Toho Panciteria Antigua (Binondo, Manila): The Oldest Restaurant in the Philippines and One of the Best Panciterias I’ve Ever Tried!

We always see food spots and concepts come and go. But some stand the test of time (and even the pandemic). So I want to feature and celebrate these institutions in this series, Legends of Manila. In this article, I’m featuring the oldest restaurant in the country. It’s Toho Panciteria Antigua.

Established in 1888, Toho (sometimes spelled as To Ho) is the oldest restaurant in the Philippines. It’s located in Manila Chinatown, which happens to be the oldest Chinatown in the world! (By the way, I wrote a Manila Chinatown Food Guide. Check it out here.)

Toho Panciteria Antigua is the oldest restaurant in the Philippines!

Some believe that national heroes Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio dined here. While these information are unverified, there is no denying that Toho is certainly historic.

But while Toho is more than a century old, its Chinatown branch doesn’t look like it. It has gone through a renovation, mixing vintage vibes and modern feels. Because of this makeover, the place looks clean as compared to other panciterias (no offense to others but it’s simply the reality).

So what food can you eat at Toho? Panciteria food, which is one of my absolute favorite sub-categories of Filipino cuisine!

To the uninitiated, a panciteria is a place that serves Filipino-Chinese dishes. These include chopsuey (stir-fried vegetables), the iconic lumpiang Shanghai (deep-fried spring rolls), and different kinds of pancit/pansit (stir-fried noodles; the word “panciteria” literally means “pancit place”), among many others.

So let’s about their food, starting with the meats. Their Asado (barbecue pork) is tender, moist, and perfectly sweet. This is the best panciteria asado that I’ve ever had, because others tend to be on the dry side.

Another meat is the Lechon Kawali (crispy pork belly), which is underwhelming. Unfortunately, it’s dry and lacks crispness and tenderness.

The Toho Chicken is fried chicken drenched in garlicky sauce.

Toho Chicken (Half: PHP290; Whole: PHP580)

We asked the staff to separate the sauce because we’re unsure of it. But next time, we’ll have the chicken swim in it! This is another favorite of mine in Toho!

Of course, no panciteria visit would be complete without Lumpiang Shanghai, which are plump, crunchy, and a bit juicy.

*Lumpiang Shanghai* (Small: PHP275; Medium: PHP550; Large: PHP825)

To offset all our deliciously “bad” stuff, we tried their Chop Suey, which are crisp vegetables covered in tasty sauce!

Chop Suey (Small: PHP250; Medium: PHP500; Large: PHP750)

And we paired the dishes with Shanghai Fried Rice, it’s deliciously oily with big chunks of pork!

Shanghai Fried Rice: Small: PHP240; Medium: PHP480; Large: PHP720)

Toho Panciteria Antigua is one of the best panciterias I’ve ever tried. They generally make good Filipino-Chinese food, and their place is nice and clean compared to others. Most importantly, it has more than a century of history; nothing beats dining in a historic establishment! Needless to say, I highly recommend it to you!

P.S. Toho Panciteria Antigua has branches in south Metro Manila. You can search the locations in the Internet (unfortunately, I couldn’t find their social media accounts, if they have any at all).

Address: 422 Tomas Pinpin St., Binondo, City of Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines | Operating Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-8PM; Sunday, 9AM-3PM | Contact No.: (02) 8242-0294