infection is less likely to occur.  In the Philippines, restaurants like the Charlie’s Cup in Busay, Sheraton Manila’s outdoor dining area, street dining in some parts in Makati and Global City in Taguig and Pueblo Mexicano’s expanded patio at the Banilad Town Center started popping up at the height of the pandemic.  “Alfresco dining offerings were not available all year round for our hotel’s restaurant,” Sheraton Manila’s general manager Anna Liza Vergara told Inside Retail. “We thought it would be a good idea to introduce this concept during the Covid-19 outbreak as people were looking for an upgraded dining experience in an outdoor setting.” But since outdoor dining is highly weather dependent, Sheraton Manila needed to create a managed environment that could be used despite changing weather conditions. “The Vubble allows you to enjoy outdoor dining despite this as it is very well ventilated, air-conditioned and also has windows that would allow proper air circulation,” Vergara said. Sheraton’s Vubble is the first ever luxury outdoor pod in the country. Located in the hotel’s expansive grounds, the pod’s transparent and frameless structure offers a 360-degree view of the garden and the pool and is UV-, water- and moisture-proof. The pod is well ventilated and keeps a stable temperature for the comfort of each guest. To ensure safety, the guest’s temperature is always checked and the space is sanitised after every use.  Vergara said putting the pods up was costly but giving guests the option of having a safe dining experience was worth it. “We needed to create a dedicated culinary and service team that will prepare the set menu specifically prepared for our guests inside the Vubble,” she said.  “Our events team had to immediately shift to focusing on the Vubbles as opposed to meeting spaces as there were more interests on these. Given the guidelines set by the government, hotels are not allowed yet at this point in time to have social events. Thus, the option to use the Vubble for an intimate, memorable, upgraded dining experience served this purpose.” Mariles Alvarez Nable, owner of Pueblo Mexicano, a restaurant located at the Banilad Town Center shopping center in Cebu City, told Inside Retail the business decided to expand their patio last year and offer outdoor dining to offer guests some comfort. “We truly believe that outdoor dining with social distancing and other standard safety protocols provide for a safer dining environment,” Nable said.  Nable said the new patio outdoor dining space was popular when it launched, but sales volume fell to 20 per cent and the number of guests dropped following the rise of Covid-19 cases and the nationwide liquor ban. Rising coronavirus cases While the rest of the world is slowly recovering from the coronavirus, the Philippines has gone back to square one with new Covid-19 cases approaching the 100,000 mark. The Department of Health reported just yesterday a new record high 8,773 additional cases. Filipinos, however, have continued to dine out, observing social distancing protocols, searching for an outdoor oasis to support their mental and physical wellbeing and their need to dine out, relax and socialise. Charlie’s Cup, located along the cliffs of Balamban, features an outdoor dining area with a large deck surrounded by trees which offers a clear view of nature, offering a therapeutic effect to visitors. Pets are allowed at the restaurant and it also has a kids’ area for children to play in. The Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and Legaspi Village in Makati, Manila, offer high-street outdoor dining which are extremely popular to city dwellers looking for a change of scenery outside the four corners of their homes.  Overall, growth in consumer foodservice can already be seen in the early part of 2021, according to a study conducted by Euromonitor. But this initial recovery is expected to suffer again as long lockdown periods are being enforced by the government due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.