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Top 10 Best Buffet Restaurants in the Philippines 2016
Find out the best places to enjoy buffet according to our readers!
By: Patricia Marie Prado | December 25, 2016
One of the best things about being a Filipino is our love for food. And no matter what part of the world they came from, international cuisines are now making their way to our dining tables thanks to our non-pihikan attitude towards food.
In recent years, because of our love for food and feasts, buffet restaurants are becoming more prevalent in the dining scene. These one-stop places for all things food are becoming a popular choice among Filipinos because of the variety of food they offer and, of course, their unlimited supply of viands. They are now becoming a first choice among family and friends who want to celebrate a special event or just to get together and bond over food.
Because we know how much you love buffets, we compiled a list of the Best Buffet Restaurants in the Philippines according to you! Read on to find out who made it on our list and see if there are new buffet spots that you need to try.
10. Kamayan Buffet
Kamayan’s famous Lechon de leche
To start our list is Kamayan Buffet restaurant. Owned by Vicvic Villavicencio, Kamayan started in 1977 as a humble all-Filipino restaurant in Arnaiz Avenue in Makati City. It is a place where diners can eat with their bare hands, a usual practice in many Filipino homes, especially in the province, hence the term kamayan. Villavicencio wants to promote the experience of the popular fiestas in our country and give guests a real pinoy dining experience in Kamayan.
A few years later, in 1993, Kamayan became the first restaurant in the country to introduce the buffet concept to the Filipinos, a concept that was then only available in luxury hotels. Kamayan also pioneered the “no leftover policy” that has now been adopted by most buffet restaurants. Kamayan today is known for their wide extent of all-Pinoy dishes, especially their best-seller the Lechon de Leche (roast suckling pig).
9. The Spiral at Sofitel Hotel
Discover The Spiral’s L'Epicerie (Cheese Room)
Number nine is the The Spiral, Sofitel Hotel’s very own buffet restaurant. The Spiral started way back in 2006 but had to close due to a flooding incident that affected the whole restaurant in 2011. After one year and a whopping 11 million dollars, The Spiral came back in 2012 with a new face and a revamped menu that is now known to be one of the best hotel buffets in Manila.
Although Sofitel Hotel is French-inspired, they still made sure that The Spiral included plenty of options worthy of your dime. They have 21 ateliers or workstations of food that will make anyone fall into a food coma. Their most popular offering is their cheese room or L'Epicerie, a room solely dedicated to all kinds of cheese. And of course their French station where you can feed yourself unlimited foie gras (duck liver) and caviar (fish eggs).
Take a look at our list of French restaurants or check the ShoppersGuide Directory.
8. Milki Way Café, Nostalgia Dining Lounge, and Tramway Bayview Buffet
Three buffet restaurants made it to our top eight and they are Milky Way Café, Nostalgia, and Tramway Bayview Buffet.
Milki Way Café
Voter’s comment:
“Makati’s long-time favorite has retained its captivating food. Amazing consistency.” – Randy J
Indulge yourself with some Crispy Hito at Milky Way Café.
Milky Way Café is a small ice cream parlor that started way back in the 50s owned by the family of Doña Maria Cartagena de Tomas. When the family decided to move to the United States, the Gamboa sisters bought the restaurant and added their favorite food on the menu.
The sisters kept the ice creams and introduced meals that are enjoyed by the Filipinos up until today. Aside from serving food ala turo-turo style, they also offer banquet and buffet meals for big groups. Some of the favorites in Milky Way are their Crispy Hito with Bagoong and Mustasa and their homemade creamy Ice Cream.
The Nostalgia Dining Lounge
Voter’s comment:
“Quality Filipino favorites for lunch” – Kerr Brown
Nostalgia will surprise you everytime you visit with their themed menus.
If you want a little bit of luxury, The Nostalgia Dining Lounge is the fine dining restaurant for you. Located inside Oakwood Premier Joy Nostalg Center in Pasig City, the restaurant became well-known in the past for their themed buffets. Today, they stepped up their game by offering two choices for their guests: to dine ala carte or to enjoy the regular buffet style of dining, but still savor the same great quality of dishes.
Tramway Bayview Buffet
Tramway’s Fried Chicken is the reason why people keep coming back in their restaurant.
Tramway Bayview Buffet, on the other hand, is a great choice if you are after affordability. Tramway started as an authentic Chinese restaurant that later offered buffet services to cater to more diners. Tramway became a Filipino go-to buffet restaurant because they are easy on the pocket and but still serve great range of choices of food including Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino cuisine. Some of the favorites in Tramway are the Tramway Fried Chicken and their Yang Chow rice.
7. Four Season Hotpot City
Who says buffets can’t be healthy? It definitely can with Four Seasons Hotpot City.
Who says buffet cannot be healthy? Although Four Seasons Hotpot City still offers our favorite meat dishes, this newcomer also offers a wide range of veggies and noodles so you can create the perfect bowl of hot pot. Four Seasons came from the management that brought us the famous Vikings Buffet, but this time they focused on the shabu-shabu or hot pot experience, by placing one hot pot per table. Customers can choose two out of their four broths which are pork, chicken, vegetable, and sinigang and then they can mix and match various sauces, noodles, and ingredients to their heart’s content.
6. Cabalen and NIU by Vikings
Cabalen
Craving for something Kapampangan? You can never go wrong with Cabalen.
It’s no surprise that a Kapampangan brand made it to our list because of their innate gift for cooking. Cabalen, which started in San Fernando, Pampanga, was originally a pasalubong-centered restaurant that offers authentic Kapampangan cuisine. Its brainchild, Maritel Nievera, saw the reaction of people to her food, so in 1986 she traveled to Manila and opened the first Cabalen in West Avenue, Quezon City offering her Kapampangan dishes in an eat-all-you-can set up.
After 30 years of serving all-Filipino food and Kapampangan favorites, Cabalen now also serves various Asian cuisines to keep up with the market. But despite the innovation, Filipinos and balikbayans in particular still drool over their well-loved local dishes like their popular melt-in-your-mouth Kare-Kare.
Niu by Vikings
Go a little bit luxurious with Niu by Vikings.
Another restaurant that made it to the sixth spot is Niu by Vikings. Pronounced as nee-uh, Niu is Vikings’ more upscale offering to their diners, giving them a hotel experience. Diners can look forward to the sleek chairs and tables, blinding chandelier, and the resident pianist that will serenade you while you eat!
Niu boasts of nine stations that offer different cuisines and types of cooking. But what sets Niu apart is their seasonal off-the-buffet-table food that you can request to the waiters. Seasonal menu means they change from time to time but are already part of what you paid for in the buffet!
5. Yakimix
Voter’s comment:
“You can find Asian fusion cuisine that you can grill on your own table. Sarap! :)” – Sol
Craving for some fresh fish? Head over to Yakimix.
Halfway on our top 10 is Yakimix. Yakimix may be one of the youngest players on our list, having started only in 2008, but their diverse offering and smokeless grill experience immediately made them one of the top favorites of Filipinos. This buffet restaurant became well-known because of their fancy interiors that usually involve lots of crystal chandeliers. But glamorous lights aside, it is really their wide offering of various Asian cuisines from Japanese to Korean and Chinese that makes people come back.
Yakimix is one of the first buffet restaurants that offered the smokeless grill experience, in which diners can cook their own food and eat it right away. Diners also enjoy their various kinds of sushi and sashimi that will make any Japanese food lovers satisfied.
4. Buffet 101
Eat like a royalty without the steep price tag at Buffet 101.
On our fourth spot is Buffet 101. From the people that brought us Yakimix, Buffet 101 is another one of their projects, but this time their aim is to provide a five-star hotel ambience and dining experience to their customers without the hefty price tag. Although Buffet 101 is still pricier compared to other buffet restaurants, their variety of viands and posh interiors are what make it worth your buck.
What makes people come back at Buffet 101 is of course their wide selection of food that covers various cuisines. From the local Filipino favorites, Buffet 101 ups their game by also offering Asian, American, and Italian cuisines. They also follow a four-day menu cycle wherein they come up with new dishes every four days to excite their diners.
3. Dad's World Buffet
Voter’s comment:
“Love the variety of food served in this place.” – Andi
Taste the world one dish at a time at Dad’s World Buffet.
On our top three is Dad’s World Buffet, a member of the Kamayan-Saisaki-Dads buffet group. The first Dad’s restaurant opened in 1993 in SM Megamall offering continental cuisines. Its goal is to give more options to their diners because Kamayan was already serving all-Filipino food and Saisaki on the other hand, is already giving the best Japanese food to the market.
Over the years, Dad’s continue to grow and its owners decided to turn it into Dad’s World buffer offering hundreds of viands from over 14 countries. One does not need to travel the world to taste each country’s cuisine. Some of their prime items include their US Roast Beef and Roast Turkey and New Zealand Leg of Lamb.
2. Sambo Kojin
Voters’ comments:
“Their selection of meats is SuperB!!” – Rena Quiambao
“I've been very satisfied with their salmon sashimi and the choices of grilled Korean and Japanese food are superb!” – Lawrence
“Sulit :D” – Mack
“Affordable and good quality buffet. A better choice...” – Cherry Libunao
Satisfy your craving for Japanese and Korean food at Sambo Kojin.
Down to our top two is yet again another member of the Kamayan-Saisaki-Dads buffet group, and that is Sambo Kojin. Sambo Kojin, known to the Japanese as the god of the kitchen, is a buffet restaurant that is specifically dedicated to Japanese and Korean food. They also pride themselves as the ultimate “grill all you can, eat all you can Yakiniku”.
Despite being the newest in the Kamayan-Saisaki-Dads family, Sambi Kojin is slowly rising in the top ranks of the best buffets in Manila, especially because of their smokeless grills . Some of Sambo Kojin’s best offering are their carving station where they offer Roast Beef, Roast Pork Belly, and Roast Leg of Lamb and of course their long line of sushi.
1. Vikings by Luxury Buffet
Voters’ comment:
“Great variety of sumptuous food!” – Karen
“All cuisine you can eat” – Butch
“Always feast like a royalty!” – DC Gonzalez
A buffet fit for a king only at Vikings Luxury Buffet.
Finally, on our top spot is Vikings Luxury Buffet. This buffet restaurant fit for any warrior, or a Viking for that matter, just started in 2011 but is now one of the most popular and most visited buffet restaurants in the country. Vikings became one of the first buffet restaurants to wow the Filipinos with multi-national offerings and humungous floor areas. They also started the trend of luxury buffet for the Filipinos without the overly luxurious price.
From their first branch in By the Bay at Mall of Asia, they now have nine branches all over the country and one events place store offering the same deluxe experience. Their smorgasbord of various cuisines from Filipino to Asian and European and will make any mouth water. This is no surprise why Vikings Luxury Buffet topped our list of Best Buffet Restaurants in the Philippines.
Results are based on the Best Buffet Restaurants survey posted at the home page of ShoppersGuide.com.ph from December 12 to 19, 2016.
Click the store names to see their branches, exact addresses, and contact numbers.
Images are from the official websites and Facebook pages of featured establishments.
About Patricia Marie Prado
Patricia came from the field of business and accounting but is now pursuing her dreams of being a writer. She is a self-confessed introvert and is passionate about reading, travelling, writing, movies, coffee and God. When she's not writing, she loves discovering new coffee shops/cafe and doing TV-series marathons.
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