Tinapa at Kesong Puti Lumpia, Wagyu Mechado and Kare-Kare—Casa Reyes Bistro serves up specialties rich in flavors that Filipino families hold dear.
Many folks, especially Filipino apo, would agree—nothing beats a grandmother’s cooking. The meals prepared by our dear lola often use fresh, homemade ingredients and traditional cooking methods that bring a unique, flavorful experience with every bite. Most of all, these dishes are topped with a generous serving of love.
Casa Reyes Bistro Filipino is one restaurant that understands the sense of comfort, love, and nostalgia that a grandmother’s cooking brings. It churns out bold, soulful flavors from their grandmother’s kitchen in San Juan City and serves them with genuine warmth in three locations across Manila.
Its recipes are passed down from the Reyes family’s matriarch and “Filipino cuisine queen,” Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes. Although they were not formally taught to Casa Reyes owner Christine Bautista, the restaurateur ensures that each of her offerings oozes with the same flavors and cherished memories many Filipinos have of their families.
“We’ve always been proud to serve food that tells a story,” Bautista shared. “Casa Reyes is a testament to my family’s passion for food. I grew up enjoying our love-infused Sunday brunches that served thoughtful, delicious, home-cooked meals by my grandmother, Mama Sita.”
The POST got to enjoy many of these heartwarming dishes during the launch of Casa Reyes’ third branch, in Ayala Malls By the Bay, last May 28. Like its flagship in San Juan and its second branch in Quezon City, Casa Reyes in Parañaque is built to “create an exquisite dining experience” by honoring the Reyes family’s culinary heritage. “It’s still your favorite comfort food—just with an elevated experience,” Bautista added.
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Our gastronomic trip down memory lane began with the Tinapa at Kesong Puti Lumpia—an appetizer that tastes as good as it looks. It’s a modern take on the traditional fish lumpia, with the spring rolls served in triangular shape. You eat each piece by putting mango salsa on top of it and wrapping it in lettuce leaf—similar to how you would enjoy a samgyeopsal.
Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, this modernized lumpia is perfect to munch on while waiting for your main course. The mango salsa is (yet another) creative twist, adding a pinch of sweetness to the flavorful, well-balanced filling.
Next up is a crowd favorite: the Crispy Adobong Pusit. Another fresh take on a traditional Filipino main dish, this Casa Reyes specialty is rather served as an appetizer, with the squid cooked as crispy fried calamari and its ink served as a separate dip.
The calamari tastes much like a chicharon—crispy, savory, and salty—but without the guilt. It is non-greasy, and the squid is fresh, firm, and chewy without a rubbery texture. It’s so delicious and addictive that I had to stop myself from eating a plateful!
Meanwhile, Casa Reyes’ Pinakbet na Bagnet offers a delectable twist to the Ilocano vegetable dish with the inclusion of crispy fried pork belly. The bagnet added a savory rich taste to the bitter vegetables, like ampalaya, eggplant, and squash, seasoned with umami-packed bagoong. The result is a dish that is hearty and flavorful, with a satisfying contrast of textures and tastes.
Casa Reyes continues to transform a simple meal into a masterpiece with Wagyu Mechado. As the name suggests, the dish is a Filipino-style beef stew, aka mechado, but prepared using premium Japanese beef instead of traditional braised beef. “I changed the ingredients a bit, but the basic recipe is still there,” Bautista told The POST.
This creative dish preserves the distinct taste of mechado through its sauce, characterized by a balance of sour and salty notes. It is then elevated by the Wagyu beef, which is tender, buttery, and melts in your mouth with every bite.
Here’s another personal favorite: Casa Reyes’ Garlic Butter Shrimps in Creamy Aligue Sauce. It’s a sumptuous and satisfying dish, with the combination of garlic, butter, and aligue sauce creating a rich, savory, and slightly sweet flavor in every bite. Both the butter and aligue sauce enhance its richness and create a creamy texture. And the best part? The shrimp itself is fresh, salty, and extra tender, which makes it truly a delight to eat.
Other must-try Filipino favorites in Casa Reyes’ extensive menu include Kare-Kare, Crispy Pata, Chicken BBQ, and Lechon Sisig Sotanghon. For desserts, Casa Reyes offers the Bibingka Cheesecake, which combines the subtle sweetness of bibingka with the tanginess of cheesecake. There’s also the Pinoy Gelato, which Bautista said is inspired by the light, creamy texture and fresh ingredients of Italian gelato.
A reimagined Filipino home
Casa Reyes offers the same timeless dishes across all of its branches, including the latest one to open in Ayala Malls by the Bay. What ultimately sets this branch apart is its new look which, according to Bautista, is tailored to appeal not only to its loyal patrons but to a younger generation of food enthusiasts.
She explained, “We opted for a vintage look in our first two branches, but now, we made it more modern. Here, it’s more elegant—more modern, cleaner look. We no longer use the sewing machine tables or the old look of our Lola’s house. I wanted this to cater to younger markets, so the design is elevated.”
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For her restaurant’s refreshed aesthetic, Bautista tapped the expertise of her longtime friends and design consultants Chippy and Lex Ledesma of Studio Matthew. The couple is the same creative genius behind the traditional, wood-filled interiors of Casa Reyes Eastwood City.
This time, though, they opted for a Southern Traditional style, which adds a touch of whimsy to Bautista’s request to “retain their family’s heritage.” In an interview with The POST, Chippy recalled her friend saying, “I want to keep the brand’s heritage ‘cause I want to honor my family, my lola, and her recipes.”
Chippy and Lex then “envisioned a majestic ancestral home—timeless yet inviting.” And every part of the restaurant speaks such, from its palatial high ceiling to its vintage-style flooring.
Guests are welcomed by a long wooden table reminiscent of the Reyes’ dining area, where the clan would share delightful lunches and dinners together. On the side are wooden tables paired with emerald green couches—a nod to the family’s ancestral house in San Juan, which Chippy described as “predominantly white and green.”
The couple decked the restaurant’s floor with black and white marble tiles, as it is in Fil-Hispanic houses. They also elevated the ceiling and decorated it with arched beams to make the area look bigger and more luxurious.
All these are meant to transport the Reyeses and their clients to an “era when food and togetherness were at the heart of the Reyes family’s everyday life,” the couple said.
Lourdes Reyes, Bautista’s mother and co-owner of Casa Reyes, couldn’t be more proud of how Casa Reyes Ayala Malls by the Bay turned out to be a stunning visual representation of their family’s legacy.
“This branch is special to us,” she said. “We wanted to create a place that felt both nostalgic and new, where tradition meets today’s tastes.”
“Casa Reyes feels like being welcomed into a beautiful home, where the food is comforting, the conversations flow, and leaving is the hardest part,” the Reyeses shared. “Inspired by the matriarch Mama Sita, whose stories and cooking brought people together, this space keeps her spirit alive. With every bite, we invite you to join the family table and feel right at home,”
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