Circles Event Cafe at Makati Shangri-La, Manila — Restaurant in Makati

Had a very, very bad and dissapointing lunch experience at this Circles buffet restaurant in August of 2025. First of all the japanese section did not even have miso soup, which I always have whenever having japanese food. Brought it to the attention of the supervisor, had it made to order but when it came it did not even taste like miso. Second dissapointment was the made to order pork sisig. It was so hard that I chipped my dental crown and I was just vacationing from Canada. Now I have to worry about this for the rest of my vacation because it might get worse. I don't even want to think of the cost that I will incur in getting this replaced or fixed. So I just decided on going around choosing softer selections. Went to try the fried fish and stir fried veggie with tofu. When I tried the fish I then realized that coming here is a big, big mistake cause the fish that I was expecting to be soft was dry and hard. I proceeded to eating the veggies which was soft but when I ate the tofu it was hard and dry as well. Was already feeling frustrated but I still went to grab some soft food but they all tasted dry and harder than how it should be because they were over cooked. By this time I was already feeling indigestion. I ordered tea to help bring it down but was not helping. Because of my dissapointment I decided to bring it to the attention of the Head Chef who brought it to the attention of the Manager. I told her of my complaints about the food and about my chipped tooth. They were suggesting for me to see their nurse but this is a dental problem, I don't think she would be able to help me and I was already running late for an appointment. She decided to give me a 10% discount which just ended up to 200php. Considering that I might pay hundreds in Canadian dollars to get this fixed or replaced. I just decided to leave with good attitude, but so dissapointed and with a heavy heart because of this very bad experience. So my advise to all of you don't even step foot on this restaurant or just suffer the consequences. By the way... had indigestion because of their food the whole day...

Circles currently features unlimited lobster and seafood every Saturday night for PHP 3080 nett. They call it Tail and Claw following Heat's Mad for Lobster format at EDSA Shang. With 50% off or PHP 1490 nett using BDO elite cards, this is hands down the best and best value buffet in the city today.

Apart from all the lobster, scallop, mud crab, prawns, mussel, clam, and fish cooked the way you like (try Singapore chili), Lobster laksa, and Lobster paella, they serve a mean US roast beef, suckling pig (which is both crispy and melt-in-your mouth), super fresh sushi and sashimi from Inagiku upstairs, tempura, authentic Takoyaki, salads, charcuterie, mocktails, a very good dessert bar (try the bingsu style Halo-halo, Davao dark chocolate ice cream, and apple strudel) and dozens of Filipino, continental, Cantonese, and Indian dishes.

Bravo, Shangri-la!

Update: We returned here three weeks later and encountered this smug waiter who insisted we take a wrong order of lobster after we returned it and then smugly passed us off to another waiter when we simply asked for ketcup. This was the same waiter who when we went the first time took our food away before we were finished, gave us the wrong replacement dish when we called it out, and never got the bill when we asked for it.

We politely but very firmly told OIC Noel that the experience was disappointing and the waiter's sense of service unacceptable. Noel quickly transferred the waiter to another section and arranged for the lobster the way we wanted and plated nicely for extra impact. He then asked two other waiters to keep a close eye on our needs through the rest of the meal. This is one of the reasons that sets Shang apart, there will always be one or two who will be weak at service - this is inevitable unfortunately - but a manager and other members of the team will very like be ready to make amends. 5...

I really enjoyed having dinner here. Service is impecable. There’s always someone at arms length to tend to our requests. Food is delicious, I appreciate the variety. We went during lunar new year so there were a few special items.

I’ll list the stations and some of my thoughts: Maki, sashimi, sushi -no tempura -great sashimi selection, maki and sushi are flavorful. Better than most buffets Salads -have the usual caesar (hand tossed), pasta salad, greek salad Desserts -cakes have distinct flavor, love it -no choco fountain instead chef will dip for you, more sanitary this way -great variety of sweets, fruits, berries -interesting ice cream flavors Italian -pizza, pasta freshly made -stews and cooked dishes Seafood paluto -crabs, shrimp, salmon, also have chicken, pork Roast beef -juicy, tender, towards end of night they are extra generous to avoid waste -no Lechon :( EDSA shang has Asian -Indian dishes, vegetarian options available. I really appreciate this station. -DIY Ramen -Chinese dishes -Filipino dishes -Dimsum station, they have hakaw!! -Carving- Inihaw na manok, Lechon kawali, Inihaw na liempo, Pork belly, Char siu, Roasted chicken Appetizers -cheese and deli here Drinks -have to pay extra for this -the only free drinks are water, coffee, and tea

You can reserve a table by calling them, no need to pay anything in advance. We paid Php 2,200+ per person. Overall, it’s worth what you pay for. There’s great variety and the best sellers are all available. I just wanted to post this to give people an idea of what Circles has to offer. I couldn’t find any video online that shows just that. Hope this helps...