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At the Ayala Museum Function Hall, the lights glowed warm on Sept. 12, 2025, as Via Mare celebrated its 50th anniversary with a night that brimmed with laughter, stories, and food. The event, titled “Salinlahi: Generations of Taste,” gathered dining industry leaders, longtime friends, family, and members of the press to honor the brand’s half-century legacy.
Founder Glenda R. Barretto, elegant and unshaken by time, welcomed guests with the same spirit that has guided Via Mare since it opened its doors in 1975. Beside her, Via Mare president Ramon Roño stood proud, representing the institution that has carried Filipino dining across decades.
The evening was as much about memory as it was about meals. Conversations filled the hall, punctuated by the sound of forks on porcelain and bursts of laughter. To celebrate, the menu was both nostalgic and bold. Guests feasted on porchetta Manileño, roasted to a perfect crackle and seasoned with herbs. The much-talked-about balut surprise made its appearance, still playful, still daring. And, of course, the bibingka—fluffy, aromatic, and familiar—was served as the capstone of comfort, its taste carrying reminders of holidays and family gatherings.
It was a reminder of how food is never only food. Each dish told a story, and each story tied into Via Mare’s role as keeper of tradition and innovator of taste. Over the decades, the brand has introduced diners to regional specialties, refined local classics, and shaped the way Filipinos see their own cuisine.
Between courses, guests were serenaded by Octava Manila, whose harmonies filled the space, and veteran actor and singer Leo Valdez, of “Miss Saigon” fame, whose commanding voice brought a touch of theater to the evening.
The celebration also honored the people who built Via Mare beyond its menus: chefs, servers, and staff who worked in kitchens and dining rooms to make sure every guest left with a memory worth keeping. Their applause was as loud as the toasts.
Fifty years in food is no small feat. Tastes change. Trends rise and fall. Yet Via Mare has held firm to its mission of serving good Filipino food, whether in its cafés, catering halls, or iconic oyster bars. Its longevity is not nostalgia alone. It is proof that flavors rooted in heritage, served with consistency and heart, remain relevant in every generation.
By the end of the night, guests were full, both in spirit and in stomach. The plates had been cleared, the toasts delivered, and the stories told. What lingered was a sense of continuity: that in the next fifty years, as in the last, Via Mare would still be there, setting tables, serving food, and creating moments that become part of people’s lives.
For one golden evening, it was all there in the hall: the warmth of friendship, the pride of legacy, and the simple joy of a good meal shared.
