A Filipino-American cocktail bar five years in the making opens its doors Wednesday in Manhattan's East Village, serving ube coladas, calamansi highballs, and a burger inspired by In-N-Out at 197 Second Avenue. June Baby, run by co-owners Roxanne Diaz Bangalan and Darwin Pornel alongside partner Ben Rojo, fills a 1,100-square-foot space between East 12th and East 13th streets with room for 76 people across 17 tables and a ten-seat bar.
The bar's debut caps a journey that began as a pop-up in late 2021, according to In Her Purpose. As Eater New York reports, the trio formalized June Baby as a pop-up again in 2025 before locking down the East Village address, where it is set to open October 28. Rojo previously ran the neighborhood bar Black Emperor in the very same space from 2019 to 2020, and June Baby has kept the mahogany bar top and some of the original seating and fixtures, per the same account.
The name carries a double meaning. It nods to the due date of one of the founders' children, which fell in June, while also tying into Philippine Independence Day on June 12 — the date Filipino revolutionary forces declared independence from Spain in 1898, a date President Diosdado Macapagal formally proclaimed as the holiday in 1962. The United States did not recognize full Philippine sovereignty until July 4, 1946, and the Philippines observed July 4 as its independence day until the holiday was moved to June 12 in 1962.
Drinks Built Around Filipino Flavors
Rojo invented the bar's ube colada, a $15 cocktail that Pornel has called the most perfect rendition of the drink he has ever had. Pornel's own signature contribution, the calamansi highball — a vodka soda built around Filipino citrus — dates back to 2015, when he first started developing it; June Baby also offers a nonalcoholic version for guests who want the citrus kick without the alcohol.
The rest of the cocktail list leans into the same playful, flavor-forward approach. There's a turon-tado, a daiquiri crossed with the fried banana dessert turon and made with caramelized banana and jackfruit, alongside a negroni built around buko pandan flavors that runs $17 and a margarita featuring green mango cheong and bagoong salt.
Pulutan-Style Snacks Meet an In-N-Out Tribute
Food at June Baby follows the pulutan tradition — small Filipino dishes meant for drinking, suited equally to a seated meal or standing around with a cocktail in hand. The menu includes pork lumpiang shanghai, an eggplant parm finished with cotija and a caldereta-inspired marinara at $17, and a $18 burger that reimagines In-N-Out through the owners' California roots, complete with onion options, fries, and banana ketchup. The team worked with chef-consultants Kevin Cardenas, Adrian Capellan, and Lem Soriano of Solo Diner to develop the food program.
Design details reinforce the cultural throughline. Filipino architects Camille Esquivel de la Fé and Adela Locsin designed the space, which displays artwork from local Filipino artists including Coco Lim Haas and Sophia Haas. Staff uniforms came from Jamie NYC and Mighty Ape Graphix. June Baby is set to run 4 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday, and will take walk-ins only.
A Growing Filipino Footprint Downtown
Rojo has said the East Village's history is woven through with immigrant diaspora groups, Filipinos among them. Bangalan has said she and her partners valued reclaiming their identities and that history through the bar. Pornel has also said the broader goal is for people to feel seen in the space regardless of their own cultural background. Rojo has framed the project similarly, saying the bar reflects the experience of third-culture kids in a way he believes can resonate across backgrounds.
June Baby joins a wider story of Filipino businesses taking root downtown, including Naks and Hoy. Naks, an East Village restaurant serving Filipino comfort food near First Avenue and 12th Street, opened in December 2023 and is run by executive chef and partner Eric Valdez, according to NY1. That growth tracks with citywide numbers: New York's Filipino population climbed from about 85,000 in 2018 to 94,000 in 2023, a 9.5 percent increase, per the Asian American Federation. Queens still holds the largest Filipino population citywide, though the Bronx and Brooklyn saw the biggest gains over that same period, the federation found, and entertainment industries like restaurants and bars ranked among the leading employment sectors for Filipino workers after healthcare and professional services.
Pornel draws on past experience at The NoMad Hotel and Mister Paradise, while Bangalan previously worked at Union Street Cafe, according to What Now New York. The median Filipino household in New York earns 37.2 percent more than the citywide average household, per the Asian American Federation. Community board filings earlier in the planning process had proposed hours of 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. to 4 a.m. on weekends, though June Baby's posted operating hours for its opening differ from that earlier proposal.
