Medusa calls it: Refined suppers, late drinks, and real final calls
The city's newest evening destination blends fine dining with elegant nightlife and knows exactly when to say when
Published Jul 23, 2025 05:57 am
LOW-KEY LUXE Medusa’s private street-facing entrance sets it apart from the bustle of The Palace complex.
Supper ends at 10. Drinks flow until 2. After that, the night continues elsewhere. Not because the energy runs out, but because Medusa knows exactly what it wants to be.
Located at The Palace Manila in Uptown Bonifacio, Medusa introduces a concept that is still uncommon in the Philippines. It is a supper club in the truest sense, where the evening unfolds in deliberate stages: dinner, drinks, then departure. That pacing alone sets it apart in a city known for fast nights and louder venues.
The space feels like a stage set, but one you can settle into. With a private street-facing entrance and its own driveway, Medusa is a self-contained world. Inside, art deco geometry meets tropical softness. There are mirrored walls, patinated brass, marble accents, and deep velvets. The lighting is responsive. It brightens early, softens late, and pulses just enough once the DJ cues up.
VELVET HOUR Medusa’s main room blends Art Deco lines with tropical warmth, featuring a sculptural oval bar, moody lighting, and layered textures.
From 6 to 10 p.m., the room belongs to the kitchen. Chefs Lisa Revilla, David Thien, and Ruther Sandico lead the culinary program. All three have roots in celebrated kitchens across Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Their combined influence shows up in the details.
Behind the menus and mood lighting is a team that knows what works in Manila’s nightlife circuit—these are the same minds behind Yes Please, Clubhouse, and Revel. But Medusa is clearly their most restrained project yet, and maybe their most refined.
During a media preview, the meal opened with the Ambrosia Noir, a dark cocktail with depth and citrus lift. Then came the plates. Crispy salmon sushi, precise and layered. A buttery lobster roll. A clean and confident Norwegian salmon, followed by octopus and chorizo, where spice met brine in the right balance.
The chicken Wellington was rich without overstatement. The roasted lamb rack arrived pink, sliced neatly, the kind of dish meant for sharing but hard to give up. Desserts leaned classic. Profiteroles with crisp shells and melting centers. A towering Eton mess sundae that tasted like memory and indulgence at once.
MIDNIGHT STIR The Ambrosia Noir sets the tone with citrus, depth, and a hint of smoke.
LAYERED LUXURY Medusa’s Chicken Wellington arrives sealed in crisp pastry, the center still tender and blushing pink.
CREAM DREAMS Medusa’s profiteroles arrive crisp and golden, filled with ice cream and finished with a pour of warm chocolate sauce.
At 10 p.m., the shift begins. Lights dim. The tempo lifts. The room becomes something else. Not a nightclub, not quite a bar. This is the Late Night Social. The same people, the same chairs, but a different current in the air.
Music rises. Cocktails move quickly across the central oval bar. People migrate from seats to corners and back again. Conversations stay audible. The crowd tilts stylish, but relaxed.
Medusa accommodates 220, with 170 in the main room and the rest divided across an alfresco terrace, private dining room, and two semi-private nooks. There’s also a tucked-away lounge bar for quieter groups or brief escapes.
The owners designed the space with clear boundaries in mind. Service wraps up at 2 a.m., no exceptions. It is not a soft close. At that point, it is time to move on, often to their neighboring venues like Xylo or Revel. Medusa is not where the hard partying happens. It is the start of the night, not its end.
With Medusa, the group behind The Palace introduces a venue that values control, design, and rhythm. It does not demand your whole night. It just sets the tone.
And it does so with style.