The Aristocrat Restaurant is a Filipino-owned family corporation founded by the late Doña Engracia (“Aling Asiang”) Cruz-Reyes and her husband, Justice Alex A. Reyes. Aling Asiang’s pioneering spirit coupled with her native genius for cooking Filipino food raised the once lowly and unknown Filipino dishes to well-loved and accepted locally and internationally. From its humble beginning as a snack mobile in 1936, the Aristocrat has grown into a restaurant enterprise with branches in Metro Manila, all serving the same quality foods that have made it “The Philippines’ Most Popular Restaurant”.
Strategically located along Roxas Boulevard, the first Aristocrat was a silent eyewitness to the passing of Philippine history --- from the Presidential inaugural parades and somber funeral marches of national martyrs and prisoners of war (World War II), to religious rallies of various denominations and frivolous parades of film festivals and beauty queens. Aristocrat has inspired the growth and development of the restaurant industry in the Philippines, oftentimes taking the lead and being the basis of many other food establishments. Engracia Cruz Reyes’ contribution to Philippine cuisine has earned her national recognition. In 1992, on her 100th birth anniversary, the erection of a landmark in a Rajah Sulaiman park, the issuance of a stamp edition and the naming of a street after her honor.
