La Mesa

Of course the Philippines’ most famous dish, adobo, is on la mesa, meaning ‘the table’. Chicken or pork with sugarcane, vinegar, soy, garlic and pepper – it’s crowd-pleasingly mild but not the most memorable dish here. A mirror-covered ceiling in the beige-and-chocolate coloured room gives a bird’s eye view of groups feasting on sinigang na baboy (tamarind soup with pork) and the house’s signature dish of crispy pata (deep-fried pork leg). Kare-kare comes in a cauldron-like pot, the thick peanut sauce coating chunks of oxtail, pumpkin and eggplant, while single-serve leche flan (think creme caramel) is topped with irresistibly dark caramel.