beans, roasted potatoes and grilled sourdough bread), The California Benedict with Farmer’s Ham or Wagyu Beef Tapa.
Paul Boulangerie
2/F, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Paul, a French chain of boulangeries, serves breakfast all day. Get your fill of waffles and crepes, yogurt parfaits, French potato pancakes, omelettes and croques. If you’re craving silog, don’t worry. It serves Filipino breakfast, too—beef tapa, corned beef, tocino, longganisa, sardines and dried fish.
Wildflour Cafe + Bakery
G/F, 8 Rockwell Center, Plaza Drive, Poblacion; G/F, V-Corp Tower, 125 L.P. Leviste St., Salcedo Village; G/F, Frabelle Business Center, 111 Rada St., Legazpi Village
From homemade granola and ricotta cheese pancakes to brioche French toast and fried chicken and waffles, Wildflour has breakfast offerings for all kinds of cravings. Want a power breakfast? Go for the protein-packed steak and eggs (Argentinean flank steak, crispy potatoes, chimichurri).
Post-workout grub
The Wholesome Table
G/F, Greenbelt 2; G/F, Infinity Tower, H.V. Dela Costa and Leviste Streets, Salcedo Village
The Wholesome Table has vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free dishes, making it a good place for diners with specific dietary requirements. It serves gluten-free yogurt pancakes and gluten-free waffles, which you can order with a variety of toppings including fruits, peanut butter and almond butter. There are Breakfast Powerbowls, too ,with superfood add-ons, making it a great stop after an intense workout session.
SaladStop!
Mezzanine, Ayala Tower One, Salcedo Village; G/F, One Palanca Land Bldg., Palanca Street, Legazpi Village; G/F, Makati Executive Center, Leviste and Rufino Streets, Salcedo Village
Create your own salad or wrap at SaladStop! or choose from its signature offerings (Hail Caesar is our favorite, but Omega 3 Baby!, Iron “Wo” Man, Tuna San might be healthier picks). SaladStop! serves warm grain bowls, too.
Beni’s Falafel
G/F, A. Venue Mall, 7829 Makati Ave., Poblacion
Hummus for breakfast? Why not? It’s very healthy and people in the Middle East have it in the morning all the time. You can also kick off the day with shakshuka (eggs cooked in stewed tomato sauce and served with pita), bourekas (puff pastry with hard-boiled egg) and falafel.
If your night is just ending
Goto Monster
Primo de Rivera Street and Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension, La Paz, Makati
Nothing is more comforting to an alcohol-sated stomach than a refreshing bowl of lugaw. Drop by Goto Monster after your all-nighter and resist the urge to order tokwa and bagnet (or don’t). Goto Monster serves different kinds of silog, too: Pork Bagnet, Chicken Bagnet, Chicken Adobo, Sisig, Bangus, Longganisa and Tapa.
Kanto Freestyle Breakfast
5079 P. Burgos St., Poblacion
Spent too much on your night out? Breakfast at Kanto Freestyle Breakfast won’t break the bank. Choose from a wide variety of viands (bacon, Spam, beef tapa, pork belly, Vigan longganisa, chicken longganisa, gourmet sausage, danggit, tocino, corned beef, honey garlic chicken, Spanish sardines tempura, omelettes, tuyo flakes with kesong puti, galunggong, bangus) and sides (from garlic rice to pancakes). Kanto also serves Chocnut champorado with tuyo, baked beans, hash browns, suman, churros, sandwiches and more.
Little Flour Café
G/F, The Stratosphere, 136 Valero St., Salcedo Village
Wildflour’s little sister, Little Flour, is another breakfast favorite. It serves brunch all day. Order the Little Flour Breakfast (bacon steak, two eggs, crispy potatoes, baguette), Breakfast Burger (chorizo, hoisin mayonnaise, American cheese, fried egg, pickles, crispy potatoes) or Fried Chicken and Biscuit. We love the rice bowls, too, especially the sisig and the tapa.
Looking for a caffeine boost?
Single Origin
G/F, Greenbelt 3; G/F, Edades Tower, Amorsolo Street and Rockwell Drive
Single Origin allows you to choose your extraction method and your single-origin coffee blend. Its drinks menu includes a variety of espresso beverages, loose-leaf teas, iced teas, milkshakes, wines and other specialty drinks. The place offers a full breakfast menu, too.
Yardstick Coffee
Universal LMS Bldg., 106 Esteban St., Legazpi Village; 119 L.P. Leviste St., Makati
If coffee is your priority, you won’t be disappointed at Yardstick Coffee. Cold brew, single origin, flat white, black, white, hot or iced—you are spoilt for choice at this coffee spot. It serves alternative brews, too, like the Steampunk, the Yardshake, Black Magic and Mocha Affogato. For breakfast, it offers rice bowls and other mains like Sriracha Chicken Wrap, Mushroom Toast and Humus and Mushrooms. It has pastries available as well.
Commune
36 Polaris and Durban Streets, Poblacion
Commune serves Filipino coffee, something that owner Rosario Juan is proud of. Order from the espresso-based menu or pick a method (aeropress, French press, V60, Chemex) and then choose from the available beans. If you enjoy a darker roast, try the Commune Blend which Commune uses as its espresso blend. Commune serves iced coffee as well, including iced toddy, drip on ice, citrus cold brew, 18-hour cold brew with milk, iced mocha, iced Americano and affogato. There’s an all-day breakfast menu, too, along with crostini and salads, pasta, sandwiches and snacks.
For ladies who brunch
Barcino
UG/F, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Barcino’s Rockwell branch serves breakfast from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. Enjoy a rich Spanish breakfast that includes pancakes, champurrado (made with Venezuelan chocolate and dulce de leche), fruit bowls, tortilla (Spanish omelettes), huevos escalfados (poached eggs), arroz caldo, salpicao y huevo, churros and more. Wash it all down with a glass or two of cava.
Harlan+Holden Rockwell Glasshouse
Rockwell Center, Hidalgo Drive
Harlan+Holden Rockwell Glasshouse serves breakfast until 10:30 a.m., with some dishes available all day. The restaurant’s interiors are lovely, especially with the sun streaming in, that we won’t blame you if your brunch turns into lunch and you end up staying until the afternoon. You can enjoy granola clusters or grain muesli with almond milk or, if you want something more filling, French toast with country sausage and whipped butter or buckwheat lemon pancakes with blueberries and ricotta cream. If it’s a cheat day, maybe order the Nutella with salt flakes on brioche toast? You may also order the homemade corned beef rice bowl, fried Portuguese sardines with garlic red rice and egg or the olive oil-fried egg with smashed potatoes, sautéed greens and chorizo. There’s kombucha on the menu, too.
Grace Park
G/F, One Rockwell, Rockwell Drive, Makati
Grace Park opens earlier than usual on Friday and weekends to serve breakfast. Order the sirloin tapa, spicy tuyo, adobo flakes (this one brings back fond memories of chef Margarita Fores’ Cafe Bola days), brioche French toast or Gaita’s pick: the fried adobong pitaw (sugarcane field bird) with butter-garlic brown rice. Grace Park also serves breakfast favorites like corned beef, lamb tapa, longganisa from Alaminos, Pangasinan, and naked Ilonggo chorizo. All breakfast meals are served with coffee or fruit juice.
Morning date
Patisserie Bebe Rouge
7602 Sacred Heart St., Metropolitan Ave., San Antonio Village
With its pretty interiors and relative peace and quiet, this French-Japanese bakery is ideal for early lovebirds. Patisserie Bebe Rouge serves a breakfast toast set (eggs, bacon, salad, toast butter, jam and tea or coffee). If your sweet tooth never clocks out, dig into its delicious cakes and pastries, too. We love the strawberry shortcake.
Apartment 1B Salcedo
G/F, 1 Lafayette Square, 132 L.P. Leviste and Sedeno Streets, Salcedo Village
Even if your date is a picky eater, he or she is bound to find something to enjoy on Apartment 1B’s breakfast menu. Three egg-omelettes, eggs with English bangers, Canadian ham, smoked bacon, corned beef hash, eggs Benedict, egg white scramble, steak and eggs, organic old-fashioned oatmeal, croque madame, orange French toast are just some of its many morning offerings.
The Old Swiss Inn
G/F, Somerset Olympia, Makati Avenue and Santo Tomas Street, Urdaneta Village
Here’s a classic: Try a morning date at Old Swiss Inn. Open 24 hours, it serves breakfast from 6 to 10:30 a.m. There’s a breakfast buffet that includes an egg, salad and pancake station but you can always order a la carte, too. It serves bacon and eggs, ham and eggs, breakfast sausages, eggs Benedict, corned beef hash, farmer’s meatloaf, spicy sardines, beef tenderloin tapa, chicken adobo, boneless bangus and pork longganisa. You can also order from the regular menu in the morning. Is it ever to early for cheese fondue? We think not.