The Japanese restaurant’s first foray into the mall setting hits the right retro-cute spots for guest satisfaction

Kodawari’s new branch at SM Aura isn’t so much a complete departure from its hole-in-the-wall charm as it is the next logical step to the brand’s growth. The cutest Japanese restaurant this side of Manila has always been well-received by patrons. But their latest venture into a mall settingsolare, which opened just in December 2024, signals a noticeably buoyed mindset when it comes to brand building.

“The comments are positive,” co-founder Toni Potenciano says about the feedback from the mallgoers. “But a lot are first-timers… it’s a new and different market.”

Working with C+Y Design Studio, co-founder Toni Potenciano says that the Aura branch serves as a design midpoint, bridging the gap between the Salcedo and BGC locations

Of course, a more grown-up development in a mall doesn’t equate to a humdrum mood or an uptight, squeaky clean vibe. Kodawari SM Aura, in fact, still possesses plenty of that cozy Japan feel that the Salcedo and BGC outposts have, but this one also doesn’t exactly mimic either. Working with C+Y Design Studio, Potenciano says that the Aura branch serves as a design midpoint, bridging the gap between the Salcedo and BGC locations. “What would kind of still imbibe the both of them… and this is what came up.”

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Located on the lower ground floor looking out across Auro’s heavy foot traffic of fastidious shoppers and curious passersby, the restaurant is warm and elegant, thanks to the swathes of wood used throughout, while its color palette of bottle green and brick red is reminiscent of autumn.

The event was intended to promote the environmentally sensitive Unesco-listed World Heritage site, where the ruins of the Khmer empire’s greatest monuments are surrounded by lush forests and giant trees.

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Much of the menu is still dedicated to Kodawari favorites and branch exclusives but Toni Potenciano says that eventually all locations will have a standardized menu

Past the entrance on the left are Kodawari’s signature shelves with little figurines and trinkets and on the right is an “endless artwork” from concept and children’s book artist Gia Leuterio that not only maximizes the length of the wall and melds the Salcedo branch’s “Howl’s Moving Castle”-inspired powder room but also embraces Kodawari’s Studio Ghibli-like country road journey. 

“Surprisingly, it does actually get easier,” Potenciano says about their evolution and expansion since the first physical brick and mortar in 2023. “Now, opening the second and the third branches, I was fully bracing for a terrible experience, especially with the second one, but it was so smooth and I think it comes from the fact that a lot of the staff, they all rotate or come from the same branch.”

Located on the lower ground floor looking out across Auro’s heavy foot traffic of fastidious shoppers and curious passersby, the restaurant is warm and elegant, thanks to the swathes of wood used throughout, while its color palette of bottle green and brick red is reminiscent of autumn

That doesn’t mean they didn’t face any challenges though. “With three branches, how do you communicate the offerings to people who have never heard of Kodawari before?” Potenciano rhetorically asks. But while the brand’s acceleration into new locations somehow feels fast and new hurdles come up, the leisurely details in the aforementioned gyudog artwork exhibit the accurate mood with which the team has handled their palpable progress. 

Signature bowls lap up against the reds and greens of the interior

And really now, who wouldn’t want to have more disarmingly cute yet filling dons, like the Aura-exclusive tuna poke bowl rollup that chef Jake Aycardo created on a whim. It doesn’t look any different from their other bowls but it’s effortlessly delicious and portioned just right. The sushi rice-like dish invites you to either dig into the bowl (as I did, even when I thought I couldn’t eat anymore) or scoop up all the tuna, rice, and the rest of the elements in one go, stuff it onto the nori sheet, and lustily snack on it piece by piece like a sumptuous seaweed taco. It’s a refreshing dish that has all the hallmarks of a Kodawari showstopper.

The tuna poke bowl rollup is a refreshing dish that has all the hallmarks of a Kodawari showstopper With a new location and a branch-exclusive tuna poke bowl rollup to boot, Kodawari is on the road to (maybe) countrywide growth

Indeed, as onlookers stopped, stared, and eventually walked in to sit down at either the booths or two-top tables, Kodawari consistently presents itself to new customers who may not have been to the Salcedo branch or the One Parkade location with aplomb. The factor, I believe, is how dominantly cohesive they make the Kodawari experience.

Even if they are positioned inside one of the most visited malls in the citysolare, Kodawari at SM Aura feels just as compelling as any of its predecessors—yes, even without a signature Ghibli-inspired powder room.