Kazu Café: A Japanese Cafe in Ayala Triangle Gardens (Makati City) Serving Yōshoku Cuisine (Japanese-Style Western Food)

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we will earn a small commission when you make a purchase. This commission will help us create more content and maintain this website. Don’t worry because we will only recommend products and services that we believe in.

I’m a follower of Nippon Hasha, the group behind my favorite ramen spot Mendokoro Ramenba, ramen brands Marudori and Ramen Yushoken, and Kazunori Japanese Restaurant (see my review here). These spots make excellent Japanese food.

In 2024, Nippon Hasha added to its roster of Japanese concepts—Kazu Café. Located in Ayala Triangle Gardens (Makati City), it is the group’s Yōshoku concept. To the uninitiated, yōshoku is a Japanese sub-cuisine that’s composed of Japanese-style Western dishes. You can think of it as the Japanese counterpart of Hong Kong’s cha chaan teng and Singapore’s Hainanese-style Western food.

Kazu Café used to share a space with Kazunori (is it still there until today?). Now, it has its own space with a nice interior, keeping up with its neighboring establishments. Its design is nice, blending Japanese and modern influences, and with orange and blue colors.

Intermission: Are you planning a trip to the Philippines soon? Can’t decide what activities to do yet? Then check out the activities in Klook!

So let’s talk about the food. For appetizers, you can order the House Gyoza (Japanese dumplings), which are super juicy and plump, as I would expect of a Nippon Hasha brand.

The Shiro Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) are crisp, juicy, and slightly sweet.

They also serve Kazunori items. The Spicy Salmon Roll is made really well and has the freshest ingredients. And they mean it when they say spicy!

During our visit, I ordered the Truffle Chintan Ramen (I’m not sure if it’s a seasonal item). It has a broth that’s thin, has deep soy flavor, and has a subtle truffle flavor. Unfortunately, the noodles are soft (which is unusual for a Nippon Hasha ramen that’s always al dente) and the meats are on the dry side.

Unfortunately, the ramen is the first underwhelming dish I’ve ever tried in a Nippon Hasha brand.

My wife ordered the Kakuni Don (pork belly rice bowl). It’s okay.

Honestly, I’m not yet ready to recommend Kazu Café. While half of our order is good, some items are underwhelming, which I didn’t expect in a Nippon Hasha concept. But in retrospect, we didn’t order any yōshoku item. So I’m going back one more time to try those items and their bestsellers. Until then, I’m withholding my verdict.

How was your Kazu Café experience?

P.S. Thank you to our friends who treated us in Kazu Café!

Kazu Café

Don’t forget to book your activities at Klook!