Toma Toma in Makati: Filipino Stories Told Through Food, Drinks, and After-Dark Gatherings
Filipino food and drinks take center stage at Toma Toma, a restaurant and cocktail bar at the Green Sun Building in Makati City. Built around good food, good drinks, and genuine hospitality, the restaurant celebrates Filipino ingredients and the people behind them in a space designed for gathering and sharing.
IMAGE from Toma Toma
The idea for Toma Toma began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when founder Arcadius Rybak was living and working in Hong Kong. After spending much of his career abroad, he found himself drawn back to the Philippines and its wealth of native fruits and vegetables, seafood, honey, salt, spirits, and regional food traditions. He was also inspired by Filipino chefs whose passion for local cuisine left a lasting impression on him.
IMAGE from Toma Toma
Rybak later partnered with Michael Hearn, owner of Run Rabbit Run, and a group of investors who shared the same vision: to create a restaurant that recognizes not only Filipino ingredients, but also the farmers, fishermen, beekeepers, salt makers, artisans, and other producers behind them.
A Filipino Table Built Around Fire
Toma Toma takes inspiration from the warmth and familiarity of a Filipino home, a place where people gather around the table, share dishes, exchange stories, and enjoy drinks together.
Even its name captures that easygoing spirit. Toma is Filipino slang associated with drinking or “bottoms up,” while its repetition recalls playful Filipino words such as halo-halo and tusok-tusok. Behind the bar, its bartenders are fittingly called tanggeros, referring to the person who pours and serves drinks during Filipino gatherings.
IMAGE from Toma Toma
In the kitchen, fire plays a defining role. Inspired by Filipino barbecue culture, dishes are cooked using a combination of local charcoal and two kinds of local wood, introducing varying layers of smoke into the food. Rather than reinventing Filipino cuisine, Toma Toma aims to give familiar flavors careful treatment while allowing quality ingredients to remain recognizable.
A fitting introduction to this approach is the Grilled Pompano, a fire-cooked seafood dish that puts the restaurant’s charcoal-and-wood grilling technique at the forefront.
Grilled Pompano (Php 980) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
Guests may also begin with shareable dishes such as the Prawn Lumpia, offering Toma Toma’s take on a well-loved Filipino favorite, or the Tinola Balls, which draws inspiration from another familiar local comfort dish in a different form.
Prawn Lumpia (Php 450) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
Tinola Balls (Php 440) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
The kitchen works closely with local producers and makes use of seasonal ingredients, artisanal Philippine sea salt, and raw local honey. Whenever possible, refined sugar is replaced with natural alternatives—part of the restaurant’s effort to let the character of its ingredients come through.
Filipino Spirits Behind the Bar
Toma Toma’s celebration of local produce continues with its cocktails, with particular attention given to lambanog, the Philippines’ traditional coconut spirit.
For the team, lambanog is not simply another cocktail base but a beverage connected to Filipino culture, history, and exchange. By placing it alongside other Philippine spirits, wines, and ingredients, the bar hopes to encourage guests to explore more of what the country’s beverage scene has to offer.
IMAGE from Toma Toma
Among its cocktails is the Lambatini, which puts lambanog directly in the spotlight. Guests can also try the Buko Cocktail for another drink inspired by one of the country’s most familiar tropical ingredients.
Lambatini (Php 500) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
Buko Cocktail (Php 500) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
Meanwhile, the Bees Knees fits naturally into Toma Toma’s broader appreciation for locally produced honey and thoughtfully made cocktails.
Bees Knees (Php 500) / IMAGE from Toma Toma
Beyond everyday dining, the restaurant also plans to hold masterclasses, tastings, and educational events highlighting Filipino ingredients, traditions, drinks, and the producers responsible for them.
Gather Around the Table
For intimate gatherings, Toma Toma offers Silid Kainan, accommodating up to 10 guests with a Php 25,000 consumable rate, while the Tahanan Room can seat up to 14 guests at Php 35,000 consumable.
Both rooms may also be combined for groups of up to 24 guests at a Php 48,000 consumable rate.
Larger private events may take over the entire restaurant, which can accommodate up to 89 seated guests, with rates starting at Php 150,000.
At its core, Toma Toma keeps its concept uncomplicated: Philippine ingredients cooked over fire, local drinks poured with intention, and food made to be shared. With farmers, artisans, producers, kitchen teams, bartenders, and guests all forming part of the story, it offers a distinctly Filipino way to gather around the table.
