Created by Chef Francis Lacson, Digámo offers a 10-course tasting experience that reinterprets local flavors through history, culture, and memory.&nbsp;

Whenever a new restaurant opens in town or a new café starts trending on social media, conversations almost always start with one question: Is the food worth trying? And rightfully so, as great flavors are what draw people in. But what makes a dining destination unforgettable and worth coming back to is not only a good meal, but also the story it tells. That’s exactly what Digámo sets out to do.&nbsp;

Tucked away in the humble city of Marikina, the intimate 14-seater restaurant is deeply rooted in the life experiences of multi-awarded chef and food writer Francis Lacson. Drawing inspiration from his childhood in Capiz, years spent as a seafarer, and eventual venture as a self-taught chef, Digámo serves contemporary Filipino cuisine that invites diners to rediscover local flavors through the lens of culture, heritage, and personal memory.&nbsp;
Named after the Hiligaynon word that refers to both the art of cooking and the intentional act of setting the table for others, the restaurant embodies this value through its dining experience, where a meal becomes a ritual of bringing people together to connect and reflect.&nbsp;

“Digámo is a longer table,” shared Lacson. “It is a place for better and deeper conversations about Filipino food. It comes from the desire to honor where we come from while allowing our cuisine to move, question, and grow.”

Within this sensibility, its inaugural 10-course tasting menu, titled Playful Evolution, explores how Filipino cuisine has continuously evolved through indigenous traditions, centuries of trade, colonial encounters, and now through modern techniques. With this, each course showcases Lacson’s belief that Filipino food is something that is living and perpetually developing through cultural exchange and innovation.&nbsp;
Reimagining local cuisine and regional flavors through meticulous research and thoughtful gastronomical executions, the menu offers recognizable yet intriguing dishes while remaining faithful to the stories and histories that defined them for generations. The journey begins with a series of appetizers and hors d'oeuvres that incorporate pre-colonial traditions and Spanish influences.&nbsp;

Among the menu’s highlights is Tenga at Tenga at Tenga, the opening course that pays homage to the pre-colonial woodfiring technique called ‘sugba.’ Consisting of three types of ‘ears’ — tenga ng baboy (pig’s ear), tenga ng daga (wood ear mushroom), and abalone or sea ears — the dish is all about the layers of smoky depth, savory umami, and contrasting textures that make the first bite awakening. On the side is a fitting fourth ‘ear’: a 'bloodless' dinuguan made from corn smut, a fungus native to Quezon province.

With the main course, what easily catches the eye is the playful Sarsa Confusion, which is a witty interpretation of the often-interchangeable trio of menudo, caldereta, and mechado. By deconstructing them and serving side by side, it encourages guests to settle or continue the debate over their differences. 
Meanwhile, tapping into a different kind of memory tied to American fast-food culture, C3 is an ode to the classic chicken-and-spaghetti combo. This time, it is reimagined with seafood through crisp soft-shelled crab, cuttlefish ‘spaghetti’, and a strawberry tamis-anghang sauce.

Ending the tasting menu with a sweet note, the Five Stages of Coconut is a dessert that celebrates one of the country’s staple ingredients by tracing all the phases of its life cycle. It consists of a coconut pianono filled with minatamis na malakanin, butong cream, lahing sorbetes, ungol tuile, and sagbayluwag-sago sauce, all rounded out by grilled binatog. Using contemporary techniques to reveal new dimensions of flavors and textures from the familiar ingredient, each component spotlights the versatility of the coconut — encapsulating Digámo’s philosophy of commemorating Filipino cuisine through a fresh perspective.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This New Restaurant in Marikina Explores the Evolution of Filipino Cuisine

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