1. I lookin  Let’s be honest: if you’ve been anywhere near the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list over the past decade, you’re probably so used to seeing the name Toyo Eatery among the winners. Well, their winning streak hasn't ended—Toyo Eatery is still scooping up awards like you wouldn't believe, from the Miele One To Watch in 2018 to the latest shiny bauble, the 2025 Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award. Chef Jordy Navarra and his wife May have turned their little soy sauce-inspired joint into the culinary equivalent of that kid who always gets straight A’s. If you think it's all beginning to be too predictable, let us take you on a mini dive into the story of Toyo Eatery. You'll see that behind its parade of trophies, there’s a story of ups, downs, and a few snarky critiques that make Toyo Eatery more than just the teacher’s pet of Asian dining.

Toyo Eatery ranked number 42 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 | Photo: World's 50 Best Restaurants

The early days

Toyo Eatery popped onto the scene in 2016, named after “toyo,” the soy sauce that’s basically the Filipino ketchup. Jordy, a guy who cut his teeth at The Fat Duck (you know, that place Heston Blumenthal made famous) and Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, teamed up with May to do something bold: make Filipino food cool. Not just adobo-for-tourists cool, but fermentation-and-fancy-technique cool. In 2018, they nabbed Miele's The One To Watch Award. Little did we know they’d soon be hogging the spotlight. Here they are, celebrating that first win in 2018. 

The glory years

By 2019, Toyo Eatery was ranked number 43 in the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and snaged The Best Restaurant in the Philippines title—a crown it’s worn for five years straight. The “Bahay Kubo” salad (18 vegetables, all mentioned in the folk song) and the Three-Cut Pork BBQ became the stuff of foodie legend and has been plastered across social media. “Toyo Eatery does it again,” one netizen exulted in 2020. It climbed the ranks—43, then 42 by 2023—and even nabbed the Flor de Caña Sustainable Restaurant Award that year. 

The haters gonna hate phase

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Critics have taken swipes, some sharper than a balisong. One grumbled that the tasting menu was “overpriced performance art,” while another called the veggie-heavy pivot “pretentious pandering to Western trends.” Harsh? Maybe. Valid? Depends on who you ask. There was that awkward moment when a food blogger on X sniped, “Toyo’s just gentrified adobo with a side of guilt.” Yet for every jab, there’s a counterpoint: the place is packed, the staff oozes charm, and the flavors—like that smoky pork or the funky fermented twists—hit harder than a Manny Pacquiao left hook.

The latest win

Fast forward to 2025, and Toyo Eatery snags the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award, announced on February 25 ahead of the Seoul showdown. Voted by the 350-odd food experts of the Asia’s 50 Best Academy, it’s a nod to their knack for making you feel like family—assuming, joked a friend, that your family serves you 12-course meals on banana leaves. Sitting pretty at No. 24 in 2024 (a Filipino record), they’ve turned hospitality into an art form. “It’s about the ‘why,’” May says. “We want you to feel Filipino warmth.” 

The feast that won the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award | Photo: World's 50 Best Restaurants

William Drew, the 50 Best honcho, says that Toyo’s “genuine hospitality shines through,” whether it’s the kamayan spread or the sleek interiors. Jordy’s all, “No cutlery, just vibes.” It’s Filipino soul with a modern wink, and it’s why we’re rooting for them.

Chef Jordy Navarra in Toyo Eatery show kitchen | Photo: Toyo Eatery

A new era

So we say Toyo Eatery is entering a new stage. More than just a restaurant, it’s now a flag-bearer for a new era of Filipino cuisine: bold, global, and unapologetic. 

Salamat, Toyo.