BLACKBIRD ☆ A RESTAURANT THAT TELLS STORY OF MANILA

Blackbird Makati is probably my favorite restaurant in Manila. If you ask me where I would take out-of-town guests in Manila, I would pick this one as well. It is a beautiful restaurant in the Ayala Triangle Gardens, nested in the heart of Makati, the business district of Metro Manila in the Philippines.

In my opinion, a dining experience is a package of various elements: the interior design, ambiance, services, food, and story of the restaurant. Blackbird seems to be a winner for everything for a dining scene in this mega-city. The fact that Blackbird is owned by the same company which owns our favorite Thai restaurant in Manila, People’s Palace, was an added bonus.

 

NIELSON TOWER & HISTORY

Blackbird is in the historical Nielson Tower in Makati. This tower was part of the Nielson Airport, the very first commercial airport in the Philippines. The airport was named after Laurie Reuben Nielson, a British born in New Zealand, who moved to Manila for business opportunities and built the airport.

The Nielson Airport was once the biggest and best equipped airport in Asia and in use between 1937 and 1948. When the commercial airport was relocated to the current site, the land was returned to the original owners, and most structures of the airport gave way for development. However, the Nielson Tower was preserved. Today the airport passenger terminal and control tower in the Nielson Tower are used as the restaurant dining space of Blackbird. This building is apparently the only historical pre-World War II structure left in Makati, Manila.

Blackbird’s success enables the history of its location intact. The restaurant’s Art Deco style uniquely maintains the integrity of the building from the past. These aspects of Blackbird set it apart from other restaurants. If you are interested in learning more about the restaurant and its history, information is available on the Blackbird website.

 

 

ART DECO LOUNGE & BAR

How beautiful is this art deco lounge and bar? This area was the check-in area back in the day. It looks like a scene in a movie or a photo in a magazine.

 

 

PREVIOUS PASSENGER TERMINAL AS A DINING HALL

 

CONTROL TOWER

My husband and I came to Blackbird for the first time with our new friends in Manila. Thanks to them, we were seated on this level at the table by the bay windows. I thank them for selecting such a lovely restaurant and reserving an amazing table for our introduction to the new city, Manila. I was utterly impressed.

 

ONCE A TARMAC NOW AN OUTDOOR BAR AND DINING SPACE

WHAT MY FRIEND AND I HAD FOR LUNCH

I went back to Blackbird for the second time and this time for lunch with my girl friend. Part of its reason was so that I could take photos of the restaurant.

Here is what my friend had.

I had this open sandwich. It was delicious. I could have inhaled it in one, but I indulged in every bite. I wondered if I should have ordered nasi goreng, an Indonesian dish instead. I used to enjoy nasi goreng when I lived in Jakarta between 2010 and 2013. I should try it next time.

My friend and I split this chocolate dessert. It was delicious!

END NOTE

In the recent years, I noticed that being a blogger and for the blog to be noticed is not easy. My blog posts about Manila are buried under hundreds of others. There are abundant of blogs that feature restaurants and other places in the Philippines way better and skilled than I do. I am losing the lust for restaurant features these days, but a place like Blackbird brings me the excitement of writing and photographing the interior.

As I mentioned above, the very first time I went to Blackbird was with my husband for a dinner engagement with our new friends in Manila. I didn’t bring my camera for the occasion. I felt it wasn’t appropriate as we were meeting with friends for the first time, plus it was too dark to take any photos for my liking. Thus, I went back to the restaurant during the day so that I could take photos with the daylight. This time around I arrived at Blackbird an hour before the meeting time with my girl friend for lunch so that I could photograph the restaurant.

I am grateful for the very kind staff at Blackbird who welcomed me to take photos of the restaurant.

Through this blog post, I hope to intrigue interests of other fellow expats and future visitors to Manila to visit this lovely restaurant if they haven’t tried yet.