102 Izakaya - Niles

We were craving for ramen and we were in Glorietta. So we looked for a place that has Zomato Gold and found 102 Izakaya. The place looks good! The food tastes good as well!

102 Izakaya served as the venue of Zomato Gold Philippines 1st Year Anniversary! It was a fun event on an equally fun venue, with interiors exuding that Tokyo street vibe. Staff are friendly despite the chaotic party atmosphere with people standing around, having fun and drinking to their hearts content. Food choices during the party are also good, pika pika style since there were alcoholix drinks served. Kudos to the Zomato team, 102 Izakaya, Jim Bean, Johnny Walker, Glorietta's Japan Town for a successful event.

AMBIENCE We got a little bit excited when we spotted this restaurant at Top of the Glo so we gave it a try. It's a huge, well-lit restaurant with so much dine-in space and a variety of seats to chose from. Entrance is wheelchair-friendly and overall space inside is roomy. Menu is VAT-inclusive but subject to 10% service charge. FOOD BEVERAGE It was our first time to be served really big and really good Chicken Liver Yakitori! Tonkotsu Ramen's broth was okay and came with three slices of chashu, a fair serving. Tamago was good as well. California Curry Maki was the highlight of our visit since we found this superb, uncommon, and exciting! The curry cheese was a lovely experience! Free refillable cold tea was also very good! SERVICE Everything was quick with a fair wait time and we had an easy and pleasant experience, especially with claiming the Zomato Gold perks.

My vegetarian boyfriend and I fell in love with the salad. I also enjoyed the shiitake yakitori. However, the curry maki was so-so. The place looks really good as well. I’ll come back again.

Izakaya 102 joins the growing family of Japan Town in Top of The Glo with their creative pairing of Japanese spirits and street food. This is their second branch, the first was a hole in the wall pub on the 2nd floor of 102 Valero Street in Salcedo Village, Makati. As you enter this location you will be greeted with an inviting, colorful yet industrial look, with Japanese anime posters pasted on its walls. This is a concept by majority partner LA Valles and his Japanese chef Edo-San. The menu is quite extensive highlighting familiar Japanese pieces, curated with a welcome twist at an affordable price tag. The majority of it is inspired by street food you’ll likely find in Osaka, Japan. Our team was served 6 dishes, and Maguro Pizza, layers of thin fresh tuna sashimi on a crispy crust topped with cherry tomatoes and arugula, was the crowd favorite. Another gastronomic bite was the meaty, Beef Usuyaki, loaded shiitake mushrooms wrapped in premium beef. If you’re looking for protein, this is it! On maki and sushi aburis, we enjoyed quality bites in the Edo San Special (Php 450), Kani Tamago Aburi Sushi (Php 195), beautifully plated, Surf and Turf Maki (Php 420) and the Black Mamba (Php 385), topped with generous portions of tobiko. On drinks, my friends paired food with a Japanese cocktail in three kinds of Suntory Kakubin Highball- Ginger Honey Lemon, Soda Water, and Geisha which had whisky, Campari, sweet and sour mix. This location is open until 12mn. So it’s an ideal hangout after work, dinner or after a night movie.