Inatô Is Where Tradition Meets Innovation For an Unforgettable Dining Experience
Chef JP 'Jepe' Cruz is shaking up the Filipino dining scene.
There’s a new neighbor at “Barangay Toyo”—the affectionate term referring to the row of establishments at The Alley at Karrivin—bookended by Toyo Eatery and Panaderya Toyo, and it’s called Inatô. While its location, provenance, and people would tend to invite the inevitable comparison to Toyo Eatery, it doesn’t take long to recognize it on its own; and that begins by asking the question that is simply begging to be asked: what does it mean? (The next question being, how do you pronounce it?) As we found out, the meaning of the word is just the start of the conversation, and getting it out of the way only means that there’s more time to understand and experience what it means. And so, a few spoilers to clear the air: first, “ato” translates to “ours;” second, “Inatô” means “our way;” third, it can also mean an invitation; and, finally, as far as they are concerned, it doesn’t matter how you say it—you would be just as welcome.
The restaurant storefront gives a glimpse into a dining room framed by a large glass window partially obscured by potted plants. There is no podium for the Front of House; the nearby door is the front of the house where, of course, there’s a doorbell that one presses upon arriving. The setting feels like a cheeky take on the oft-repeated claim that often the best food is home-style cooking; in this case, this is an invitation to someone’s home. Inatô.
Designed by Studio Ong, the interiors are thoughtfully laid out to maximize the small space: a counter-style seating area for eight diners and a private dining area for six. Every element is a conversation starter: the single block of marble from Teresa, Rizal that is the counter; the Kenneth Cobonpue-designed chairs; the Vito Selma dining table; the “peeling walls” patterned after banana peels; the Capiz walls of the washroom; the oyster shells-embedded flooring; and, of course, the glassware and service ware that, consistent with Filipino hosting custom, must be the best, if they are to be used for the guests.
On the night of our visit, we (wisely!) sat at the counter, alongside a couple (whom we later learned was celebrating their anniversary), a trio of ladies, and another couple (of a certain age). And while each group kept to their own personal spaces, it was not hard to imagine how diners would eventually chat each other up. This is not an unusual occurrence, we are told.
Paulo Achacoso recounts: “Sometimes, the guests themselves become friends. That happens quite often. We had guests who would share their food. For example, sometimes, the people they’re seated beside did not order something, but they start offering their food. ‘Oh, you want to try?’ The level of trust—for you to share your food with someone you don’t know, at this time, after a pandemic. It’s something else.”
That “something else” probably has as much to do with the Inatô team and the recognizable Toyo style of hospitality made a tad more personal, owing perhaps to the intimacy of the setting. Diners choose from a menu broken down into four sections: “Tingi-Tingi” (“Small Bites”); “Bilang” (“Appetizers”); “Ulam” (“Main Dishes”); and “Minatamis” (“Desserts”). The slips of paper representing the “intentionally vague” menu are to be marked by the diners, as they indicate the number of orders they would like to place. The ingredients are the stars of the show as much as they are conversation starters: What do you like? What do you not like? Any ingredient that’s interesting to you? And yes, not only will they answer the questions, they will “show and tell,” as our dinner companion—a young Cordon Bleu-trained chef—learned and appreciated that night when she asked Chef Jepe Cruz about the ingredients and the techniques.
Toyo regulars may find hints of the familiar, a wink or two to the team’s bigger family—and while there were some items that felt “referential,” they never tasted “derivative.”
We eagerly listened to the presentation:
- The Yellow Tail is a nice delicate fish from Kagoshima Prefecture, from Kyushu, Japan. Prepared as Kinilaw, with vinegar made using Tapuy or rice wine from Adams, Ilocos. Aged and tempered down with a bit of longan and passionfruit juice, and seasoned with chili leaf oil, soy sauce, patis, and a seasonal fruit called tambis (that was pickled), and dusted with some heirloom salt called “Asin Tultul.”
- The young corn was from Ilocos; partially friend and finished off on the grill, based with roasted garlic butter mixed with achara vinegar, finished off with freshly grated Mimolette Cheese (aged 18 to 24 months).
- The Scallop from Hokkaido was lightly seared and paired with a sauce of sweet corn and white corn (called Lagkitan) from Pangasinan, and a Kangkong salad, topped with caviar.
- We chose the grilled “Chicken Oyster” (with garlic chives) and “Chicken Isol” (with lemon zest).
- The Iberico Presa from Guijuelo, Salamanca, Spain was our “Ulam,” with mother sauce from pork from Zambales, with a side of Pickled Heart of Palm and Choy Sum.
- For dessert, we tried both: the “Papsi,” a popsicle made of four different fruits, guyabano, mango, pineapple, and dalandan, coated with a rosella jelly with a zest of a local sour orange called Sintunis; and the “Choco Tart,” dark chocolate from Davao, presented as a contrast of textures: the crust made of pili and the creamy filing, topped with Manchego. (Our dinner companion swore that she could eat 10 of the Papsis.)
We are glad that we trusted the recommendation of our host because the Albariño 2022 Lagar D Cervera, a very light, citrus/acid forward, dry and refreshing drink paired well with our meal.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that we were fully satisfied, even if we didn’t order a lot (and maybe this had more to do with us being unable to shake off the feeling of “plenty” that Toyo Eatery provides). The reality was that the “more” came in the form of the little touches that we didn’t order, but Inatô found to be in order: the mixed nuts that we munched on while we were waiting, the vegetable dish (“Pinakbet”) and rice that they served together with our Mains.
For those who patiently awaited the renovation and reopening of Toyo Eatery in 2023, their first encounter with aspects of Inatô’s menu would have been at “Papi Hepe Ihaw-Ihaw.” (The night of our visit coincided with day two of the restaging of the pop-up, leading a friend to inquire with concern: but aren’t you dining at Inatô?—wondering if the food would be the same. Short answer: no, they are not; in part, because 70% of Inatô’s menu is different and, largely, because the dining experience is truly something else.)
We asked Chef Jepe Cruz: what do you want people to walk out with, when they dine at Inatô. The humble (and admittedly, shy) Chef paused and answered: How you look at Filipino food, in general. My dream is you can look at Filipino food, in the same way that you would look at French food or Japanese cuisine; you can distinguish, “oh, this tastes Filipino.”
He adds: “With Inato, it’s more about opening it to the idea that being Filipino isn’t limited; there are a lot of avenues. There are different ways, and this is our way towards Filipino food. This is Filipino, because that is the intention.” He pauses to reference the marble counter, noting that, from the design, some may ask, “but it looks Japanese?” He gently teases what underpins the question, and offers a response: “it looks like nice, because it is Filipino.”
A few days after our meal, we sat for a conversation with the Inatô team headed by Chef Jepe. While waiting for the night’s dinner service to end, we observed the two groups of diners that made their way out of the restaurant; their experience seemed to be no different from ours. The Toyo team sent them off at the doorway with a proper goodbye, just as one does with invited guests that are welcomed to one’s home.
As our first time showed, Inatô would delight a wide range of clientele: from solo diners, to groups of friends, and those celebrating special occasions—a motley crew that may not necessarily not sit well, at the same counter, in any other dining context. The straightforward simplicity of the presentation of the menu, focused mainly on singular ingredients, would likely make it easier for Inatô to be more agile and innovative when it comes to their offerings; thereby, lending itself to the likelihood of repeat visits.
