Our Story: Perfecting Manila Barbecue Since 2002

Reyes Barbecue was established by Mr. Francisco “Frank” Reyes of the famous culinary family of Manila. The Reyes culinary roots span more than 140 years. Frank’s maternal great grandmother, Luisa Garcia Cruz, a highly skilled cook, used to run a local eatery in the 19 th century Navotas. Her specialty was “kare-kare,” earning her the nickname “Luisang Kari.”

Frank’s maternal grandmother was Engracia “Asiang” Cruz Reyes, the pioneer restaurateur of the Philippines and founder of the longest surviving restaurant in the Philippines, located along Roxas Boulevard. She is recognized in local history as the “Mother of Filipino Cooking.” Frank worked in his Lola’s restaurant as a teenager and was exposed to the numerous dishes on the restaurant’s menu, particularly to the house bestseller - chicken barbecue with java rice, peanut sauce and atchara. It was during this period of his exposure to his Lola that Frank’s passion for cooking and for the food service business grew.

After finishing Mechanical Engineering at De La Salle University in 1983, Frank joined his older sister in managing her franchised restaurants, and years later, acquired and managed his own Aristocrat franchises in 3 Metro Manila malls. 

By the early 2000s, Frank began thinking of putting up his own food service brand, focusing the business on barbecue. He wanted to make the Manila-style barbecue be enjoyed by more Filipinos, because of its uniquely delicious recipe, consistent food quality, reasonable pricing and accessibility to more customers with more outlets. Armed with his passion, barbecue culinary expertise and his bike, Frank traveled and visited more than 100 barbecue places, from restaurants to small eateries and barbecue joints, to do his private research for his project.

By 2002, Frank registered his own brand name, Reyes Barbecue. With his own recipes, formulations and operating manuals, he later on opened the very first Reyes Barbecue outlet at the SM North EDSA Food Court. Over the years, the Reyes Barbecue brand has been synonymous with high-quality and superior-tasting barbecue, appealing to young urban professionals, families, students and even the older generation. Along with the best-selling signature Boneless Chicken Barbecue and the Pork Barbecue, Reyes Barbecue has been serving delicious, high- quality grilled seafood the whole year round, making it a cut above the rest of the fast casual and quick-service restaurants in the market. In a market research done a few years ago, the respondents consider Reyes Barbecue “The Chef’s Barbecue,” because of the unique meal combination (barbecue, peanut sauce and java rice) and superior taste.

Frank always says that the two anchors of the Reyes Barbecue brand differentiation would be its culinary heritage

spanning more than 100 years, and the authenticity and uniqueness of the Manila-style barbecue meal that has become

the Reyes family culinary legacy.