12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub in Century City Mall

12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub is the is brainchild of a diverse group of individuals from the music, food and club businesses. They banded together to create a venue for live music that features great sounds, ambiance and food. The music hall is located at the 5th floor of Century City Mall. To reach it, you take an elevator to the 4th floor and then enter a separate elevator to arrive at the 5th floor.

The live music performers they have include luminaries in the Philippine music scene like Side A, The Dawn, Razorback, Wolfgang, Parokya ni Edgar to the up and coming acts.

: Makati View

: Dining Area

: Bar

12 Monkeys is wide and spacious inside with lots of different table option as well a pretty bar. Venture out to the smoking area and be dazzled by a great view of Makati.

One of the owners invited us to have some food, drinks and enjoy a night of great music by one of my favorite bands ever, The Dawn.

Killer Chicharones (P195). A plate teeming with crispy temptations, chicken tail and skin, and pork rind. Served with a spiced vinegar and spiced ketchup.

Spam Fries (P290). Spam in assorted variants cut up into strips, battered and deep fried. A trio of sauces (honey mustard, cumin ketchup and kimchi mayo) accompanies it. You won’t know what variant you are getting so there’s a bit of surprise for your taste buds. For the sauce I loved the cumin ketchup, the spice adds a different zing to it.

Clients have been clamoring for more “female friendly” dishes to balance their meat and male dominated menu. The chef came out with two new salads, Fried Chicken Caesar and Thai Beef Salad. Of the two. I liked the Thai beef salad with its tangy and spicy chili lime dressing.

They also have pizza’s like this homage to one of the owners, Chito Miranda of Parokya ni Edgar. This creation is called Chito’s Street Corner Picha Pie (P260), inspired by the toaster heated box pizzas that we grew up on. A crispy thin crust slathered with sweet tomato sauce and topped with “ham” and Quickmelt cheese. A fun and nostalgic take on familiar fare.

Their best selling pizza is the Assistant Manager’s Choice (P350). A tongue in cheek take on the popular Shakey’s pizza, Manager’s choice. The pizza has Italian sausage, ham, beef, green and red bell pepper, mozarella and pomodoro sauce. A meaty and satisfying sharing dish.

Ivan’s Palabok Pizza (P350). This is taking things upside down, the familiar palabok toppings are laid on top of a pizza crust minus the rice noodles. It looks weird and you’d be thinking “WTF” is this but squeeze a bit of calamansi and bite away. It just works and works wonderfully.

After Hours Goto Special (P285). I’m not too fond of goto but this one looks like its got the works. Toppings are laid on the side for you to add depending on your preference. There’s beef trip, garlic flakes, century egg, pork floss, candied dilis, scallions, tofu and crispy pork belly. I tried the Filipino style congee with a couple of toppings sans the beef tripe and it was teeming with flavor.

Barbeque Feast (P780). A plate of finger licking good barbecue with pork ribs and chicken wings served with java rice and potato salad on the side.

12 Treasures Clay Pot. A mix of 12 different savory ingredients like Chinese sausage, soy chicken, pork ribs, mushroom simmered in a pot of black rice. A complete meal in itself that you’d be wont to share.

Midnight in Pares (P290). Perfect food for after drinking binge, evident in the name. Braised beef with tamgo (egg) strips, with garlic rice and homemade chili sauce. This was way better than the only pares I’ve ever had at Charlie’s Wonton House. This is another dish you will not want to share.

Dessert was Sticky Pudding (P285) and Chunky Monkey Pie (P290). Both desserts were nothing special, if you had to order one I’d go with the chunky monkey pie.

Drinks, drink, drinks, this is a pub isn’t it so we had drinks with our meals and with the show.

Time for the show, Jett Pangan and the rest of The Dawn took the stage to thundering applause. The sounds at 12 Monkeys was perfect, props to Jericho Salonga of JB Music for the great equipment and setup. The vocals and instruments were distinctive and crystal clear. We watched til the end as The Dawn belted out some covers mixed in with their signature songs, Enveloped Ideas and Salamat. The intimate venue is a great showcase for the vocal prowess of Jett Pangan.

12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub is a celebration of great music with good food and drinks to boot. So if you want to enjoy the intimate music performances of some of the best Philippine musicians then head on over there. You can check their social media accounts below to see the gig line up.

I’ve added a their gig guide for November so you will know who’s playing when so you can get your schedules in order.