Date Places Philippines

Visiting SM’s The Podium has always been a pleasant experience. It’s small, yes, and I never do any real shopping except on sales, but the atmosphere is quiet, the elevators are pristine, and the comfort rooms are elegant without me having to pay anything (an aside to Gateway and Shangri-la malls that ask for P10 for a decent rest room use). The restaurant selections are nice, too, and the best thing about it is that it’s only a walk away from SM Megamall and St. Francis square.

So our usual Ortigas date would be to park at the parking space beside The Podium (across Megamall), head to Megamall for a 3d movie or to roam around Toy Kingdom, then head on to Podium for food and yogurt (Yogurbud at the 3/F will do wonders for you!).

Some of the excellent restaurants here are Burgoo, Banana Leaf, New Bombay, Healthy Shabu-shabu, Florabel’s and Arya. If Yogurbud tastes aren’t really for you, there’s a gelato place at the top floor – quite pricey though, it comes at P100 per order (2 small scoops on a cone). I recommend the mint if you’re, ehem, planning other things.

There’s nothing much else to do aside from stroll, eat or watch a movie though. At best, you can check out food at Terry’s Selection and hope you can find a delicious bargain. At times there are free shows at the ground floor, but then you’d have to know the schedule beforehand and it honestly is rare enough to risk catching it by the luck of the draw. I’ve written a separate review on the Podium cinema/moviehouse, and you might want to take a look at that – though it honestly isn’t anything special.

The Podium's lobby with Xmas decors

View from the the Podium's top floor, looking down

Restaurants often spill out into the mall corridors

The Podium is certainly a nice space – I recommend you take a date here if you want a nice and quiet dinner and movie date. If you want to do anything else, cross over to Megamall, or if you don’t want the crowd then you’re probably better off at other malls like Rockwell, Eastwood or Gateway.

For an afternoon date, prepare P500 per person which includes parking, snacks and a movie.

The book collection is quite nice at Bestseller, and do check out the Markati Palazzo for some independent shops that offer unique alternatives to the usual retail shops on other areas.

SM The Podium

Mall hours:

A sample of the performances happening at the Podium that you might be lucky enough to catch. Here’s Jonathan Badon on a Valentine performance: