As featured in 10 Best NEW Homegrown Restaurants in Manila of 2019!
METIZ is a modern Filipino restaurant by French-Filipino Chef Stephan Duhesme who moved back to Manila from his restaurant stint in Bogotá (formerly Tria Neo Bistro) to embrace his Filipino roots, push our cuisine forward and be part of the young Filipino chefs who are driving the chef-driven restaurant dining scene in Manila.
The name is mestizo-inspired as a tribute to the mixed heritage of Filipino food and the chef’s roots. The menu is a fixed 5-main course experience using 100% local ingredients at ₱1,500/head. We had a Christmas dinner date with the Lechon Diva and here’s what we think…
METIZ
Karrivin Plaza, Ground floor, Building A, 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Extension, Makati, Philippines.
Open for dinner 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Mobile: +63917 898-5751
Email: metizresto@gmail.com
Instagram: @metizresto
Facebook: Metiz
It’s located at the back of the first building of Karrivin Plaza where Toyo is and in front of the Moment group’s Mess Hall.
The open kitchen felt like one big living room with Stephan and his Colombian girlfriend Karen Urriago welcoming you as you enter.
If you are going with a group of 6-8, make sure to reserve the special private table with cool leaf-covered lamps.
Stephan’s food philosophy revolves around fermented ingredients and vinegar as the distinctive difference of Filipino cuisine versus other Asian food.
Our favorite spot is this Chef’s table where you feel part of the kitchen action yet still feel like you’re in a private nook with good lighting for your photos.
Metiz Menu: Menu Carte Blanche | Cocktails | Wines
Stephan personally wants you to experience a progression of flavors in 5 courses with a choice of main course based on what’s seasonal and fresh.
The Metiz Experience
The Gin with the bitter taste of ampalaya actually worked, a great way to stimulate your appetite.
The cold salad course was a mix of balimbing (kamias), langka seed, carabao yogurt, lato, reduce coconut juice, buko ice with guyabano vinaigrette and mushroom jelly.
If you were to judge it by itself, this salad was eclectic and it was like your son’s experiment in your kitchen.
You’d love their selection of organic natural wines. Go for the red to pair with the course.
The appetizer course was a betel leaf taco of grilled pata glazed and topped with kamias. Add the green chili for a good spicy kick.
Loved that this taco did not have any carbo and allowed you to enjoy meat with vegetables.
We were so delighted with this hot beef broth that was very comforting, soulful and homey. Could we ask for a refill?
We truly enjoyed the lumpia of fried beef maskara, oxtail, intestines with bone marrow, fermented rambutan wrapped in fried sourdough wrapper with cooked peanut sauce on the side.
I loved how Stephan’s version of Filipino food was not sweet at all, giving more emphasis on meat ingredients that were grown properly via grass-fed, organic or biodynamic means.
The must order main dish was the hito (catfish), that was fermented for 5 days in salt, served with crispy skin and its bone jus plus chicken liver sauce with guava preserve, mustasa and buro.
It was an elevated kapampangan dish that everyone was raving about—just the humble hito and local ingredients. Galing!
Order the alternative main dish for variety, and the one we had was the safe poached chicken breast with coconut milk and clam sauce, ampalaya, patola and fermented tomato.
It was too safe and not very memorable. I wish they still served the tendon dish which they recently removed from the main options.
Could you guess what this local fruit is that’s yellow when peeled and turns red when cooked? Metiz was the first one to use this tamarillo fruit in a dish here in Manila.
The last course was more of a savory dessert made from cheesy carabao cream, pandan oil, dalandann ice, tamarillo, talinum green and brown crisp.
One of the best desserts we’ve tasted in Manila—not too sweet but the flavor was satisfying and savory!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I love how Stephan’s Filipino food is uncompromisingly 100% local ingredient-made which challenges him to be more creative. What’s more, he was even able to bring down the 5-course mains menu to ₱1,500/head only. The food is more savory and not too sweet, with emphasis on fermented vinegar-based flavors. This feels like a Filipino-focused version of Test Kitchen 2.0.
We love the Sisig lumpia, Hito with Buro and the Carabao Cream with Tamarillo. The cold salad and chicken dish was pathetic but Stephan recommends to judge the experience based on the progression across the 5 courses versus evaluating the dish in isolation. Order the Gin Ampalaya and their selection of natural organic wines. Budget about ₱2,000/head.
This is a great place for a girls’ night out where you’ll feel satisfied and won’t feel bloated after the meal. It’s a great place for reunions, foodie gatherings or just catch-ups with good friends.
Congratulations to Stephan Duhesme and Karen Urriago for the successful opening of Metiz! 👏👏👏
METIZ
Karrivin Plaza, Ground floor, Building A, 2316 Chino Roces Ave, Extension, Makati, Philippines.
Open for dinner 6.00 pm and 8.30 pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays.
Mobile: +63917 898-5751
Email: metizresto@gmail.com
Instagram: @metizresto
Facebook: Metiz
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: We paid for our meal. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights.
