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Nuit Regular’s newest restaurant will transport diners to the Philippines

And right onto a karaoke stage

By Jessica Huras| Photography by Shlomi Amiga

| August 18, 2025

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A spread of Filipino dishes and drinks at Makilala

Name: Makilala Contact: 105 Church St., makilala.ca, @makilala.ca Neighbourhood: St. Lawrence
Owners: Nuit, Jeff and Joel Regular Chef: Nuit Regular Accessibility: Fully accessible

With Kiin, Pai, Sukhothai and, most recently, Tha Phae Tavern, Jeff and Nuit Regular have built a Thai food empire around Nuit’s heritage. Their latest restaurant, Makilala, turns the spotlight on the other half of the family: Jeff and his Filipino roots.

The seeds of Makilala were planted two decades ago, when Nuit first began learning Filipino recipes from her mother-in-law. Over the years, she also picked up techniques during family trips to the Philippines, gradually building a deep fluency in the cuisine.

“Filipino food is such a beautiful mix between Asian and Western cuisines,” says Nuit. “The flavours are so comforting and unique.”

Makilala means “recognize” or “get to know” in Tagalog, and the name references Nuit becoming familiar with Filipino culture—and, now, Toronto diners doing the same. Jeff’s brother, Joel, is also a big part of the project, making this a true family affair.

The exterior of Makilala, a Filipino restaurant in Toronto

Like at the Regulars’ other restaurants, the experience at Makilala is about more than just food: the soundtrack includes the crow of roosters (a familiar sound in many backyards in the Philippines), and the decor takes inspiration from Jeff and Joel’s childhood home. There’s even a built-in karaoke stage for late-night singalongs, a cornerstone of Filipino social life.

“I want diners to feel like they’ve just literally stepped into the Philippines through the service, smells, sounds and flavours,” says Jeff. “Everything is meant to subtly nudge people into thinking that they’re somewhere else completely.”

The entrance to Makilala, a Filipino restaurant in Toronto

The Food

The menu pulls from Jeff and Joel’s family recipes and reworks them through the lens of Nuit’s culinary background. Some dishes stick close to tradition while others are remixes. There’s also a kamayan-style feast—a communal spread served on banana leaves and eaten by hand—available by pre-order. It includes greatest hits from Makilala’s à la carte menu along with a few dishes created just for the feast.

As with all of Nuit’s restaurants, sourcing is a core part of her cooking philosophy. Most dishes make use of local ingredients, a choice that keeps the flavours fresh and the supply chain close. “I want to bring in what we have available to us in Canada to showcase the flavours and traditions of Filipino dishes,” says Nuit. “It’s about quality—local ingredients haven’t travelled far, and we know where they come from.”

Lumpia and dipping sauce — Made from flour, cornstarch, water and salt, Filipino lumpia wrappers are thinner and more delicate than standard spring roll wrappers. They’re filled with a flavourful blend of ground pork, jicama, garlic and soy sauce imported from the Philippines. They’re deep-fried and served open-ended, just as they would be in a Filipino home. On the side for dipping: coconut vinegar spiked with raw onion and chili. $15

Lumpiang sariwa — The fresh counterpart to its deep-fried cousin, lumpiang sariwa sees stir-fried jicama, green beans and carrots tucked into a soft lumpia wrapper. A drizzle of peanut-and-soy-sauce mixture and a dusting of crushed peanuts bring it all together. $16

Pancit — This pancit combines cornstarch and wheat noodles, which get tossed in soy sauce and white pepper and stir-fried along with a jumble of vegetables that includes carrots, green onions, snow peas and cabbage. A final squeeze of fresh calamansi adds a zingy citrus note. A version with shrimp is also available. $20 for pork, $24 for shrimp

Grilled pork belly cubes — These thick slabs of pork belly are marinated in soy sauce, banana ketchup and garlic, with annatto seeds lending the meat its signature brick-red hue. They’re thrown on the grill until smoky and crisp at the edges, then served with a tangy vinaigrette that cuts through the richness. $18

Makilala’s kare-kare stars fall-apart oxtail in a lush peanut stew, ringed with bok choy, eggplant, banana blossom and green beans. Spicy shrimp paste adds a salty-savoury punch that balances the stew’s creaminess. $27

The Drinks

The cocktails lean in to Southeast Asian flavours like ube, calamansi and coconut, with Filipino rums like Don Papa and Tanduay anchoring the lineup.

Beer drinkers can opt for San Miguel or the higher-proof Red Horse. The café program gets equal billing, with beans flown in from Batangas. And for a hit of nostalgia, there’s Milo, the beloved chocolate malt drink found in pantries across the Philippines.

A person uses a lighter to light a smoked cocktail — Named for an active volcano on Negros Island, the Kanlaon Drift is a brooding riff on an old fashioned made with Don Papa rum and muscovado syrup in place of whisky. It’s capped and infused with smoke for a dramatic, aromatic finish

The Kanlaon Drift is a brooding riff on an old fashioned made with Don Papa rum and muscovado syrup in place of whisky, then capped and infused with smoke for a dramatic, aromatic finish — Here it is again. $22

This tropical gin cocktail honours the mythical Bakunawa, a sea serpent from Filipino folklore often depicted in ceremonial masks. Gin is combined with a riot of fruit flavours: melon liqueur along with lime, pineapple and mango juices. The dehydrated pineapple topper adds the final flourish. $19

True to its name, the Pacman Punch packs plenty of punch with vodka, gin, tequila, rum, rye, whisky and peach schnapps — True to its name, the Pacman Punch packs plenty of punch, with vodka, gin, tequila, rum, rye whisky and peach schnapps. The potent blend is mellowed by mango, pineapple and lime juices. A splash of grenadine gives it that sunset glow. (It can also be made as a mocktail.) $21 for a glass or $36 for a pitcher

The Space

At Makilala, the room is just as personal as the food. Jeff and Joel approached the design as a tribute to the everyday scenes of Filipino life: there are laundry lines, retro Filipino movie posters and references to the national obsession with basketball.

Sports jerseys and t-shirts hang on a line above the dining room at Makilala

“Every neighbourhood in the Philippines, whether you’re on an island or in the city, will have a basketball court,” says Joel. “Not only do they play basketball on the courts, but they use them to play other sports and host beauty pageants and festivals and big celebrations—they’re essentially the town halls.”

The dining room channels the spirit of a barangay, with a layout meant to encourage conversation and connection — The dining room channels the spirit of a barangay (a Filipino village), with a layout meant to encourage conversation and connection

At the front of Makilala, a small market showcases merchandise from rotating Filipino artists and vendors — At the front, a small market showcases merchandise from rotating Filipino artists and vendors

The bar is styled after a sari-sari store, family-run convenience shops found on nearly every street corner in the Philippines — The bar is styled after sari-sari stores, family-run convenience shops found on nearly every street corner in the Philippines. It’s named for Jeff and Joel’s parents, Nonoy and Myrna

The karaoke stage at Makilala — Once the dinner rush winds down, the mic comes out. Makilala’s karaoke stage keeps the party going late into the night

Filipino records and fans on a shelf at Makilala

Old cassette tapes line one window sill at Makilala

Caps and other locally made merchandise for sale at Makilala

Jessica Huras

Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.