Featuring beverage director/co-founder Ronald Cruz

Fat Cat channels the spirit of a Japanese jazz kissaten—vinyl on the turntable, easy conversation, and an intimate space that builds a community out of strangers. Last year’s menu overhaul draws each drink from a card in the tarot’s Major Arcana. Ronald Cruz, surprisingly new to the industry, got his start hosting friends at home during the pandemic before seizing the chance to open a bar of his own. So when Fat Cat won Tatler Best Bar of the Year 2025, it certainly came as a surprise to many—but Cruz’s wins at the first-ever Philippine Campari Red Hands competition and Diageo World Class Philippines prove this newcomer is a real force in the industry. Cruz and his partners have since opened two sister bars across the street, Cattery and El Gato. Catch him at the global finals of Diageo World Class 2026 in Scotland this October as he competes to bring home the championship title.