Inside Brontë, Makati’s New Fine Dining Steakhouse With Big Australian Ambitions

• Brontë has officially opened in Makati’s Levanto Building, with Chef Wade Watson introducing an Australian fine dining concept centered on premium meats, seafood, and one of Manila’s most extensive wine collections.
• More than just a steakhouse, Brontë challenges diners to look beyond ribeye, spotlighting overlooked cuts and top-tier Australian produce.

Brontë is betting on better beef

Makati’s dining scene has no shortage of steakhouses. Premium beef has become an expectation rather than a novelty, and fine dining restaurants continue to compete over increasingly luxurious ingredients. Standing out today requires more than simply putting an expensive cut of meat on a plate.

Brontë believes it has another answer.

The newly opened restaurant at the Levanto Building on Jupiter Street is the latest concept from Australian Chef Wade Watson, the restaurateur behind Bondi&Bourke.

But while his first restaurant introduced many Filipinos to Australian comfort food, Brontë changes the conversation toward something more ambitious. It is finer without feeling fussy and grounded by a simple idea: if the ingredients are exceptional enough, they should never have to compete with unnecessary flourishes.

Brontë may market itself as a premium steakhouse, but Chef Wade is careful to frame it as a showcase for Australia’s world-renowned produce as a whole.

Its arrival also signals another milestone for the Levanto Building, which is emerging as one of Makati’s most exciting dining destinations. As more restaurants move into the Jupiter Street address, Brontë positions itself among the property’s biggest draws.

Fine dining without the performance

The first surprise is that Brontë never feels intimidating. Instead of dramatic chandeliers or extravagant interiors designed for social media, the restaurant leans into minimalism.

Curved architectural lines soften the room, while floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Makati skyline. Terracotta upholstery, sculptural lighting, muted earth tones, and carefully placed greenery give the dining room warmth that many contemporary fine dining spaces often lack.

Towering yucca plants punctuate the space, adding an organic softness to the modern interiors. The finishing touch comes from Chef Wade’s business partner, Derek Ramsay, whose passion for plants subtly shapes the restaurant’s atmosphere.

A steakhouse that wants you to look beyond ribeye

The obvious stars are impossible to ignore. Australian Carrara Wagyu Ribeye, Snake River Farms Gold Label Striploin, Côte de Boeuf Carrara Bone-In, and The Brontë Grand Porterhouse.

These are the kinds of steaks diners expect from a restaurant operating at this level, each showcasing premium beef sourced from Australia and the United States.

The Sher Family Rib-eye deserves particular attention. Raised in Australia from Japanese cattle, the steak delivers marbling without sacrificing texture and balances richness with enough bite to keep every mouthful interesting.

But Chef Wade quickly makes one thing clear. He did not open Brontë simply to serve another collection of expensive steaks. Instead, he wants diners to rethink the very cuts they order.

“The Philippines is very much a ribeye country,” he says. “Ribeye is obviously our number one seller.” He says it without surprise. More like someone who has watched the pattern repeat itself enough times to stop questioning it. Then he smiles, almost apologetically. “Would it be my personal choice? No. Ribeye is a little mainstream, a little boring.”

It is an opinion that gently disrupts everything many diners think they know about steak. In the Philippines, ribeye has become the safe answer, the cut people order when they want what they assume is the best. Chef Wade has never been particularly interested in safe answers.

For him, the conversation has always been about character. “Tenderloin, for me, is boring. It’s tender, but that’s about it.” He would rather eat a cut that asks for a little more from the person holding the knife. A little resistance. A little texture. The reward, he argues, is a depth of flavor that the more expensive cuts rarely deliver.

“I like a bit of chew in my beef. Not tough, just enough texture. Flavor is always more important to me than tenderness.”

Think of it as an Australian way with beef, where lesser-known cuts are celebrated rather than overlooked. Chef Wade hopes Brontë can slowly introduce Filipino diners to that mindset through seasonal specials, including premium rump steaks and other secondary cuts that rarely headline local menus.

The seafood deserves equal billing

Ironically, one of Brontë’s biggest strengths may have nothing to do with steak. Chef Wade built a menu that showcases Australia’s broader agricultural and coastal bounty, refusing to let beef dominate every conversation.

Fresh oysters arrive dressed with mignonette, lemon pearls, citrus, and chives, enhancing rather than masking their natural sweetness. Tasmanian Salmon Crudo delivers freshness, while Oscietra caviar and Boston Lobster Risotto offer richer indulgences for those looking to lean into celebration.

Then there is the Barramundi Meunière, arguably one of the restaurant’s best triumphs. The Australian white fish is paired with cultured French butter, vine tomatoes, capers, and dill.

Chef Wade describes generosity as his love language, and it shows throughout the menu. Diners leave feeling well-fed rather than delicately portioned through a tasting menu.

One of Manila’s most ambitious wine programs

The restaurant’s confidence extends well beyond the kitchen. Behind the dining room sits “The Vault,” Brontë’s cellar housing a collection Chef Wade has assembled over many years while waiting for the right restaurant to showcase it.

“I knew that one day I would open a concept like this,” he says. “The bottles I’ve collected would be for my clients.”

The collection spans everyday celebrations and milestone occasions alike, featuring everything from approachable non-vintage labels to some of the world’s most sought-after wines and champagnes.

Among the highlights are Dom Pérignon P2 Plénitude Brut 2008, Krug Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, Cristal Brut Rosé 2002, Château Haut-Brion, and Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri 1997.

Chef Wade believes few restaurants in the country currently offer a comparable selection: “I’d say the only other venues with a wine list like ours are the casinos.”

At a time when many fine dining concepts compete through maximalism, Brontë is making another argument. It bets on premium Australian produce, thoughtful cooking, and a wine program built patiently over years.

More importantly, it challenges diners to rethink familiar habits, whether that’s ordering something other than ribeye or discovering that a steakhouse can be just as compelling for its seafood.

Photography Kieran Punay

Special thanks Shauna Jay Popple

Dayne Aduna

Associate Editor

Dayne Aduna is an Associate Editor at VMAN Southeast Asia, specializing in fashion, grooming, film, television, and contemporary pop culture. With a strong editorial focus on menswear, his work explores how style intersects with shifting cultural movements across Southeast Asia and beyond.

His expertise spans fashion journalism, celebrity profiling, grooming and skincare trends, fragrance, runway reporting, and cultural commentary, with a particular eye for emerging creatives and youth-driven style.

Dayne has written extensively on fashion houses, seasonal trends, designer collections, and the evolving image of the modern Southeast Asian man, bringing both editorial depth and cultural relevance to his coverage.

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