It’s been a while since I’ve written a post related to ‘Things to do in Makati’. I haven’t been doing much drinking recently, but I haven’t been staying away from the pubs altogether.
Drinking establishments in Makati come in many guises.
There is Burgos Street, the main artery through the red light district. I have never been to any of those bars, so can’t comment.
Near to Burgos, there are 2 good bars – Handlebar and Howzat. Handlebar is ostensibly a biker bar, but really it appeals to a much broader audience too. They show lots of sport, have live music and a great barbeque. It’s a good place to hang out, with seating both indoors and outdoors. Howzat is a sports bar with screens lining the walls showing all manner of sports. A good place to go if you want to catch the football and eat pub grub. We’ve never tried the food, but the pies looked very good as they were being taken to other punters’ tables. Howzat also stocks a huge variety of imported food – Bisto gravy, Vegemite, cheeses, chutneys and other sauces, confectionary…
Nearer to where we live, around Legaspi village, there is a handful of bars. An Irish pub, where they have a weekly pub quiz on a Tuesday night. Cablecar bar, where they show sport and host nightly beer ping pong games. Bond Bar, which looks like any old modern bar, although we haven’t been in.
In the Greenbelt shopping mall, there are a few decent options too. One of my favourites is Prohibition. Unless you know it’s there, you wouldn’t be able to find it. Unless you Google it and find blogs like mine which give the secret away. It’s inside another bar, called Dillingers. There is a fire exit type door, with the standard ‘no entry’ signs. But you push the bar, and there you are in this other ‘secret’ bar. It is nicely done out and has a good roof deck. The music kicks off at around 10, but up until then you can have a very pleasant time on the comfy sofas. You can also, as in many other bars, buy a whole bottle of a spirit and pour your own drinks (see the picture at the top of this blog – the Tanquerey is missing sadly).
All the hotels have (mostly posh) bars, many of which we haven’t been into. The Holiday Inn (at Glorietta) however, has a great rooftop bar right next to their swimming pool. It’s newly finished and has a good vibe about it.
And then there are all the others we haven’t tried – those in Salcedo village. And those at The Collective. That has to be on our list over the next few months – apparently a collection of funky bars, some of which have good live music. If we make it there, I’ll update the blog.
Until then, cheers.
