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Digámo

@digamo.mnl

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New Archipelagic Cuisine by Chef @francis_lacson
🗓️ Wed-Sun 5:30pm & 8:00pm
📍 GCN Commercial Bldg, 240 Narra St, Marikina Heights
Reservations ⬇️

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Tucked within Marikina is @digamo.mnl: A masterclass in storytelling through food, tracing the evolution of Filipino cuisine across time and place. 🇵🇭

Originally from Capiz, chef Francis Lacson (@francis_lacson) grew up in a community of cooks, instilling in him a passion for food that blossomed throughout his travels as a seafarer. Following a harrowing hostage crisis, Lacson left behind his life on the seas and found solace in food— he immersed himself in food research and food writing, winning the Doreen Gamboa Food Writing Award not once, but three times.

Through Digámo, he translates this knowledge into something tangible. Their debut ten-course menu, Playful Evolution, traces the history of Filipino cuisine from the pre-colonial era up until modern day.

Their cocktail programme mirrors that narrative. Curated in collaboration with Ken Alonso (@ken_alonso) of @proudlypromdi, Digámo’s cocktail pairing showcases the history of Filipino spirits.

While Lacson takes creative liberties, they serve not to re-write history, but to pull you deeper into the conversation. The result is a tasting menu that is at once innovative and scholarly, yet soulful, grounded, and utterly delicious.

📍 Find Digámo at GCN Building, 240 Narra Street, Marikina Heights, Marikina City.

Edited by: Kryss Rubio

#TatlerDiningPH #TatlerFirstLook taken in Digámo by @digamo.mnl

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4 months ago

I’ll be first to admit that when I tried @francis_lacson’s Italian-inspired tasting menu at Leo Sea House last year, it was a “hit or miss.” Sure, there were dishes that I absolutely loved. I can still vividly remember the velvety seafood-squash velouté that I had wanted a full serving of, as well as the handmade rotolo with seafood bolognese and gorgonzola.

But somehow, despite the noble effort, it was a little bit of a letdown.

So when I found myself in a car on the way to Marikina for close to two hours to sample his latest 10-course tasting menu at @digamo.mnl, I had reservations. However, this time around, he achieves something beautiful, meticulous, and inventive. A fully realized vision from start to finish that accomplishes the task of reintroducing himself, his beloved Marikina, and the Philippines’ food history to a wider audience.

Story by @ericatlass
Photos by @campfiremedia
Layout by @agnesdaniella

#fnbreport by @digamo.mnl

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4 months ago

Some dreams take years before they're finally ready.

After years spent cooking, writing, studying Filipino food, and finding inspiration across the world, Chef Francis Lacson opens the doors to Digámo in Marikina, the restaurant he's always wanted to build. 👨🏻‍🍳

This isn't just the story of a new restaurant. It's the story of betting on yourself, your craft, and the belief that Filipino cuisine deserves to be experienced in different ways that one could only dream of. Watch the full episode on YouTube. 📺 taken in Digámo by @digamo.mnl

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3 months ago

Marikina is often introduced through its craft traditions and industrial history.

But much of the city is shaped by everyday routines: the streets between destinations, the businesses that open every morning, and the people who keep each neighborhood active.

Marikina is not just where the restaurant is located. It is part of the context we cook from. by @digamo.mnl

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13 hours ago

A course is rarely made by one cook from start to finish.

Different parts are prepared at different stations, then brought together during service when timing matters most. by @digamo.mnl

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3 days ago

Preparation has a sound on its own. by @digamo.mnl

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8 days ago

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12 days ago

Archive Entry: ARC-2026-007
Title: Kulawo

Subject: Pre-Colonial Smoke-infused Coconut Cream and Market Heritage Preservation

In the culinary traditions of the Southern Tagalog region, kulawo represents an ingenious pre-colonial technique born of pure resourcefulness. Long before modern smokeries, local cooks dropped white-hot embers directly into freshly grated mature coconut meat, expressing a charred, highly aromatic cream (gata) that carries the distinct, savory depth of fire-grilled meat. Beyond the plate, this course serves as a poignant commentary on the endangered state of Philippine heritage cooking: as master kakanin makers age alongside their loyal patrons, the nostalgic rice-cake alleys of our public markets grow steadily darker and narrower, threatening to take centuries of artisanal knowledge with them.

Digámo’s interpretation marks the midpoint of the menu by pairing this ancestral technique with a smooth, velvety talong (eggplant) kulawo. The dip is a layer of blended talong kulawo, topped with a layer of burnt brown sugar and finished with extra virgin coconut oil, accentuating the natural, caramelized smoke of the coal-infused cream. In a nod to early American culinary influences, the richness is cut by a sweet-and-tangy watermelon jam served alongside warm, steamed puto galapong (fermented rice cakes). by @digamo.mnl

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14 days ago

The hand often knows what the recipe cannot explain.

How much pressure to use. When to stop. What should be bruised, pressed, or broken open so the ingredient gives more of itself.

These are small decisions, learned through repetition.

Before flavor is built in the pan or finished on the plate, some of it has already been drawn out by hand. by @digamo.mnl

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23 days ago

The meal begins before the first course.

The table is already setting the direction, giving a glimpse of the journey ahead and the ideas that connect one course to the next.

Playful Evolution is not only something you taste. It is something you follow, one course at a time. by @digamo.mnl

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a month ago

Our cooking is a love letter to the Philippines, so come take a seat---naka-digámo na, kaon na ta! by @digamo.mnl

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a month ago

Asin sa buy-o begins with something ordinary: salt.

What gives it character is the way it is kept, carried, and made useful. Woven palm leaves turn a basic ingredient into an object shaped by hand, then brought into the kitchen where it becomes part of daily preparation.

Not displayed as a relic, but is opened, transferred, and used.

A small reminder that tradition often survives by staying useful. by @digamo.mnl

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a month ago