Kaya

Kaya, a Filipino spot in Mills 50, is fine dining that’s not stuffy at all—it’s more like being at your friend’s apartment who happens to be a chef rather than a white-tablecloth affair with tuxedo-clad waiters. No one will give you the side eye here for wearing a T-shirt, but it is the type of place you need reservations for. Once you’re in, focus on the chef’s nightly menu: five courses that might include adobo with local mushrooms or fried fish sinigang in a clay pot whose lid, coated with tamarind miso paste, becomes the bowl. If you simply can’t be bothered to book ahead, they do reserve a couple tables for walk-ins where you can order a la carte.