Smallville Complex is a popular dining and nightlife destination in Iloilo where Ilonggos and visitors go to eat, drink, and spend a fun night out in the city. The term Smallville originally refers to the row of restaurants, bars, and clubs beside Iloilo Business Hotel but due to several expansions in the area, it now refers to the whole complex.
Low and Mid-rise buildings in Smallville Complex seen from Don Nonato Pison Ave., Mandurriao
Guide and Recommendations
- Dance Clubs. If you’e planning to spend the night on the dance floor and experience Iloilo’s lively nightlife, check out Aura, Flow, and MO2 Ice. Aura and Flow cater to the more upscale crowd, while MO2 Ice attracts the biggest crowd of party goers. Best time to go for a night out is during weekends when the crowd literally fill up the whole Smallville Complex.
- Bars. There’s a lot of choices in Smallville when it comes to getting your alcohol fix. Local beers are sold at an average price of P50 per bottle. Here are some choices (aside from the dance clubs already mentioned):
- Rooftop Brewery offers the widest choice of local and foreign beers.
- Restaurants that offer great food to pair with a bottle of beer include Freska (Seafood/Ilonggo) and Bourbon Street (American Bistro / American-Italian). A cheaper alternative is Griller’s Oyster Bar.
- Dependable bars include MO2 Resto-bar, Club21, Shipwreck/Pirates, Picanto, and B Place. These places offer cold beer at reasonable prices. Great choice if you’re just planning on drinking while enjoying the company of friends. The cheapest place to drink in Smallville are Go Mart and Tuki, which are basically convenient stores with tables an their storefront.
- JAQs has a bit more character than the other bars in Smallville. There’s a live band playing a good selection of rock music every night.
- Coffee Shops. Coffee Break is the most popular coffee shop in Smallville and has a nice ambiance. Kopi Roti is a good alternative. If you’re craving for desserts, try Nothing But Desserts.
- Restaurants. Smallville is an excellent dining destination in Iloilo City. There’s a lot of restaurants offering a wide array of cuisines in Smallville. Here are the more notable choices:
- Mid-range (expect to spend at least P500 to P1,000 for a meal good for two)
- Maki (Japanese) – great bento-bento meals and sushi bar
- Freska (Filipino; Ilonggo) – offers the best Ilonggo cuisine in Smallville
- Krua Thai (Thai) – excellent Thai food
- Afriques (Italian) – reasonably priced; Italian food with local flair
- Mohave Grill and Steakhouse (American Southwest) – delicious steaks; generous servings
- Amalfi (Italian) – great ambiance; most extensive wine list
- Bauhinia (Filipino fusion) – delicious Filipino food with a twist
- Bourbon Street (American Bistro) – famous for its BBQ baby back ribs
- Budget
- Mang Inasal
- KTV Bars. MO2 Annex is the most popular choice for renting KTV rooms and are reasonably priced. The newly opened Smallville21 also has KTV rooms available, which are a bit more pricey. The cheapest KTV rooms are located in Pirates.
The Original Smallville Strip
Within the original Smallville strip are Maki (Japanese Cuisine), Freska (Filipino), Red Steakhouse and Gallery, Rooftop Brewery, Picanto (Bar), Crave Restaurant and Steak House, Krua Thai, Kopi Roti (Coffee shop), Amicos Pizza, JAQs (Bar), and the Iloilo Business Hotel.
The original Smallville Complex and the new second level mezzanine
Smallville has been very successful in Iloilo. Over the years, newer buildings and shops that have sprouted in the complex. Smallville continues to be the prime entertainment and dining center of the city. Even more developments in Small are expected within the next few years.
MO2 Complex
MO2 Complex consist of Westown Hotel, MO2 Restaurant/Bar, Aquarium (Club), Ice (Club), MO2 Annex (Billiards and KTV) and the El Dorado Waterpark. The Mo2 resto-bar is one of the earliest establishments and has attracted a huge following over the years. If you’re planning on renting KTV Rooms, MO2 Annex is your go to place. Mo2 Ice, is one of the more popular dance clubs in Smallville.
Westown Hotel
MO2 Annex KTV Rooms
El Dorado Waterpark
The Avenue Complex
If you’re looking for a place to eat delicious food and enjoy a nice ambiance, definitely check out the restaurants at the Avenue Complex. Aura is a great place to spend the night out on the dance floor. At The Avenue, you’ll find: Coffee Break, Nothing but Desserts, Bauhinia (Filipino), Mojave Grill and Steak House (Southwest American), Amalfi (Italian), Aura (Club), Mr. Crab and Co. (Seafood), Terra (Mediterranean), E-Games, and Bourbon Street (Southwest American).
Smallville21 Complex
Smallville21 is one of the newer establishments in Smallville, it consist of the Smallville21 Hotel, Smallville21 KTV Rooms, and Go Mart Convenience Store.
Location Map
Address: Smallville Complex, Diversion Road, Mandurriao District, Iloilo City
Hi! Just wanna ask the contact number for westown hotel and MO2 hotel for reservations. Thank you. God Bless!
iloilo is the best place in the whole world than lizares manssion in bacolod gina padayaw nila ang ila nga balay nga madaan kag so yuckie very very yuckie guid proud to be ilongga sang iloilo
Hey, does anyone know the contact no. of Annex? Many thanks :)
Flow,bourbon,MO2 and Avenue is hang out place for city folks;;;with their fine clothes and cultured spirit…In pirates you could find country with thier rugged and shabby look.you can also heared them its safe in there from the prying eye
your comment is so discriminating. why only city folks how about people from rural areas are they not welcome?
I agree with SSS, not everyone goes to Smallville to show off their clothes and “cultured spirit.” I mean they’re not harming you in anyway for just being there. They just want to have a good time.
SmallVille is okey! I enjoy hanging out at Coffee Break avenue coz.its relaxing
Thanks gd marque for the comment but I moderated your other comment because it might stir up negative reactions.
I know Smallville in not inclusive of The Avenue, Red Square, The Boardwalk and what not! Quite confusing, really ( just me, anyways)! Why not come up with just 1 name, the whole place (area) SMALLVILLE! It’s like in MCC (Makati Commercial Complex): may Glorietta, Quad, Greenbelt, Rustan’s, SM, Anson’s, etc. All clamped into one name MCC.
Now that I had visited the whole area of “Smallville” recently, I think it’s a PERFECT place to be for all Ilonggos of different walks in life! No exceptions. Some people might get allienated by its up-scaledness, but that’s the direction of things to come in the realm of dining & entertainment.
BOURBON!!! SOUND LIKE SHIP AHHH (SHIPPING COMPANY AND GOOD LOOKING SHIP AND HAVING STATE OF THE ART DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT), ITS VERY WELL KNOWN FOR ALL SEAMAN YOU KNOW, SPECIALLY IN OFFSHORE.
This is way better than our party spots in Davao. Smashville is way better than Davao’s Torres, Rizal and Damosa. Food is great, the people are really into fashion including men. Illongos really know how to party. But the beer is quite expensive.
hi!i havent been home for 5 years.im planning to this december.ive heard of smallville.it wasnt as big when i left back then.but now that ive seen the pics of different establishments,im really dying to go there!any recommendations?
wala gasabat sa telepono ang mga ungas
Smallville in iloilo is the ultimate party place i have been. grabe di ko spell yung fun
Smallville! A best place for leisure for everyone when you are in Iloilo. I miss hanging out there again esp. in pirates, bourbon and mo2 annix…Wala na ang calzada.. ara nada tanan sa smallville…hehehe.. Saan kapa!!!
I wanna go to iloilo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!im a sabahan :( that place looks great :(
yeeeehey.. ma go kami smallville sa saturday to sunday.. see you
iloilo economy is fast growing its potencial for call center and lot of investor i hope iloilo will be the next hub in the visayas regarding in tourism.. and i hope and pray that our political leader in iloilo will market well iloilo for the interest of the people of iloilo not them self
hi mark! utod mo si polpol?
thanks for creating this website.. there’s no other site that constantly and consistenly feature tbe beauty and grandeur of iloilo. i’m sure i’ll be shocked when i come home after 12 years of being away. ano man lang diversion road sang una man, subong it’s the place to be dira sa iloilo.
oo, hehe. Thanks gd. I’m sure you’ll notice a lot of changes… sa airport pa lang …big change na.
Hi I hope you can post the names of the bands that performs in MO2 we’re planning to be back and wants to watch the same band.. that’s a band of five.. two girl singers. Thanks!
do u have a contact number of pirates bar? tnx
Hi marc! Your doing great in promoting Iloilo as the next tourism hub not only in Western Visayas but in the whole Philippines. Keep it up! Like your website and photos on it. We need people like you to keep the tourism industry growing… Best wishes!
I’ve been in “smallville” whic they call nightlife cental also in the new site of Smallville hotel. Iwould rather call this place as the land of the smiling people coz people are always smilling wenever and wherever u go!!. How I wish I can go there agen…!!this place is so nice!!
How I really wish I could go there again..!! It’s an amazing place..My uncle just brought me there and I cant afford to go there agen for the second time around.lau kc ng ISABELA SA ILOILO..IMAGINE FROM LUZON KME??WE NEED 2 travel tru plain..huhuhu..!! gandang jamming place kc e2 eh?? u will be relaxed there..may kantahan 2geder wid the bands der…and may inuman session dun..I will olweys miss this place…(^_^)..
I’m from America and I have decided to come visit the Philippines for vacation. I happened to stop by Iloilo’s entertainment district: Smallville.
It is quite small and we stayed at Smallville 21 for a weekend but it was very relaxing. It’s close to SM CITY, just a couple of blocks down. Anyway me and my buddies decided to go to mo2 for both Friday & Saturday night.
The staff at mo2 was very nice but the only thing I have to complain about is the service. It was quite slow, but it’s understanding since it was Friday & Saturday & the place was packed by 1:00. The music was great. I would definately consider going again for a weekend.
Smallville 21 is a nice simple hotel. Friendly staff and breakfast was delicious
ill be there in 3 days sumone email me back on a good place to stay i will be there for 2 weeks hwy694u @ hotmail . com
@Richard… I suggest you would stay in … Smallville21… its quite a good hotel,,i guess you know what i mean of “good”..it feature normally what a standard hotel could give….now, its found just in the heart of smallville, just beside, there’s sidewalk bars and groceries,close to board-walk for jogging, close to Major road for easy commute, close to major malls and many others.
yah Smallville21 is the best. I will be in Iloilo tomorrow. I really really love ILOILO.
@belle as for the moment that’s the only haven for the man-of-town…..sooner the Megaworld would have another give us—experience the luxury —life when they finished the festive-street…
As an American ex-pat in Iloilo:
Smallville is … ok for the younger, single crowd. As far as restaurants go, you won’t find better ribs in Texas than you will at Bourbon Street (and the people are much nicer than in Texas) — and it’s the only place in the city to get a decent martini (I’ve tried nearly everywhere).
The MO2 hotel has nice rooms, but I’d recommend not ordering the food (the portions are small and the quality is nothing to write home about) from the hotel. However, there are a lot of other restaurants in the area, and they come and go over the years.
Crave Burger is about the closest you’ll get in the city to a real American burger, and the onion rings are great. Also, for real globally-oriented seafood fare, Freska/Maki won’t be outdone by any restaurant in the city. They have a number of good menu items for foreigners who may not be accustomed to eating some filipino foods, while the local menu dishes are also quite good (especially the KBL!).
The atmosphere of the district, in general, is more created for the 20′s to 30′s single crowd. This is where many non-locals might have a bit of difficulty. While Smallville offers more varieties of quality food/entertainment than anywhere else in Iloilo City, the atmosphere can get a bit “loud and drunk”, especially for an expat who wants to just relax and enjoy a drink and a good meal. For those people, the best times to go are weeknights, generally from 6-8 pm. You can avoid the rush, and avoid the potential … “distractions” of the later evening.
All in all, this article is pretty accurate.
very modern. looks like in the state.
@mur2s… true… you only see the good side of state …why do we have to refer everything to state?? soo unfair… Korea have very much modern party circuits… Beijing… Tokyo… Singapore…. Hongkong….Macau…etc… as the new saying goes ” Asia is where the money is ” if you sum up the money… Asia will constitute the trillions of money of the world … there are many Billionaires in India , In Dubai, In Hongkong , China , Japan, Korea etc etc etc…. if you look at the world map of Gross National Product… which is the indicator of overall economy… Asia is the greenest…. from the oil rich countries….and here is the fastest computer of the world.. the fastest train…. and so on and on about technology… Macau have way up high in Casino than Las Vegas …Not all of America is party-place.. America is full of towns which is dead place you cant see no person if you travel 50 KM and up and the next gasoline station is another 200 KM away and no person will entertain you there but squawking birds… and the thickest woods that stretched miles and miles and miles away … thank you…
Medyo naglapad na ang smallville when I was still in college nagakadto man kami da pro as far as I can remember MO2 pa lang ang ara dakag ang bluejay coffee ang smallville 21 hotel gina construct pa lang gani. damo na malagawan magpuli. Hoping nga madayon ang theme park sa megaworld para mas damo pa gid ang malagawan da sa city of love and Quens City of the South.
I find a lot of sour graping in the comments as of late. Especially from the so called Filipino expats. Everyone keeps complaining and comparing it the US or wherever they immigrated to.
They have to compare [insert foreign establishment here] to [insert local Iloilo establishment here].
“Oh it was so much better there in the US”
Why did you travel back to Iloilo anyways then?
Criticism is welcome but if it’s not constructive and if it’s just nit-picking then it really isn’t criticism.
Can’t we just appreciate something out of it’s own merit?
@jimmy … i find it tough to figure out what youre trying to say… please badbada ina sa hilgaynon lang be ( please translate it in Hiligaynon)…malouy ka…
hope theres condominium to be selling out near smallville..
@cahew nuts there would be a few 500 meters away only Northwest… in Kapideco Area Rotonda….
I can’t wait to go to iloilo on November 10!! It’s my first time go to there. And it’s my mother’s hometown :)
enjoy angel…im sure…iloilo so nice.relaxing city…:)
just wanna asked, will smallville customers be interested in having a beauty parlor nearby?
i’m from Guam and i haven’t been back home for a long time now. i’ll be going to leon iloilo where my family are from for a fiesta and i’m planning to check out smallville and other places.
Lovely photos. Looks like the street is very lively and building looks modern. My hubby is actually an Ilonggo and we look forward to visitng Ilo-ilo soon.
Wow nice place, I haven’t been to Iloilo but my father was born in Iloilo, while I was born in Bacolod.
Maybe this coming summer I’ll try visiting there.
Hope you wouldn’t mid if pwede kami kakuha sang details about nightlife in iloilo diri sa site nga ni for our magazine project in school?
*Won’t mind
@Flip, night life in Iloilo is neat and clean , ( that is generally)perfectly suit Ethnic Ilongo Cultural Composure. the hang out place is usually at Smallville- its a small district with Party Circuits, some are cozy side walk , veranda type , or a very small KTV Rooms, and Discoteque that played variety of genre such as RNB , Electro House Acids or Trance , Latin dance music is not uncommon .There’s no Cabaret nor Casino. Laser System is very few , as much as fog machines or bubbles . People usually wore thier cocktail dress and more often than not , usual clothes. The people are generally full of restraint when it comes to rave , not much table tops dances or very flirty dances like those in pole , no public french kissing and stuff. Thugs are everywhere yet they are truly tamed , Minors are prohibeted up to 10PM , gigs are usually the local band .Bartenders can prepare cocktails such as Piña colada , Margareta, Martini, bloody Mary and Orgasm etcetera . You hardly find Big Fish with his personal suite entourage or a Baller with his ladies flip