Holy Week often brings a pause to the city. Restaurants close, streets quiet down, and plans tend to stay closer to home.

At New World Makati Hotel, the long weekend is approached differently, with a lineup that leans into family gatherings, familiar dishes, and a few festive touches for Easter Sunday.

On Good Friday, Café 1228 remains open, offering a buffet for both in-house guests and walk-in diners. With fewer options available in the area, it becomes a convenient place to sit down to a proper meal without leaving the city.

By Easter Sunday, the tone shifts. The restaurant moves into full celebration mode, with a buffet that brings together a mix of Asian and Western dishes. There is seafood kare-kare, Korean fried chicken, and nasi goreng alongside coq au vin, shepherd’s pie, seafood thermidor, and carved meats such as lamb leg and sirloin.

Desserts follow the same approach, familiar, but with a seasonal twist. Chocolate bunny mousse cups, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, mini pavlovas with fruit, and hot cross bun pudding round out the spread.

For younger guests, the afternoon includes a build-your-own cookie sandwich station, along with appearances from an Easter Bunny mascot handing out eggs filled with small surprises.

Elsewhere in the hotel, Jasmine offers an alternative for those who prefer something more focused. Its Easter Yum Cha features an all-you-can-eat dim sum menu, with staples such as har gao, siu mai, and xiao long bao, alongside dishes like black truffle vegetable dumplings and lobster and shrimp beancurd rolls.

For those staying the weekend, the hotel is also offering an Easter staycation package. Guests checking in during the holiday are welcomed with a chocolate candy bar in their rooms, a small detail that adds to the occasion. With its location across Greenbelt, the hotel remains close to the usual shopping and dining options, while still offering a quieter base for the long break.

Café 1228’s Easter Sunday buffet is priced at P4,200 per person, with a children’s rate of P1,500. Jasmine’s Easter Yum Cha is available at P1,988 per person, with children dining at P994.

For many, the holiday is about slowing down. Here, it also becomes a reason to gather around the table, stay a little longer, and make the most of the long weekend without going too far.