Bondi & Bourke Davao

Bondi & Bourke Davao is the original branch of chef Wade Watson's three-city Philippine restaurant group (Davao, Makati, BGC). The Davao room opened first and remains the flagship — it is the city's most reliable venue for a business dinner where the host needs wine, steak, and a room that says 'we take this seriously' without tipping into ostentation.

The restaurant occupies a suite inside the Legaspi Suites Compound on P. Pelayo Street, a leafy quarter of Poblacion. The main dining room is contemporary Australian in feel — natural wood, leather banquettes, open kitchen, Edison-bulb lighting. The cooking is modern Australian with Filipino accents: Wagyu striploin with mushroom jus, lamb rack with chimichurri, ribs finished with local honey, and a seafood plateau that draws the tuna directly from General Santos. Chef Wade's signature is the Wagyu rib-eye — the most ordered dish on the menu since opening.

The wine list is the deepest Australian list in Mindanao, with verticals of Penfolds, Grosset, Henschke, and a rotating selection of Margaret River whites. Sommelier-led pairing is available for groups of six or more. The bar programme — built around Australian spirits and Filipino bitters — is a destination in itself.

Service is attentive without being hovering. Tables turn once per evening, which is unusual for Davao and signals the business-dinner positioning. Reservations are straightforward mid-week; Friday and Saturday nights require a week's notice.

For closing a deal in Davao, Bondi & Bourke is the consensus pick. The wine list does the pacing work, the Wagyu does the signalling work, and the room — busy but not loud — gives negotiations the right kind of cover. The corner banquettes in the main room are the quietest; the private dining room at the rear (eight seats) is available by advance booking for the deal that wants four walls.