There is a particular kind of hunger that good restaurants try to satisfy, but few ever truly can — the hunger not just for good food, but for the feeling of being genuinely, warmly, unhurriedly at home. Tatung’s was built for exactly that.
Now open at the Upper Ground Floor B of Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City — in the storied space that once housed the Palenque Food Hall — Tatung’s is perhaps the most personal restaurant yet from Chef Tatung, one of the Philippines’ most beloved culinary voices.
Built around the tagline Home, remembered, it is a restaurant rooted not in trend, but in inheritance: the slow-cooked wisdom of lolas’ kitchens, the flavors of the regions, and the conviction that Filipino food, cooked with honesty and served with pride, needs nothing more to be extraordinary.
For Chef Tatung — a multiple Gourmand World Cookbook Award winner, author of the SIMPOL cookbook series with over 200,000 copies sold, and founder of the SIMPOL platform with millions of followers across social media — this restaurant represents the culmination of a lifelong relationship with Filipino food.
But more than that, it is a homecoming.
“Putting my name on this restaurant is not an act of ego. It is an act of accountability — and of homecoming. At Tatung’s, I simply wanted to be myself. And it turns out, that is enough.”
— Chef Tatung
The name Tatung carries deep personal history. Long before the cookbooks, the television appearances, and the platform that reached millions, Chef Tatung ran a small private dining space in Sikatuna Village, Quezon City — a converted home simply called Tatung, where he cooked for people without pretense or performance.
That quiet room became the seed of everything that followed. Tatung’s at Gateway Mall 2 is its fullest and most mature expression. The menu is drawn entirely from memory and from love.
It begins with Kinilaw made fresh to order — sukang tuba, biasong limes from Mindanao, and tabon-tabon from the Visayas — a dish that speaks to the breadth and diversity of the archipelago itself.
The Whole Pampano Braised in Coconut Milk follows Lola Juanita’s recipe, cooked gently and patiently, carrying her memory with every plate that leaves the kitchen. The Humba, inspired by Lola Natividad, is the southern Filipino answer to the long braise — two lolas, two recipes, one menu.
The Pancit Guisado comes with homemade kikiam sausage prepared in-house, while the Santol Wood-Smoked Roast Beef Caldereta, enriched with queso de bola, transforms festive food into something meant to be enjoyed every day.
For dessert, the New York-Cubao Bibingka Cheesecake bridges two culinary traditions in a single indulgent plate. The Sizzling Cassava Cake arrives warm and caramelized at the edges. And for the playful, there is Bibingkang Talong — tortang talong reimagined in the spirit of bibingka, familiar enough to feel like home and surprising enough to make you smile.
Tatung’s also carries forward the spirit of its predecessor. A dedicated Tindeli corner, reimagined as a deli and pasalubong center, allows guests to bring a piece of the experience home.
The restaurant was entirely self-funded by Chef Tatung — without partners or investors — a quiet testament to the depth of belief behind it.
“The gap I wanted to fill was not a category on a menu. It was the space between a screen and a shared meal.”
— Chef Tatung
For the millions who have cooked his recipes at home, watched him speak about the soul of Philippine cuisine, and found parts of their own stories reflected in his work, Tatung’s is where years of connection finally find a table.
It is warm, unhurried, and designed not to impress, but to welcome.
“At its heart, Tatung’s is about creating the space for special moments. The food is the occasion. The moment is the meal. We just want people to leave happy.”
— Chef Tatung
Tatung’s is now open.
The table is set.
Come home.
