MilkyWay Café in Makati: An Ice Cream Shop Turned Classic Filipino Restaurant
Updated as of April 16, 2020
With its 40-year history, MilkyWay Café surely deserves to be one of the restaurants that will let you see and taste how authentic Filipino dishes are like.
Today’s MilkyWay Café, however, came about after one of the tenant restaurants in the A&G Building said they could no longer continue operating. Over the weekend, they took over the restaurant, changed the name, and made it into a small café.
A year after, they were able to properly renovate the restaurant into the MilkyWay Café, serving classic Filipino food from Pampanga while retaining 1962 MilkyWay recipes for made-to-order.
Owner Chef J. Gamboa opened this restaurant in 2002 and he wanted to give his customers unique dining experience. He designed the restaurant by adding in touches from the original MilkyWay in the 60s.
Also read: Business Talk with Chef J Gamboa
The dishes they serve here are made flavorful and delicious, just the way how it was prepared by the original chefs back in the day. At present, it offers a variety of delicious Filipino cuisine dishes like Baby Crispy Pata, Tokwa’t Baboy, and their specialty Milky Way Kare-Kare (Php 625).
Kare-Kare (Php 625)
Another signature dish from their menu is the Lechong Kawali (Php 1, 595). This dish is made from crispy Lechon de Leche and is served with liver sauce for some added flavor.
Lechong Kawali (Php 1, 595)
Their BBQ Pork Spareribs (Php 495), on the other hand, is a best selling dish that one should not miss. A plate of this serves you with a row of tender BBQ Pork Ribs, Java rice, and MilkyWay’s very own Atchara recipe.
BBQ Pork Spareribs (Php 495)
And since it started out as an ice cream shop, you should not leave without ordering their Milky Way Halo-Halo (Php 225), which they are most famous for.
This timeless Filipino dessert is definitely a must-try as its best-selling 1962 recipe will make you realize why it has always been an old-time dessert favorite.
MilkyWay Halo-Halo (Php 225)
If Halo-Halo is not enough for you, do not forget to have a scoop or two of their creamy MilkyWay Ice Cream (Php 225). We guarantee you that their ice cream is one of a kind as it boasts a full-flavored creamy concoction that will surprise and win over your tastebuds.
MilkyWay Ice Cream (Php 225)
This restaurant makes its customers feel relaxed and nostalgic through its long presence in the Filipino restaurant scene. Although a lot of Filipino restaurants have been established time and again, MilkyWay still stands out to become one of the best when it comes to authentic Filipino flavors.
Aside from its main branch in Makati, MilkyWay Café also has a branch in Rockwell, Makati.
Also read: MilkyWay Cafe in Rockwell Brings Nostalgic Filipino Favorites to Your Table
Want to relive the classic Filipino cuisine? Head on now to MilkyWay Café!
How to get here
- MilkyWay Café is located along the corner of Arnaiz Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City.
- From EDSA, you may take the Arnaiz Avenue and drive straight until you reach Paseo de Roxas corner. If you are coming from Ayala Avenue, you may drive along Paseo de Roxas, passing through Greenbelt 1.
Prices indicated are for takeouts only; for dine-in, a service charge of 10% is applicable.
This first appeared in Philippine Primer’s Japanese Magazine March 2020 and English Magazine April 2020 issues.
Images grabbed from MilkyWay Cafe official website.
