Anniversary Date Ideas in Manila for Three Budgets

Anniversary date ideas in Manila come in three sizes: about ₱2,000 for flowers, dinner and a speakeasy in Cubao Expo; about ₱6,000 for a sunset rooftop, a French dinner and wine at Gateway; and about ₱15,000 for a one-star tasting menu in BGC or Poblacion. The first two start with a bouquet from Farmers Garden, whose flower shops are open 24 hours.

How the sums work

Every total below is for two people, doubled from a per-head price: under ₱500 a head, ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head, or ₱1,500 and up a head. Read each one as a ceiling, not a quote. Where a restaurant has a dated menu price, it is given. The top price has no ceiling, which is why the third plan rests on the two restaurants that list a tasting-menu price.

About ₱2,000: Cubao Expo

6:00 PM, flowers. Farmers Garden is under ₱500 for a bouquet. It sits beside the Farmers Market, about a 12-minute walk from Cubao Expo, so buy first and walk over.

6:30 PM, dinner. Best of Luck has Hong Kong-style Chinese plates and cocktails over two floors of two-seat tables. Prices in 2024 were ₱168 for Pork & Shrimp Siomai, ₱188 for the Special Bacon Bao and ₱288 for Braised Beef Tendon Dry Noodles. It is closed on Mondays.

8:00 PM, a photo. The convex mirror by the entrance is free.

8:15 PM, a drink behind a door. INT.Bar is a speakeasy behind a photobooth door, with cocktails named after films, and it takes reservations. It shares a space with EXT.Cafe, and the pair is open daily until 12:30 AM. Without alcohol, Silingan Coffee is quiet and open until 11 PM.

The sums: bouquet under ₱500, dinner under ₱1,000 for two, drinks under ₱1,000 for two. The ceiling is ₱2,500, and the three dinner plates above came to ₱644 in 2024.

About ₱6,000: Gateway, with a view

5:00 PM, flowers. The same market, and Gateway Mall is about a 6-minute walk from it.

5:30 PM, sunset. The Edge Skyview Bar is a rooftop pool bar on Level 22 of ibis Styles with a deck for the skyline and the sunset. It opens at 5:30 PM, takes reservations and costs ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head, so go for the sunset and move on for dinner.

7:00 PM, dinner. Le Bistro on the hotel's ground floor serves escargot, beef bourguignon and duck leg confit à l'orange at ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head, open until 10 PM daily.

9:00 PM, wine. World Cellar is a wine room inside World Kitchens on Level 4 of Gateway Mall 2, with space for up to 4,000 bottles. Call for its hours and prices before counting on it.

The sums: bouquet under ₱500, the rooftop ₱1,000 to ₱3,000 for two, dinner ₱1,000 to ₱3,000 for two. That is up to ₱6,500 before the wine.

The swap: Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Gateway Mall 2 is ₱1,500 and up a head, so dinner there starts at ₱3,000 for two and has no upper limit. It keeps mall hours, which means a table by 7 PM on a weeknight.

Elsewhere, the same money buys one rooftop or one top-tier dinner. The Peak is a rooftop bar on floors 60 to 62 of the Grand Hyatt in BGC, and Dr. Wine Rooftop in Poblacion is open-air for wine and sangria. Both are ₱1,500 and up a head. In the Pasay Bay Area, watch a free sunset on the esplanade on Seaside Blvd, then eat at China Blue by Jereme Leung, which has bay views and is ₱1,500 and up a head.

About ₱15,000: a tasting menu

At this level the dinner is the plan. Two restaurants list their tasting-menu prices.

• Gallery by Chele in BGC holds one Michelin star. Tasting menus are ₱5,000 to ₱7,500 a head, so ₱10,000 to ₱15,000 for two. It is on the fifth floor of Clipp Center at 11th Ave corner 39th St.
• Kása Palma at 6042 Palma St in Poblacion also holds one star. Tasting menus are ₱6,500 to ₱8,500 a head, so ₱13,000 to ₱17,000 for two.

Two more sit in the same top tier at ₱1,500 and up a head. Helm in Makati holds two Michelin stars and serves seasonal set menus. MŌDAN in Cubao serves a modern Japanese tasting menu in a 12-seat room on 20th Ave, a short ride from Araneta City, with seatings at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM from Wednesday to Sunday. A reservation is required. Ask both for their current menu price when you book.

Where to stay

For an anniversary in Cubao, ibis Styles Manila Araneta City has a rooftop pool on Level 22, the same level as the sunset bar in the second plan. Novotel Manila Araneta City has a pool and spa beside the Coliseum.

Elsewhere: Shangri-La The Fort in BGC, The Peninsula Manila and Raffles and Fairmont Makati in Makati, and Conrad Manila, a bay-view hotel with a pool bar by MOA. All five sit in the top price tier, so get a room quote from each before settling the budget.

Plan the evening

The night-out planner covers Cubao now and puts a flower stop first on an anniversary night, then dinner and a drink, with a hotel suggestion. BGC, Makati and the Pasay Bay Area are next. Start from the anniversary guide.

Go further with the one-star tasting menu in BGC, costed, the guide to hotels in Cubao for a staycation and the 24-hour flower market. For the same night without the occasion, read the Kilig Classic.