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Nicco Santos

white ceramic plate with food on white table
Illustration photo. White ceramic plate with food on white table. Photo: Cloris Ying, Unsplash.

Nicco Santos is a Filipino chef known for modern Southeast Asian cooking, best known for the restaurants Your Local and Hey Handsome in Manila.

Modern Southeast Asian cooking rooted in Singaporean and Malaysian flavours with a Filipino sensibility. This profile looks at Nicco’s background, career and signature approach.

TL;DR

  • Filipino
  • Known for the restaurants Your Local and Hey Handsome in Manila
  • His restaurant Your Local was the sole Filipino entry on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2016 list of best restaurants.
  • He is also a portrait photographer alongside his culinary career.
  • Modern Southeast Asian cooking rooted in Singaporean and Malaysian flavours with a Filipino sensibility.

Nicco Santos key facts

NameNicco Santos
Nationality / originFilipino
Known forthe restaurants Your Local and Hey Handsome in Manila
LocationManila, Philippines
StyleModern Southeast Asian cooking rooted in Singaporean and Malaysian flavours with a Filipino sensibility.

Background and career

He built his cooking style by training under home cooks and families in Singapore and Malaysia. His restaurant Your Local was the sole Filipino entry on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2016 list of best restaurants.

Recognition and legacy

Hey Handsome showcases his bolder Southeast Asian flavours and modern neighbourhood-eatery concept. He is also a portrait photographer alongside his culinary career.

Refined fine-dining plating
Fine dining. Photo: cyclonebill, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA.

Signature style

Modern Southeast Asian cooking rooted in Singaporean and Malaysian flavours with a Filipino sensibility. It is an approach that has made Nicco a distinctive figure in the food world.

Nicco in context

Nicco Santos is one of the chefs featured on Pickup Table 4, alongside JP Anglo and Claude Tayag.

Follow Nicco Santos

Nicco Santos – profile

Nicco Santos FAQ

Who is Nicco Santos?
A Filipino chef known for modern Southeast Asian cooking.

Where is Nicco based?
Manila, Philippines.

What is Nicco known for?
The restaurants Your Local and Hey Handsome in Manila.

What is a notable fact about Nicco?
He built his cooking style by training under home cooks and families in Singapore and Malaysia.

What is Nicco’s style?
Modern Southeast Asian cooking rooted in Singaporean and Malaysian flavours with a Filipino sensibility.

A lifelong food-industry professional and the writer behind Pickup Table 4 — a chef, waiter and restaurant owner who today invests in restaurants and food projects. A dedicated foodie with a deep love of chefs and culinary culture, profiling the people who shape how the world eats.