The Seafood Restaurant Jorge Araneta Wanted for Araneta City

In Metro Manila, seafood has long been synonymous with the dampa experience: pick your catch, choose how you want it cooked, then gather with family and friends around a table laden with seafood. Seafood 8 by Olio’s offers this familiar seafood market-to-table experience but in a contemporary restaurant setting at the ground floor of Gateway Mall 2.  

According to Sorsogon-born, Australia-based Chef Oliver “Oli” Buenviaje, who heads the kitchen, the idea for Seafood 8 by Olio’s came about after he met Jorge Araneta, chairman, CEO, and president of Araneta Group, in late 2025. The astute businessman was keen to open a seafood restaurant at Gateway Mall.  

“The journey came about really fast. Being a savvy and great operator in business, Jorge knows what he wants,” says Buenviaje, who has worked in renowned establishments around the world, including Alain Ducasse’s Le Meurice in Paris, Al Mahara at Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab, Le Normandie at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, and Caprice at Four Seasons Hong Kong. Knowing the Philippines has no shortage of seafood, the Australia-based chef knew this is a perfect opportunity to go back to his roots. 

Like a typical dampa-style seafood restaurant, customers choose fresh seafood from a wet-market-style display at Seafood 8 by Olio’s, albeit with a more sophisticated presentation.” It also has an open kitchen which makes for an immersive dining experience. 

But to set his seafood restaurant apart, Buenviaje crafted eight signature sauces designed to bring out the flavors of seafood. This is the “8” in Seafood 8 by Olio’s: Kalamansi Hollandaise, Chili Caramel, Asian Sweet and Sour Sauce, Olio’s Chili Supreme XO Sauce, Miso Butter, Inasal Citrus Ginger & Soy, Latin Chimichurri, and Gambas Roja. 

“The idea of the eight mother sauces is a play on what would work here and what would suit the Filipino palate. We have distinct likes when it comes to sauces. We love something that’s really umami; we like something savory, but at the same time sweet. So I think we took the original flavors of these sauces and adapted them to something that Filipinos would enjoy, whether for lunch or dinner, then applied them to the seafood we serve here,” the chef says.  

Buenviaje says 80 percent of their seafood is locally sourced. But diners also offer select varieties from overseas such as oysters from Hokkaido, Seattle, France and Ireland, European branzino, Dover sole, or Maine lobster, to name a few.  

“Seafood 8 by Olio’s is a casual restaurant, but we’re still targeting the A and B markets. It’s just less intimidating and more family-oriented. The idea is that you can come here without needing a reservation and enjoy a great array of seafood, prepared using different techniques and sauces that we apply to each dish,” says Buenviaje. 

Aside from the seasonal seafoods that diners can choose to have steamed, grilled, fried or baked, Seafood 8 by Olio's also offers other signature dishes such as Singaporean Chili Crab, Bicol Express Crab, Chili Garlic Mussel, Grilled Tuna Panga in Miso and Soy Sauce, Spaghetti Clams Palourdes, Prawn Sinigang, Baked Branzino Lemon Butter, and even meat dishes such as Signature Grilled Pork Lechon, 72H Dry Aged Citrus Soy & Ginger Chicken Lechon, and Braised Beef Rendang Short Ribs. 

Among the dishes that Mr. Araneta personally enjoys are the Fresh Pacific Oysters, Steamed Diwal, Vongole Spaghetti, and Grilled Live Lobster.

The 130-seater Seafood 8 by Olio’s is Buenviaje’s first restaurant venture in the Philippines, following a career that has taken him from starting as a kitchen hand in France to working in some of the world’s renowned kitchens, before building his own catering and hospitality business in Australia. Buenviaje serves as director and head chef of Olio's Fine Food, a premier catering and event management company based in Perth, Western Australia. 

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