Soft opening. We’re still getting the Balai ready, so a few things will change as we go. Salamat sa pasensya.

Balai Yllana

Our Balai.
Our Home.

Balai Yllana opened in 2015, with tables set out in the garden of a house on Gloria Diaz. The house sits on the corner of Monina Yllana Street, and that corner gave the Balai its name.

The garden in daylight: a lawn with stepping stones, raised planters and potted pines, 2015
The garden, 2015.

Over the years

The Balai never stayed the same for long. Tables moved from the garden into the sunroom and out onto the terrace, and the menu changed with them.

Some of you will remember the kare-kare, oxtail slow-simmered in peanut sauce with our own bagoong on the side, and the sisig ihaw that came to the table still sizzling. Both are back on the menu.

  1. 2015 to 2018

    A lit sign with the first Balai Yllana logo: yellow lettering on a green leaf, on a wooden board, 2015
    The first Balai Yllana logo
    • Garden tables under string lights at dusk, with a hanging swing chair, 2017
      The garden at dusk
    • The sunroom with yellow walls, wooden benches and iron chairs, 2017
      The sunroom
    • The terrace at night, with iron chairs and tables on patterned tiles, 2017
      The terrace
    • Sisig on a sizzling plate with egg and sliced chili, 2017
      Sisig
    • The garden under a clear roof, with hanging plants and bulb lights, 2018
      The garden under a clear roof
    • Shrimp and squid marinara, 2018
      Shrimp and squid marinara

  2. 2019 to 2021

    • Long rows of tables under draped fabric canopies in the garden, 2021
      Canopies over the garden tables
    • Hanging plants and string lights above the garden tables at dusk, 2019
      String lights in the garden
    • Kare-kare in a white bowl with pechay, eggplant and sitaw, 2020
      Kare-kare
    • The front of the Balai: green walls, orange window frames and the Balai Yllana Garden Restaurant sign over the entrance, 2021
      The front of the Balai
    • The sunroom painted white, with plants hanging along the windows, 2021
      The sunroom
    • A terrace table against a brick wall with a chalkboard sign, 2021
      The terrace

  3. 2023 to 2025

    • Hanging fringe and string lights over rows of chairs in the garden, 2023
      Hanging fringe over the garden
    • A corner of the sunroom with hanging plants and wall planters, 2023
      The sunroom
    • Iron chairs and small tables on the terrace, 2023
      The terrace
    • A bowl of sinigang, sinaing na tulingan on an oval dish, and salt and pepper squid rings on a wooden table, 2023
      Sinigang, sinaing na tulingan, and salt and pepper squid rings
    • Cups of juice blends with sliced fruit, labelled The Juice Lab, with lemons, limes, apples and kiwi on a wooden table, 2023
      Juice blends from BY The Juice Lab
    • The two-storey house from across the street, with the Balai Yllana Garden Restaurant sign, 2023
      The house from the street

  4. 2026

    The Balai reopens.

The kitchen

Behind every dish is a little bit of home.

Most of what leaves our kitchen starts from scratch. The bagoong is sautéed here, the dips and sauces are made in-house, and the sinigang is made the way it was on the old menu. How, exactly, stays in the family.

Next to the old favorites are dishes from other parts of the country: Ilonggo kansi soured with batwan, and Bicolano laing slow-cooked in gata with pork belly and danggit. Our chef cooks all of it the way he would for his own family.

Celebrations at the Balai

Many memories were made in the garden, the sunroom, and the terrace: weddings, baptisms, debuts, graduations, anniversaries, reunions, and birthdays from the 50th to the 86th.

The Balai today

A refreshed space, a renewed identity, and the same heart that makes the Balai feel like home.

The house was renovated, and the Balai reopened in September 2026. Hapag, the dining room, serves lunch and dinner, with some of the old dishes back on the menu. Lanai, on the ground floor, is open for events while we finish it, and Veranda upstairs will soon house a few small shops.

The house looks different now. We hope it still feels like the place you remember.

Welcome to the new Balai Yllana.

The Hapag dining room: wooden tables and green seats under woven pendant lamps and a slatted wood ceiling