The Hobbit House

Lord of the Rings fans rejoice, for if you happen to journey to Manila in the Philippines, you can get a little taste of what it might be like to dine in The Shire.  There’s a long-standing and popular restaurant by the name of The Hobbit House there that is dedicated to celebrating its owner's love of Tolkien’s world.

First founded in 1973, The Hobbit House made its appearance well before the movie releases turned Lord of the Rings into the huge phenomenon that it is today.  The place has been going strong ever since and has even spawned another restaurant in the chain, this one located in the tourist town of Boracay.

The restaurant itself may not look like the set of LotRs, but it is decorated to create a Hobbit-like atmosphere.  One enters through a round Hobbit door and is greeted by murals of Tolkien’s stories painted on the walls, ceilings covered in branches, live music and a candle and lantern-lit ambiance.  There are also more blatant LotRs decorations, such as replica weapons mounted on the walls and cardboard cutouts of characters from the movie.  And, of course, there is the Hobbit-sized staff that, though they are primarily waiters and waitresses, also put on performances to entertain customers and keep the restaurant lively.  These entertainers are skilled at everything from comedy to juggling to dancing and singing and more.

But when one goes to a restaurant, one expects to have some decent food.  The Hobbit House, in addition to having a Hobbit-theme named menu, is renowned for providing large portions, in keeping with Hobbits’ love of eating, no doubt.  And in keeping with their love of drinking, one can choose from more than 150 beers or anything from the fully stocked bar.  Food consists of everything from western fare, such as pizza and Mexican, to traditional Filipino food.

The Hobbit House is more than just a restaurant, however, and the owner brought in many of his first employees from where they lived on the streets.  He’s generously helped his staff with everything from loans to education to housing.  He’s even gone so far as to make some of them into the main stockholders, so that they may carry on the restaurant once he passes on.  You can check out the Hobbit House’s official web page for more information.

Hobbit House bar courtesy of oneinchpunch.net