Kei Maki — Restaurant in Taguig

Since its a no reservation dine in experience, went there around 8pm and got second on the waiting list. While waiting, paper with the menu and pen was given and since its new, the person on the door explained some of it and their best sellers.

From the inside, with the help of their radio, person explaining the menu outside the restau, invited us to go inside and be seated. Another person infront of me showed me different glasses for sake incase I will order one, and explained that small plates will be served and last will be the handrolls… Soy sauce, ginger and wasabi, and wet wipes prepared infront of me. I used the wet-wipes immediately and they replaced with new one. For the wasabi, they replenish it, just ask the lady behind you, she’ll radio it to the lady infront of you. They served one by one my Green apple cocktail, wasabi stem (really like this), shishito peppers (fave side), Tasmanian Salmon and Hamachi, 2 Japanese tuna tartare-Shoku Pan toast, then took a pause and the lady and guy infront welcomed us to their handrolls. They started serving their 5 Handrolls one at a time as they will let u finish before they serve the next (its quite heavy actually), and I added Uni hand roll as their last. Now comes the bill. It has a service charge and the total bill is ₱……So better use your Eastwest platinum cards to avail the 50% discount. It really was quite an experience especially the food, thyre fresh, tasty and even the wasabi is heaven. I will...

Oct 2024 Newly opened sushi bar in BGC under the Wildflour umbrella of f&b collection.

Their venture in the sushi bar space is a bit based on traditional staples while experimenting on an izakaya variation of menu. The maki or sushi roll bar concept is fairly new in the Philippines and there is much room for improvement.

The menu is fairly basic with a few interesting add on options like the fresh wasabi stem. Maki rolls are good but execution is a bit sloppy and should be more firm which made it sometimes fall apart. Rice kernels are fairly small but served at the right temp. The price point is expected to be pricey so the presentation and servings need to catch up a bit.

The menu is sure to change as well into one that would be seasonal and towards a complete izakaya experience, maybe.

The drink section is highly localized on Japanese brands. Nice to find the Hitachino brand of beer finally reaching our shores. Whiskey list is very extensive.

Service crew is very receptive and highly engaging. Little touches like hand wipes for the rolls is a good touch.

As usual most Wildflour concept stores invest a lot in interiors and this bar did not disapppoint with balanced cool lighting with warm wooden surfaces and high airy ceiling.

As true to the sushi bar concept it is suitable for solo or dates or very quick meals or...

If you’ve been to and enjoyed Kazunori in New York, you’ll likely love Kei as well! The concept is very similar—no reservations, you're given a paper to order from, and the chefs prepare and serve fresh hand rolls right in front of you.

One thing I’d like to point out is the timing for their small plates. We ordered over four, and they brought everything out with less than a minute between each dish. Meanwhile, with the hand rolls, they waited for us to finish one before serving the next, which was great. I understand that small plates are typically served differently, but it felt a bit rushed to have the Miso Soup, Caesar Salad, Whipped Edamame, and Salmon Sashimi all served at once. Maybe that's just me, but a bit more pacing would have been appreciated.

That said, the food was really good, and the fish was incredibly fresh! I highly recommend trying the Tuna Tartare, Uni hand roll, and Hamachi hand roll, which stood out during our meal. The service was exceptional as well—they even offered extra rice chips for our edamame dip, which was a nice touch.

I’m already planning my second trip back!

P.S. If you have a selected EastWest credit card, there’s a 50% discount until October 15, 2024. Be sure to check if your card...