Aristocrat Restaurant

The flagship branch has been in operation since the 1930s. Lovingly known as Manila’s famous restaurant, Aristocrat’s success belies its rags-to-riches beginning. The Roxas Boulevard branch, with “Home of the Best Chicken Barbecue in Town” emblazoned across its front, is a testament to the hordes of friends, lovers, and families who come in for barbecued chicken drumsticks dipped in “secret sauce,” to be eaten with java rice and atchara.

“Bakit, nahihiya ka ba sa mga aristokrata mong kaklase sa Ateneo?” is the question Engracia ‘Asiang’ Cruz Reyes first asked her son Andy when it came to naming her mobile canteen. Asiang wanted to name the canteen after her eldest son Andy, who was hesitant to give his name to a small canteen along Luneta. This comeback gave Aristocrat its current name, carrying with it the philosophy that comfort food and food fit for royalty are not mutually exclusive.Aristocrat’s famous barbecue chicken also follows a similar work-with-what’s-there trajectory. The restaurant continued to expand into Cubao, Ermita, and even a beach resort in Las Piñas. Problems arose at the beach resort, however, when Asiang noticed that patrons took her cutlery away with them.

 This petty thievery led to the birth of Aristocrat’s now-famous chicken barbecue. Placing the tender meat cuts on skewers reduced the need for utensils, fully encompassing the homestyle food experience of eating with your hands.  In 2013, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines officially recognized Aristocrat as a historic site, placing marker at the Roxas Boulevard branch. Many Filipino families from all walks of life have one Aristocrat story or another. So wide is the brand's reach that even imprisoned soldiers dream of having Aristocrat food.

The latest branch opened in Tagaytay City at Tagaytay-Calamba Rd., cor. SVD Rd. open from 10AM to 10PM.
Aristocrat at Tagaytay