Best SM North EDSA Restaurants — The Block, Sky Garden & Main Mall
SM City North EDSA packs 40+ restaurants across three wings. Here is how to navigate The Block, Sky Garden, and the Main Mall without wasting half your evening picking.
SM City North EDSA is one of the largest malls in the Philippines, and the restaurant situation reflects that: 40+ options across The Block, Sky Garden, and the Main Mall. The scale works in your favour when a group cannot agree on a cuisine — but it also means you can spend 20 minutes walking the wrong wing before finding what you wanted.
The practical rule: The Block (2/F) is where you want to be for sit-down dining. It has the highest concentration of proper restaurants — Lugang Café, Tong Yang, and the better Filipino spots. Sky Garden works for casual meals and drinks with an open-air feel. The Main Mall food area handles fast food and quick bites. Browse the full SM North EDSA listings for every option with ratings and hours.
Buffets and unlimited
Vikings Luxury Buffet
The benchmark luxury buffet for QC. The spread covers live seafood, Japanese, Korean, carving stations, Filipino classics, and a dessert section that earns its own visit. Budget ₱900–1,400 per person depending on day and time slot — weekday lunch is cheapest. Not the place for a casual meal, but a strong choice for milestone birthdays and family celebrations. Reserve ahead for weekends.
- Hit the seafood and carving stations first — they refill slowly at peak hours
- Weekday lunch slots are 20–30% cheaper than weekend dinner
- Arrive at opening time to avoid queues at the live stations
Tong Yang
Unlimited Korean hotpot and grill — meats, seafood, and vegetables you cook at the table. More affordable than Vikings (around ₱500–700/person), and the interactive format works well for groups who want to eat slowly. A reliable fallback when Vikings is fully booked.
Chinese and Taiwanese
Lugang Café — 2/F The Block
Taiwanese and Chinese sit-down dining with a Google rating of 4.3. The xiao long bao is the benchmark dish — reviewers consistently single it out. Roast duck and roast pork are strong centerpiece picks for the table. Budget ₱400–600 per person for lunch. Read the full Lugang Café guide before your visit.
TuanTuan Kitchen
Hong Kong-style comfort food — claypot rice, pan-fried turnip cake with XO sauce, stir-fried noodles with barbecue pork. The kind of quick, satisfying meal that works well between shopping stops. Faster and cheaper than Lugang if you want Chinese food without the full sit-down format. Budget ₱250–400 per person.
- Claypot rice — the signature, arrives properly crusted at the bottom
- Pan-fried turnip cake with XO sauce — the order that separates it from standard mall Chinese
Fat Fook Taiwanese Kitchen
Taiwanese street food format — lu rou fan (braised pork rice), scallion pancakes, bubble milk tea. Budget-friendly and fast: useful for a quick lunch that does not require sitting through a full restaurant service. The braised pork rice is consistently well-executed across visits.
Filipino
Gerry's Grill
The SM North branch of QC's most dependable Filipino grill. Same menu as every Gerry's — tuna belly, sisig, crispy pata — which is exactly the point. Good for groups who need a reliable, no-argument choice after a long day at the mall.
Manam
Elevated Filipino comfort food with a modern plating approach. The sizzling sinigang and the crispy bagnet are the dishes worth ordering. Slightly more expensive than Gerry's but the right call when the table wants something beyond standard grill plates.
- Sizzling sinigang — the standout dish across all Manam branches
- Crispy bagnet — Ilocano pork belly done well
The Aristocrat
The SM North branch of QC's heritage Filipino brand — same chicken barbecue and Java rice that the Banawe and Roxas Boulevard locations are known for. Good for families who want a dependable Filipino meal without the wait times of a smaller restaurant on a weekend. The party platters are the practical choice for groups of six or more.
Cabalen
Unlimited Filipino — the format where you pay one price and eat as many dishes as you want, from kare-kare and pinakbet to lechon kawali and rice. Not the most elegant dining experience, but a practical option for large, hungry tables who want Filipino food without ordering à la carte for twelve people. Budget ₱400–500 per person depending on day and time.
Japanese
Yabu: House of Katsu
The katsu specialist that has become the benchmark for tonkatsu in Philippine malls. The kurobuta pork set is the order — proper black pig, properly breaded, with the sesame dipping sauce that makes the standard version taste like a compromise. Mid-range pricing: ₱500–800 per person for a full set. Lines form on weekends; weekday lunch is the easier visit.
- Kurobuta pork katsu set — the reason to choose Yabu over cheaper alternatives
- Free-flow cabbage and rice — do not skip the cabbage, it is there for a reason
Hakata Ton-ichi
Ramen at a price that does not require planning around — the budget-friendly Japanese option at SM North when you want something more substantial than karaage. The tonkotsu broth is properly milky without being heavy. A workday lunch staple for the office crowd from the surrounding Quezon Avenue area.
Karayama
Japanese karaage specialists — the fried chicken is properly crispy and juicy, not the soggy mall-kiosk version. Good for a quick, affordable Japanese meal when you do not want a full sit-down ramen or sushi spread.
Marugame Udon
Japanese udon chain — fresh noodles made in-store, visible through a kitchen window that confirms they are not pre-packaged. Tempura add-ons and a flexible build-your-own format make it faster than a full restaurant meal. Good for a solo lunch or a quick stop between mall floors.
Dohtonbori
Japanese okonomiyaki restaurant where you mix and cook your own savoury pancake at the table. The interactive format is genuinely fun for first-timers and a good choice when the group includes kids or anyone who enjoys hands-on food.
Korean
Soban K-Town Grill
Korean BBQ on 2/F The Block — table grills, a solid banchan spread, and cuts that go beyond the standard samgyupsal. The galbi and the marinated beef short rib are the orders worth upgrading to. More sit-down than Tong Yang's unlimited format, and better for a table that wants to take its time rather than race through unlimited rounds.
- Galbi — the cut that earns the premium over standard pork belly
- Army stew (budae jjigae) — the sausage and ramen version, good for sharing
Wing2x Korean Chicken
Korean fried chicken — soy-garlic and honey-butter being the two orders that most tables land on. Faster and cheaper than a full Korean BBQ session; good for a post-mall snack or a casual dinner when the group wants something lighter than grilled meat. The cups of Korean fried chicken travel well if the plan is to eat while walking the mall.
American and International
Chili's
The American grill anchor at SM North — ribs, burgers, fajitas, and a cocktail menu that earns the table's attention. Happy hour brings the drinks to a reasonable price. The baby back ribs are the consistent order; the Presidente margarita is the drink. Good for mixed groups where someone refuses to eat Filipino or Asian food.
- Baby back ribs — the signature, ask for extra sauce
- Loaded nachos — reliable sharer while the mains arrive
Shake Shack
The Shake Shack at SM North is one of the busiest in the Philippines — lines at peak hours are real, but the queue moves. The ShackBurger is the baseline order; the concrete (frozen custard) is worth adding if it is your first visit. Budget ₱350–500 per person for a burger, fries, and drink.
Frankie's New York Buffalo Wings
Buffalo wings with a proper sauce rotation — the original buffalo and the honey garlic are the two most-ordered. The format is casual and the price is honest for what you get. Good for a group that wants shared plates rather than individual entrées.
Blake's Wings and Steaks
Wings and steaks in one menu — a combination that works for groups where some people want bar food and others want a proper plate. The steaks are mall-grade rather than steakhouse-grade, but honest for the price. The wings are the stronger half of the menu.
Italian
Amici
Italian-Filipino casual dining — the kind of restaurant where the pasta is familiar and the portions are designed for sharing. The carbonara and the lasagne are the reliable orders; the pizza is thin-crust and honest. A decent mid-range option when the table wants Italian without going to a proper trattoria. Budget ₱400–700 per person.
Coffee and desserts
Paris Baguette
Korean bakery chain — softer, sweeter bread than a French bakery, with a café section that handles coffee and pastry stops between shopping floors. The cream-filled breads and the Korean-style coffee drinks are the orders worth noting. Good for a quick break without committing to a full restaurant seat.
Tim Hortons
The Canadian coffee chain with a strong presence at SM North. Timbits (donut holes) and the original blend coffee are the legacy orders. More affordable than Starbucks and faster to get through on a busy mall day.
Puffy's Soufflé Pancake Café
Japanese soufflé pancakes — the thick, jiggly format that photographs well and tastes better than it sounds. Worth ordering once; a good choice for the group member who wants dessert-for-a-meal rather than a full dinner plate. Expect a 15-minute wait for each order — they are cooked to order.
Practical tips
- Parking: SM North EDSA has multi-level parking — the basement and upper decks fill fastest on weekends. The North Avenue MRT station is a 5-minute walk if you want to skip the parking altogether.
- Peak hours: Saturday lunch and Sunday dinner are the busiest windows. Most The Block restaurants accept walk-ins but Vikings and Tong Yang fill up — reserve those in advance.
- Wing navigation: The Block is the food-first wing. If you come in from North Avenue, head straight to 2/F. Sky Garden requires going to the top of the Main Mall — worth it for open-air drinks after dinner.
- Budget guide: Fast-casual options (Marugame, TuanTuan, Wing2x) run ₱200–400/person. Mid-range sit-down (Yabu, Manam, Soban) runs ₱500–800. Tong Yang unlimited is ₱500–700. Vikings is ₱900–1,400 depending on day and slot.
- For celebrations: Vikings requires advance booking on weekends. Call at least a week ahead for milestone birthdays. The Block sit-down restaurants (Yabu, Lugang, Chili's) can usually accommodate walk-ins before 6:30 PM on weekdays.
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Written by Zachary Siecinski
Lead Food Writer at Restaurants Quezon City Editorial
Zachary has been exploring the Quezon City food scene for over 8 years, personally visiting and reviewing hundreds of restaurants across Quezon City — from hole-in-the-wall eateries to upscale dining establishments. His reviews focus on authentic dining experiences, fair pricing, and dishes that keep locals coming back.
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