Step into Foodie Haven at Public Eatery (Robinsons Magnolia)

Attention, foodies! There’s a new foodie destination in New Manila. Located on the fourth floor of Robinsons Magnolia, Public Eatery is a high-end food court featuring a subway-inspired layout, with 16 food stalls offering various local and international dishes. You can find beloved brands such as Bad Bird, but also new discoveries such as Chef Tatung’s New York Cubao.

Team #TaraLetsAnywhere was invited here to sample a dish from each of the 16 food stalls. Here is everything we tried, starting with our favorite dishes.

Crab Pad Thai at Samyan

Samyan Thai Street Food brings you delicious Thai dishes including this bestseller: Crab Pad Thai. This was the first dish we ordered at the Public Eatery and it was so good! The portion was generous and there was a pleasant spicy aftertaste afterwards. I would definitely recommend it especially if it’s your first time at the Public Eatery.

Bestsellers: Crab Pad Thai, Crab Fried Rice, Rad na Mee

Chicken Sandwich at Bad Bird

Bad Bird is a local homegrown restaurant famous for their award-winning umami fried chicken. I may be a little biased here because I love the chicken in Bad Bird, but at the same time, I was a little skeptical to order their chicken sandwich because a lot of restaurants don’t do it right. Well, I’m happily proven wrong!

Their chicken sandwich is delicious — with crispy fried chicken, cucumber, pickles, and secret sauce served in brioche buns. It comes with thin and crispy sweet potato chips. It’s sure to satisfy burger lovers everywhere.

Bestsellers: Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Tenders, Fish & Chips

Spicy Tuna Crunch Bowl at Ono

Ono serves poke bowls and fresh Hawaiian meals. Their menu is interesting that I had a difficult time just choosing one dish to sample, but at the end I opted for a Spicy Tuna Crunch Bowl because it is so hard to find fresh poke bowls here in Manila.

The verdict: So good! The tuna chunks were really fresh and the spicy creamy sauce was perfect. The nori seaweeds add an interesting umami flavor and the rice krispies give texture. This is one of my recommended food at Public Eatery for sure.

Bestsellers: Spicy Tuna Crunch Bowl, Spam Musubi Bowl, Pockechos

Tonkotsu Premium by 10 by Tsukemen

I love Japanese food as much as other Filipinos. If you’re like me and you’re always on the look out for delicious Japanese fare, check out 10 by Tsukemen at Public Eatery. We ordered the Tonkotsu Premium, which is a large bowl of pork bone soup ramen with chasu and tamago eggs. It looked very plain when served, but the broth was full of flavor and the portion is more than enough to keep you full.

Bestsellers: Tonkotsu Premium, Roku Kuhiyaki Platter

Butcher’s Claypot Rice at Thomson Road

Thomson Road is a Singapore food stall famous for their Jumbo Siomai. We debated whether to try their Butcher’s Claypot Rice or Seafood Laksa, but in the end we chose the claypot rice because I wanted to see how it fares to the claypot rice I used to eat when I lived in Kuala Lumpur.

The claypot rice was served piping hot — we were careful in setting it down the table. The flavors were great. Meat toppings were generous and included braised pork belly, chicken, and chorizo. Of course, claypot rice wouldn’t be claypot rice without the crunchy rice at the bottom of the bowl. It definitely made me miss traveling around Asia!

Bestsellers: Jumbo Shrimp Siomai, Butcher’s Claypot Rice, Seafood Laksa

Lechon Sisig by Le’Chon

Lechon is one of the best Filipino food ever. Le’Chon by Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu lets you choose your own lechon (lechon porchetta, gourmet lechon manok, lechon angus beef belly, lechon spicy tuna beef belly, and lechon sisig), along with rice and veggies.

We opted for the lechon sisig which is one of their bestsellers, along with grilled talong with baba ganoush and original butter rice. Everything was good and the portion was generous as well. We even had some left for take out.

Bestsellers: Lechon Sisig, Angus Belly, Lechon Tuna

Rice Baked Oysters at Seafood and Oyster Bar

We’re so happy to find the Seafood and Oyster Bar since there are only limited restaurants that offers fresh oysters in Manila. We opted for the Rice Baked Oysters with truffle flavor. I can’t really taste the truffle here, but overall it was pretty good and filling. Definitely would recommend for fresh seafood lovers.

Bestsellers: Fresh Oysters, Rice Baked Oysters, Miso Custard

Karaage at Konbini Karaage

Konbini Karaage is a modest food stall and it’s quite easy to miss. Their menu is simple: karaage in different flavors. We got the garlic parmesan and it was simple but surprisingly good that we wish we also had rice. If you’re looking for something that is easy to eat or take out, this is a fun choice.

Pinoy Inasal at Anyhow

Anyhow is a pun on the word “iniihaw” (grilled). Here you can choose your own combination of grilled meat, rice, and side dish. We chose the classic Pinoy Inasal with rosemary herb rice and mac n’ cheese. The plate is definitely an upscale version of your average inihaw, and I love that flavorful rice in particular. I wasn’t a fan of the mac n’ cheese but my boyfriend loved it, so I guess it is a matter of preference.

Bestsellers: Pinoy Inasal, Hickory BBQ, Miso Teriyaki

Kwek Fried Chicken at New York Cubao

New York Cubao is owned by Chef Tatung, who is a famous chef Youtuber in the cooking channel Simpol. Chef Tatung describes this food stall as an “American diner with a Filipino twist.”

We tried their kwek fried chicken, which comes with rice, kwek kwek, and sliced cucumber. The taste was certainly novel and interesting. Honestly we haven’t decided on a verdict with this one yet, I think we may need to have another go.

Bestsellers: Chori Burger, Kwek Fried Chicken, Tocino Ribs

Hummus at OK Bob

OK Bob offers different Middle Eastern dishes like falafel, kebabs, curries, and hummus. I love this cuisine so this was one of the food stalls in Public Eatery I was looking forward to. We chose the hummus and it was bland. 🙁 Some of their dishes like the Hanging Kebab get positive feedback though, so maybe we will try those in the future.

Bestsellers: Hanging Kebab, Sisig Kebab, Skewer

Drinks and Desserts

Public Eatery has dedicated stalls for drinks and beverages.

FRNK offers the best drink options in my opinion. Their menu is plant based and comes with a pastry of your choice. We tried the Baked Purple Chizu because Hali loves anything that is ube flavored, and it was really good! I also liked the free pastry bar although I forgot what it was called.

Morse Coffee offers different coffee drinks. Their bestsellers are The One, Flat White Tiramisu, and Dirty Chai Latte.

The Bev Bar offers wide choices of drinks, including fun takes such as Bev Bar Scramble (a dessert that milennial kids grew up with), Milo Crunch Dinosaur, and Choco Chocnut Shake. I tried the last one and it legit tasted like chocnut!

Bookoh is an interesting beverage stall. They offer drinks made from coconut water and different syrups. We tried the Ube Coconut and you can really taste the coconut flavor and the sweet coconut sugar used. It reminded me of sweet coconut desserts sold in provinces. Their bestsellers are Coconut Capuccino, Coconut Pandan Gula Melaka, and Ube Coconut.

Lastly, don’t forget to buy a cup of ice cream from Merry Moo! We tried the Auro Milk Chocolate and I love it. It isn’t too sweet which is too common in ice cream brands nowadays, and you can really taste the cocoa flavor. Bits of roasted cocoa nibs add bite to the ice cream.

Conclusion

All in all, the food and drinks offered at the Public Eatery were great. It is a bit more expensive compared to your regular food court with prices around P400-700 per dish, but if you have the budget then come check it out. Not only does it have some beloved brands like Bad Bird, there are also food stalls that you can find here such as the number one on our list — Samyan.

Public Eatery is a great option for friends and families to dine and hang out in.

If you’re looking for a new food trip destination in Quezon City, check out Public Eatery in Robinsons Magnolia. You can find Public Eatery in their Facebook or website, which also lists their menus.

Disclaimer: We were invited to try the meals for free. As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you been to Public Eatery in Robinsons Magnolia? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments section below!