MARKET SNAPSHOTPH · F&B

Unli Samgyupsal Restaurants: Metro Manila Market Snapshot

Updated as sources changeData as of 15 Oct 2026

At a glance

Operators: roughly 650 Korean restaurants in Metro Manila, with unli samgyupsal led by two chains of about 100 outlets each nationwide
Typical price: ₱599–799 a head at the big chains; neighbourhood spots from ₱399
Demand: steady and mainstream; the leading chain kept opening branches through 2025 and has lifted prices since
How crowded: very crowded in Tomas Morato, Malate, BGC and the Mall of Asia area; chains now reach most of the 16 cities
Costs moving up: pork belly near ₱380/kg and a ₱755 daily minimum wage, rising to ₱780 in January 2027

Bottom line: A samgyupsal restaurant in Metro Manila is a crowded, price-led business with rising meat and labour costs. A new entrant should not try to out-cheap Samgyupsalamat. The better bets are a sharper format (solo diners, lunch, better meat at ₱800+) in a neighbourhood the chains serve thinly, with meat cost per head tracked weekly.

1. Number of active venues/operators

Estimate: about 650 Korean restaurants in Metro Manila, of which unli samgyupsal venues make up a large share (our estimate: a few hundred), including 50-plus Romantic Baboy outlets and many of Samgyupsalamat's 98 branches.

Confidence: low–medium. There is no official count of samgyupsal restaurants. A business directory that scrapes listings counted 656 Korean restaurants in Metro Manila and 2,352 nationwide as of April 2026 (Rentech Digital). It does not split out barbecue, so the samgyupsal share is our estimate.
Samgyupsalamat, founded in 2012 and on the unli model since 2017, opened its 98th branch in December 2025 (Wikipedia).
Romantic Baboy listed about 94 branches, 56 of them in Metro Manila across 15 cities, in its last public tally from 2024 (Escape Manila). Treat it as a rough guide.

2. Typical price per head for unlimited Korean BBQ (₱)

Neighbourhood budget: ₱399–499. Unbranded barangay spots sit in this band (The Peach Kitchen), and Mr. Korea near Mall of Asia goes as low as ₱399 on promo (Over Here Manila).
Mass chain: ₱599–799. Samgyupsalamat charges ₱649 on weekdays and ₱699 on weekends for groups of two or more, and ₱749–799 for solo diners, valid from October 2026 (Samgyupsalamat). Romantic Baboy was at ₱599 in September 2025 (The Peach Kitchen).
Upper-mid: ₱599–699. Sibyullee and Fantastic Baka (The Peach Kitchen).
Premium unli: ₱799–899. Premier The Samgyupsal, with branches in Quezon City, BGC, Makati and Alabang (The Peach Kitchen).

Typical range: ₱599–799 a head, with weekend, solo and lunch pricing now common.

Confidence: high for Samgyupsalamat, taken from its own menu page in October 2026 and consistent with its January 2026 promo listing (The Beat Asia). Medium for the others, which come from 2025–2026 roundups and change often.
Price drift is the key signal. Samgyupsalamat started at ₱399 and moved to ₱549 in 2022 on meat costs (Chibog Mates, Bilyonaryo). Its standard group price is now ₱649–699, roughly 18–27% above 2022.

3. Geographic concentration

Highest concentration observed in:

Tomas Morato and Banawe, Quezon City: Premier, Fantastic Baka, Don Day and Geonbae all cluster here (The Peach Kitchen, Tara Lets Anywhere).
Malate, Manila: the older Korean district, home to independents such as Uncle Hwangso Jip and Fantastic Chef (Tara Lets Anywhere).
BGC and Makati: dense with mid and premium Korean brands, including Jin Joo, Premier and Soban K-Town Grill (Spot.ph).
Mall of Asia and Macapagal, Pasay: at least six Korean BBQ venues in one bay-area cluster (Over Here Manila).
Thinner coverage (our read): branded premium options outside the CBDs. The north and east (Valenzuela, Caloocan, Marikina) are reached mostly by mass chain outlets.
Confidence: medium. This is read off branch addresses in the sources, not a formal density study.

What to watch

Meat cost sets your margin. Local liempo averaged ₱380 per kg in Metro Manila markets in August 2026, per Department of Agriculture monitoring (Burket). The DA has signalled it wants to cap pork belly at that level (BusinessWorld), after liempo hit ₱480 in November 2025 (GMA News). Illustration only: a diner eating 300g of liempo costs about ₱114 in meat at retail prices, before sides, rice, gas and wastage.
Labour is going up twice. The NCR minimum wage rose to ₱755 a day in July 2026 and goes to ₱780 on 20 January 2027 under Wage Order NCR-27 (DZRH, Context.ph).
Rent varies threefold. Retail space runs about ₱1,000–2,200 per sqm a month in Quezon City against ₱2,200–4,500+ in BGC (estimates, Easy Property Match). Mall vacancy fell to 10.8% in Q1 2026, with F&B a main driver of take-up (Manila Bulletin).
Permits for open-flame dining. You need a Mayor's Permit from the city BPLO, a Fire Safety Inspection Certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection, and a sanitary permit from the city health office, with health certificates for food handlers (Triple i Consulting). Budget time for the BFP to inspect table grills and exhaust.

FAQ

How much does unli samgyupsal cost in Metro Manila?

As of October 2026, most chains charge ₱599–799 a head. Samgyupsalamat is ₱649 on weekdays for two or more diners and ₱749 for solo diners (Samgyupsalamat). Neighbourhood spots start around ₱399, and premium unli runs ₱799–899.

Is the samgyupsal business in Metro Manila saturated?

In the main clusters, yes. Tomas Morato, Malate, BGC and the Mall of Asia area already have many venues. Room is more likely in a format the chains do not serve well, such as solo diners, lunch sets or a clearly better meat tier, in a residential area.

What permits do I need to open a samgyupsal restaurant?

At minimum: business name registration with DTI or SEC, barangay clearance, a Mayor's Permit, a BFP Fire Safety Inspection Certificate, a sanitary permit and BIR registration (Triple i Consulting).

Thinking of opening a samgyupsal restaurant in Metro Manila?

Before you sign a lease, check how many Korean BBQ venues sit within a short drive, what they charge per head on weekdays and weekends, and what rent the site can carry at today's pork prices. Looma can map it for you. Get a report on your market.