At once quaint and lively, the Philippines’ shoe capital is poised to become a culinary capital with influences from the Philippines and beyond.

Words Pao Vergara
August 29, 2024

What comes to mind when people mention Marikina are shoes, well-made shoes for half the price sold at malls, a tradition dating to the 1800s.

Lately, as online discourse has mainstreamed the importance of open spaces, green spaces, bike- and pedestrian-friendly roads, Marikina is in the position to become one of Metro Manila’s top leisure cities.

The shoe industry has faced ups and downs, all while persisting and innovating, but a vibrant culinary sector may just be what next defines Marikina in public consciousness, thanks to localeslike Lilac Street and Gil Fernando Avenue.

Here, Art+ Magazine steers away from the city’s familiar food hubs to curate a walking tour ofhidden culinary gems, all with a side dish of culture, green spaces, and heritage. You can drive from district to district, but a place’s attractions are best enjoyed on foot: What better way to whet the appetite!

The heritage district & river park

Centered around the San Roque Church, Shoe Museum, the art deco Otto Tower, and numerous heritage houses, the area is accessible on foot via the treelined Marikina River Park, a sprawlingurban greenspace with many car-free zones, giving way to small petting zoos, urban farmsselling produce on weekends, fishing spots and 20-km walking and bike lane connecting numerous barangays which residents use to get around the city, to school, and work. 

Much of the old architecture remains, and keeping with the environment, newer buildings, such as a bank and a park, were built according to Spanish colonial design, and tastefully too. As of press time, residents anxiously await the results of the current renovation of the river park, hoping that their taxes continue to preserve a heritage they’ve come to call home.

Parikit – open for more than a decade, this Lucban restaurant serves freshly grilled meat and seafood with signature for-sharing dishes such as the pancit habhab and salmon sinigang. Pair these with their classic inasal. Often out of stock due to demand is their sizzling mushrooms. Wash it all down with San Miguel beer sold at a good price. Right next to the Kapitan Moy plaza, where children play as sorbeteros smile, Parikit maintains its 1900s design and is a haunt of local historians.

Sundays – opened in the 2020s, this upscale cafe and restaurant boasts trained chefs servingFilipino and international cuisine. Well-lit with modern Filipiniana design, the place is frequented by families, well, on Sundays after mass across the street at San Roque Church. Coteries of cyclists also like to stop by after riding through the river park, thanks to secure bike parking.

I recommend the salmon avocado toast (sometimes I crave for the side salad more than the actual entree!), their red sauce pasta selection, and their oatmeal fried chicken. They use well-roasted beans for their espresso-based drinks which highlight their strawberry shortcake, sans rival, and arguably the best blueberry cheesecake east of Manila.

Jardin ni Lola – A garden restaurant built under old trees on the slope of a hill overlooking the main bridge spanning Marikina river park, this idyllic setting is perfect for dates while also catering to big groups celebrating occasions like birthdays. Ran by a local grandma and her family, the place is best visited at night owing to its garden aglow in soft yellow lighting overlooking a romantic view of the river. The menu has a special “by Marikina Lolas” sectionfeaturing classic Marikina interpretations of Filipino comfort food in for-sharing servings.

 They also have a well-represented wine selection best paired with their pastas. Adventurous diners are free to play. Ever tried adobo with Spanish merlot? They also cater to early birds with their morning-only goto selections, with prices ranging from Php 50 to Php 200 depending on one’s craving for various toppings.

Bonus: The best street food stalls

Frederick’s – Grilling since the 1960s, Frederick’s apocryphally started out as a grill stall set up in front of a seniors’ pension house. In either case, there are now numerous stalls around the city center. I recall a stall by a pension house next to San Roque Church, but today, Frederick’s now grills further down the street. The marinade complements, rather than overpowers, their juicy, chicken inasal, liempo, and barbeque.

Fish balls – Fish balls that are actually more fish than flour! An intrepid family living next to San Roque Church starting selling this common Filipino snack from their garage. The twist? They managed to source fishballs in bulk being sold to authentic Cantonese restaurants. They also sell other popular street foods such as kikiam and lobster balls, all from the same source.

Pan de Sillos – A Marikina spin on classic pan de sal, smaller in size, but denser and notably milkier. Genesis Bakery, with branches around Marikina Heights and nearby districts, is one bakery that has long specialized in the bread, a staple in many local households.

Puto – Bite-sized but with a cakey texture making it fun to chew on, with flavors ranging from brown sugar to buko pandan and ube, Rocha’s puto has been featured in other publications but it’s worth mentioning it again nonetheless—your annual reminder to take home a box for your kith and kin after a day exploring Marikina!

Marikina Heights

Built over old haciendas, the rolling hills of this district are dotted with parks, the biggest beingthe interconnected park circling the barangay hall, where young directors might want to shoot their debut films. The barangay also contains the famous Lilac Street, the site where Marikina’s modern food culture started. All that walking leads to more eating:

Krung Thai – Run by a Filipina who married a Thai national, this restaurant has branches around Marikina, with its main branch near Marikina Heights barangay hall. Ingredient quality and cooking process are what ensure authenticity, as the restaurant has been acknowledged by Thai expat groups in the Philippines. The Tita running the show is honestly #TitaGoals, with a warm sense of humor and lots of stories to share laced with subtle wisdom and a sprinkling of sass.

Fino Deli – A short walk from between the mall and barangay hall sits Fino Deli, loved for its well-curated wine selection, entrees, and desserts centered around Italian cooking. Touted as one of the first fine dining wine bars in Marikina, it’s easy to see why they’ve been going strong for almost a decade as we zero in on their pasta, with noodles cooked al dente, and salad, where the meat is roasted crisp at the edges while tender in the middle, all sitting on a bed of crisp, fresh garden greens. 

Kim Chee – Korean food is popular in the Philippines, but I sometimes seek places that Korean tourists or expats go to when they miss home. There is a notable difference in flavor profile between authentic Korean restaurants versus those tailored for local tastes, the latter of which focus mostly on samgyeopsal versus home-cooked dishes like fresh seafood and stews. In Marikina Heights, we have our own authentic Korean restaurant whose highlights include jjigaedishes and grilled mackerel.

Specialty cafes – Among locals, well-roasted coffee has really picked up in the last ten years, buoyed by young roasters and connoisseurs bringing with them updated coffee education. At either end of the park complex, visitors might want to cap their stroll at either Resonate Coffee or No Perfect Cup, taking home beans from local roaster Trails and Traces (whose roastery is located in Resonate), who also supplies to specialty coffee shops in Quezon City and Rizal Province.

The residential areas

Many homes used to be family businesses where each member would work on different parts of a shoe. Today, this ethos carries on as many neighborhoods have at least one family who is serious about their love for food—and sharing it.

Lola Helen’s – At the height of its shoemaking era in the 20th century, panciterias served boththe workforce and entrepreneurs, and many older residents recall childhoods of feasting at panciteria serving Chinese-Filipino fare like pancit, Shanghai rolls, spring chicken, and hototay,all after a busy week.

 As family businesses would drop their wares off at the city center, panciterias like Lola Helen’swould then serve the busybodies before returning home. At the edge of the river park, and accessible by foot from the heritage district, this particular panciteria is one of Marikina’s institutions. 

Luyong – At the heart of Barangay Santo Nino near the iconic Marikina Sports Center, Luyonghas served generations of Marikenyos, becoming both a destination for occasions like graduations or that once-a-month weekend treat with the whole family, even appearing in the Cinemalaya film Mariquina (2014).

Eschewing the usual mami and siomai, Luyong serves Cantonese entrees closer to the Southern Chinese flavor profile side-by-side with Filipino interpretations of some Guangdong dishes as the restaurant is the love child of a Filipina and her Hong Konger husband. 

Ca Phe Saigon – At the part of residential San Roque closer to Antipolo than to the Marikina River, Ca Phe Saigon also nests near a large park. It seems Marikina’s green spaces attracts expats who’ve married into Filipino families. The family-owned Ca Phe Saigon is helmed by a Vietnamese woman who has lived in the Philippines for many years. It’s notable how the couple sources herbs grown from their home garden, part of which decorates the restaurant.

Vietnamese restaurants serving pho, goi cuon, and banh mi are a dime a dozen in the 2010s and well into the 2020s, but as with the other restaurants mentioned above, the close involvement ofcross-cultural consultation has resulted in a harmonious blend of the source and adopted flavor profiles.

With its laid-back atmosphere, accessible public infrastructure, sprawling parks, excellent traffic management, and more or less egalitarian ethos, Marikina serves as a culinary and cultural oasis in an otherwise busy and congested metropolis. To families looking to unwind or friends itching for a long bike ride or weekend stroll, Marikina has different things to offer, with each offerdelivering well.