Your Game Plan for Negroni Week at Solaire Resort North
From September 22 to 28, mixologists around the world will put their spin on the enduring classic cocktail—the bitter, boozy, and beloved Negroni. In Metro Manila, enthusiasts usually chart their own crawl: weaving through Poblacion’s side streets, marching from Palanca to Makati Cinema Square, scouting the Tomas Morato cluster, or ambling down Maginhawa and Malingap. The trick is to split a glass with a buddy (or three), so you can keep your wits—and your palate—intact long enough to enjoy the next stop.
And if guilt creeps in? Remember that Campari and Imbibe Magazine channel a portion of sales to support Slow Food, a nonprofit pushing for sustainable food and biodiversity in communities.
ALSO READ:
The Best Rooftop Bar in Metro Manila Might Just Be This One in Quezon City
Pistacchio Negroni at Café Mangrove — lip-smacking creaminess, an almost dessert-like opening
Viva Bologna Negroni at Trattoria Dolci — savory, sharp, unapologetically Parmesan
Solaire Resort North's Negroni Week
This year, Solaire North has rewritten the playbook. Instead of braving traffic and hunting for parking, you can complete a full Negroni crawl inside one building. Seven bars, eight Negronis, and a rooftop view that rewards those who pace themselves. Think of it as a high-rise version of the Boracay pub crawl—except instead of neon shots and whistles, you’re sipping carefully crafted cocktails that tell stories of Italy, indulgence, and imagination.
Upon arrival, you’re handed a Negroni passport—your road map and your scoreboard. Each restaurant and bar inside Solaire North serves its own interpretation of the Negroni. Collect seven stamps and you’re rewarded with an eighth cocktail, a final toast to persistence and palate.
The temptation, of course, is to down them all in one go. Seven Negronis in a night is ambitious (read: reckless). Spread your crawl across the week: two or three per night, with food in between. Better yet, bring a friend and split each glass.
Unlike the Poblacion crawl, where logistics can swallow half an hour between stops, here the transition is part of the experience. One moment you’re at Café Mangrove in the lobby, the next you’re by the pool, and then suddenly you’re gazing at the skyline from the Sky Bar. Each Negroni is paired with a setting, forming a story that’s more than just liquid in a glass.
Fiore Negroni at Yakumi — delicate elderflower and sakura, velvety and contemplative
Caffè Negroni at the Dragon Bar — familiar and comforting, with the dark kick of espresso
Curated by Beverage Manager Torky Barcenas and master mixologist Melody Protacio, the lineup feels like a seven-course tasting menu for cocktail lovers.
Together, these variations sketch a map of Italy and beyond—each glass a different dialect of gin, vermouth, and Campari.
Here’s the real advantage: efficiency without compromise. If you’ve ever tried to organize a Negroni Week crawl across Manila, you know the pain. Traffic kills your buzz. By your third stop, someone in the group is already lobbying to go home.
Limone Negroni at Pool Café — citrusy, almost a classic Negroni but brightly refreshed
Roma Italia Negroni at Finestra — cheese, egg, pancetta, it's a Negroni carbonara!
Solaire North solves all that. The crawl becomes a circuit, not a marathon. No ride-hailing prayers, no muddy sneakers, no juggling reservations. Just one vertical journey—lobby to poolside to roof deck—glass in hand, passport stamped. It’s an evolution of Filipino drinking culture itself: practical, pleasurable, and designed for savoring.
Negroni Week isn’t just about indulgence. Around the world, bars donate a portion of sales to Slow Food and Imbibe, supporting farmers, bartenders, and hospitality workers. Each sip sustains the very communities that make cocktail culture possible. Proof that flavor and responsibility can, in fact, coexist.
Pro Tips for Your Crawl
- Pair with food. Every restaurant has its specialties—don’t skip them. Negronis prime the palate, and the right dish will stretch and complement the crawl.
- Recruit your crew. You get to taste more Negronis if you are only drinking and paying for half or even a fourth.
- Match timing with the setting. Sunset poolside with a Limone, late-night city lights with a Fiore. Context matters.
- Hydrate. Simple, but essential if you want to finish the passport.
In the Philippines, drinking has always been about community as much as consumption. From Boracay pub crawls to Poblacion marathons, we’ve built rituals around traversing bars in pursuit of memory and mirth. Negroni Week at Solaire North refines that ritual. It keeps the adventure, the collection, the storytelling—but compresses it into one place, one building, one week.
So plan your crawl wisely. Take your passport, savor each stop, and remember: the goal isn’t just to finish. It’s to taste, to connect, to see how one classic cocktail can be rebuilt in so many different ways.
Solaire Resort North is in Vertis North, Bagong Pag-asa in Quezon City.
