Best Craft Beer Bars in Manila: Taprooms, Cellars & Local Brews
Manila's craft beer scene has grown from a novelty into a proper circuit — local taprooms, basement beer cellars and gastropubs pouring Philippine IPAs and stouts. Here's where to drink well beyond San Miguel.
Beyond the Pale Pilsen
For years, "beer" in Manila meant one of two San Miguel bottles. Not anymore. A genuine craft scene has taken root — local breweries like Engkanto, Craftpoint and Katipunan pouring IPAs, lagers and stouts, and a growing set of taprooms and cellars built around them. If you want to drink well without a cocktail-bar bill or a club cover, this is the circuit.
The Taprooms
- Engkanto Taps - NBS Park in Greenfield is the flagship for one of the country's best-known craft breweries — the highest-rated craft spot in the city, with the full Engkanto range on tap. There's a Engkanto Taps - Sta. Rosa branch for the south.
- The Beer Factory - Greenfield sits in the same Mandaluyong drinking quarter, a solid mid-week option with a broad tap list.
- Tap Station brings the taproom format to BGC for the after-work crowd.
Cellars & Beer-Focused Pubs
- Pierre's Craft Beer and Barbecue Cellar is the basement beer cellar on Tomas Morato — IPAs, lagers and stouts paired with barbecue, exactly as it should be.
- Belle & Dragon in Legazpi Village is the English-pub-styled option with a considered draught list.
- Pedro Tap House and Maillard Gastropub cover the Poblacion end when you want taps in the middle of a bar-hop.
- ReCraft flies the craft flag in QC's leafy Scout area, a short walk from the Tomas Morato action.
Craft With Your Meal
- Miguel & Maria on Marikina's Lilac Street pours local craft beers — Craftpoint, Katipunan Indio Ale, Pivo Praha — alongside Western comfort food.
- The Perfect Pint - Greenbelt 2 is the reliable Makati CBD gastropub for a pint with a proper plate, with a Capitol Commons branch out in Pasig.
- Heading south for the weekend? Craftbeer Sanctuary flies the flag up in Tagaytay.
Drinking Craft Well
- Ask what's local and fresh — the Philippine breweries turn over seasonal batches worth trying over an imported staple.
- Taprooms rotate — the tap list at the Engkanto and Beer Factory rooms changes, so ask what's new.
- Pair it — the cellars and gastropubs here take the food as seriously as the beer; the barbecue and comfort plates are part of the point.
Pair this with the budget night out guide for more value-driven nights, or the Makati nightlife guide for the wider scene.
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