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Birdjovi proves yakitori is more than just a trend

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Jeeves De Veyra

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777451698453interiors 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Birdjovi offers a full yakiori omakase. Jeeves de Veyra</div>I thought yakitori was the emerging food trend, with Japanese chicken skewers at every price point and dining style popping up all over the city. The aroma of chicken fat dripping onto hot charcoal wafting through malls and food districts was impossible to miss.Birdjovi offers authentic yakitori by way of Carmona, Cavite, where yakitori master Takuto Kato opened his first restaurant. He recalls not worrying much about authenticity there; most of his customers were Japanese expats from nearby industrial parks who knew exactly what they were looking for.Moving to Manila made him more apprehensive. The audience would be far more varied. Judging by the critical raves from his 2025 collaboration with Underbelly, those fears proved unfounded.The first thing Kato talks about is where the name Birdjovi came from. No, it’s not a play on the American rock band. It comes from his son mispronouncing “one, two, three,” which somehow came out sounding like “Birdjovi.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777451727810kato san cover.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Yakitori master Takuto Kato. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Yakitori master Takuto Kato. Jeeves de Veyra</div>At Birdjovi, yakitori is defined by restraint, timing, and clarity of flavor. “Our yakitori is about serving each skewer at its best moment,” says Kato-san. “We focus on the basics — fire, salt, and timing — keeping everything simple and precise.”Fire comes from high-temperature binchotan charcoal and a specially constructed yakitori grill; salt from Himalayan pink and Okinawan varieties; timing from years of experience at the grill.The best yakitori places are usually small, built around nothing more than a counter and a few stools. Birdjovi fully embraces this aesthetic, with whiffs of aromatic smoke from chicken drippings on binchotan reaching across the room to welcome guests.These days, Kato spends most of his time at Birdjovi, personally overseeing the grill. You’ll find him constantly fanning the coals and pinching meat, while his servers step in to explain each course.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777452122837uni with ikura.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Uni with ikura. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Uni with ikura. Jeeves de Veyra</div>There are à la carte options, like this soy-marinated egg topped with uni and ikura, finished with a subtle kick of wasabi hidden in one spoonful.Still, Birdjovi is first and foremost a yakitori restaurant. While the courses below can be ordered individually, first-timers are strongly encouraged to experience the full omakase.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745230299801 - wafer with liver.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Cold monaka. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Cold monaka. Jeeves de Veyra</div>At first glance, this cold monaka — a chicken liver wafer sandwich — looks like something you’d find packaged in a paper bag at a Japanese konbini.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745243945702 - sashimi.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Amberjack sashimi. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Amberjack sashimi. Jeeves de Veyra</div>It’s not all chicken. The second course features two slices of amberjack sashimi with soy sauce and ankimo (monkfish liver), adding deep, lingering umami.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745251041503 - chicken tender with plum.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Shiso Sasami. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Shiso Sasami. Jeeves de Veyra</div>The yakitori omakase begins with simply seasoned chicken tenderloin, accented by salty plum and herbal notes from shiso.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745260041604 - chicken hearts.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Hatsu. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Hatsu. Jeeves de Veyra</div>I normally avoid chicken hearts, but Kato-san’s hatsu converted me. The trio is tender, never rubbery, and free of the metallic taste that turned me off before.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745265155705 - thigh.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Momo. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Momo. Jeeves de VeyraJuicy thigh meat dipped in Birdjovi’s house tare — Kato-san’s own blend of soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and red wine.</div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745273249708 - shishio peppers.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Shishito peppers. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Shishito peppers. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Grilled shishito peppers provide a light, welcome pause and work well as a palate cleanser.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745293751909 - chicken neck.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Seseri. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Seseri. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Kato sources his chickens from a dedicated supplier, evident in this seseri (chicken neck) course. The pieces are noticeably thicker and deliver a satisfying chewy crunch unlike those from local birds.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745296527909 - leek skin and tender.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Negima. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Negima. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Kato’s negima is layered with chicken and leek, wrapped in crisp chicken skin, and finished with a touch of yuzu kosho. A spicy citrusy sauce made in-house that I&#x27;d buy bottles of if Birdjovi decides to sell it.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745299319710 - chicken ass.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Bonjiri. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Bonjiri. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Kato jokes that many chickens sacrificed their lives for this bonjiri (chicken butt) skewer — at least eight rich, fatty pieces threaded onto a single stick.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745303319911 - liver.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Liver. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Liver. Jeeves de Veyra</div>For liver lovers, this version is velvety soft and glazed in the tare.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745306614012 - wing 2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Tebasaki. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Tebasaki. Jeeves de Veyra</div>A chicken wing stuffed with seasoned ground chicken, served with an egg-yolk-and-tare dipping sauce.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745309087913 - ramen.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Ramen. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Ramen. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Ramen closes the savory portion of the omakase. The clear broth — rich with chicken fat — is made by boiling the necks and bones from the birds used throughout the meal.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745313268014 - dessert - grape tanghulu.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Tanghulu. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Tanghulu. Jeeves de Veyra</div>Dessert begins with a muscat grape encased in a hard, glassy sugar shell.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745314587715 - dessert - matcha with cheesecake.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Cheesecake with Matcha Cold Brew. Jeeves de Veyra"/>Cheesecake with Matcha Cold Brew. Jeeves de Veyra</div>An alternative dessert option pairs cheesecake with cold-brewed matcha.Kato has more plans for his Makati space, including a second-floor extension slated for the near future.Birdjovi is located on the ground floor of the COMUNA Building, Pablo Ocampo Street Extension, San Antonio, Makati City and is open from Tuesday to Sunday with two dinner seatings —  5:30-8 p.m. and 8-10 p.m. Reservations recommended. Please check out @birdjovi.mnl on Instagram for reservations and more information.

In the middle of Manila’s yakitori boom, Birdjovi stands apart by focusing on precision over flash — where fire, salt and timing define every skewer in chef Takuto Kato’s tightly curated omakase.

In the middle of Manila’s yakitori boom, Birdjovi stands apart by focusing on precision over flash — where fire, salt and timing define every skewer in chef Takuto Kato’s tightly curated omakase.

Makati eats: Birdjovi proves yakitori is more than just a trend

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Makati eats: Birdjovi proves yakitori is more than just a trend

Jeeves De Veyra

Published April 29, 2026 05:08 PM PHT

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restaurant review

Makati eats

Birdjovi

yakitori

Japanese food

Japanese restaurant

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