Antidote is one of the newest bars in Makati City and it sits on the roof deck of the Five Star I’M Hotel in up-and-always-coming Poblacion in Makati City.
It’s name means a medicine taken to counteract a particular poison.
We all know that our city can be toxic and downright poisonous to our health, and this bar claims to offer an antidote to the metro’s chaos with its food, drinks and 360 degree view of the metropolis.
The bar is fancier than most of the establishments down below, which cater to the more “hipster” market of Metro Manila.
And they are pricier than most bars in the neighborhood, about PHP350 (US$7.50) on average.
We recently visited the bar, which boasts of three open air decks.
The first thing you’ll notice when entering is that aquarium full of jellyfish, that’s because the owners of the hotel are also the ones behind Manila Ocean Park.
Go outside and you’ll find yourself on a huge three-level deck with young locals and foreigners alike soaking in the city lights while sipping on their cocktails.
The bar boasts of not having “watered down drinks” in their vocabulary with a menu created in collaboration with the chief bartender of Bar Mace in New York City.
Sean Manuntag, assistant food and beverage manager, suggested we tried drinks from the “remedies” menu.
Each drink costs PHP380 (US$7.60).
Below we’ve ranked our drinks from our most favorite to least favorite, but there wasn’t a drink that we didn’t like.
Remedies five drinks
1. Ube Bae
We definitely wanted to try the Ube Bae first, not only for its creative name, but for infusing Filipino/Asian ingredients like ube (purple yam) and coconuts to this cocktail.
Inside the glass, it looks like an innocent milky drink. It is, but take a sip and you’ll not only taste the ube, coconuts and milk but a kick of vodka.
2. Mr Domango
This is another Filipino alcoholic drink with its main ingredient mango. The bartenders took the approach of create an alcoholic drink inspired by milk tea, a popular drink across Asia. Its other ingredients include banana liquor, mango puree, coconut milk and tapioca pearls at the bottom.
3. Ananas in Pandanus
This is another fruity drink, this time with banana as its main ingredient. The alcohol is pineapple-infused rum with pandan syrup and lime juice.
Each sip you first taste the fruit before the alcohol gently kicks yo in the tongue. We imagine ourselves drinking this on a beach, but a rooftop bar works just the same.
4. Leek’n Good
After three fruit drinks, we were happy to be introduced to a simple rum drink. Leek’n Good is gin mixed with sweet vermouth, spiced Filipino vinegar, and roasted leek leaves.
We like how the drink had a range of tastes from a sweet-and-sour first sip to sweetness then a bitter after taste.
The bitter taste would do well with the discerning Filipino drinkers, but may not be a favorite for the stereotypical Filipino sweet tooth. But for the gin lovers, it’s definitely worth a try.
5. Tokyo Sojourn
The Tokyo Sojourn is mezcal-based and infused with nordic spices and cucumber.
It’s not too fruity, but at the same time not as bitter as Leek’N Good.
It also has pandan syrup, cumin, and egg at the base.
In holding up to its promise of not having watered down drinks, the bar holds keeps true to its word.
According to Manuntag, the menu is updated often with new drinks and is often paired with a dish available from the food menu.
If you wanted to order all five of these drinks, it’ll cost you about PHP1,900 (US$38) total.
If you need a place to go drinking tonight while staring at the metropolis’ beautiful skyline, you can head out to Antidote in Poblacion tonight.
Hours:
Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 5 pm to 2 am
Friday to Saturday 6 pm to 3 am
Address: 7862 Makati Avenue corner Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City, Philippines
Contact +63 755 7899
Visit their Facebook page here
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