Monday, January 30, 2017

Grind Bistro: Gourmet, All-American Dishes From the Carls' Kitchen


The Grind Bistro opened its doors last May 2016 as a place where husband-and-wife duo, Steven and Cristina Carl, can showcase their love for food. Working in the food industry for most of their lives, with Steven Carl previously working as the executive chef and F&B Director for Hyatt Hotels while his wife, Cristina Carl, handled operations for Hyatt, the many years of experience under both their belts only goes to show that they know their way around food. It is with this love for food that Grind Bistro was born. 

The concept for Grind Bistro was originally supposed to be gourmet burger joint but the Carls' just wanted to share so much more premium all-American dishes that they found it hard to leave many household favorites out of their menu. It's why Grind Bistro has so much more to offer than burgers, although burgers still consist of a large part of their menu.

 Here's what you can expect when dining at Grind Bistro...



The restaurant itself is quite spacious, with large comfortable couches and huge colorful chairs scattered all around. The lights were quite dim at night so the place offers quite a romantic mood. As soon as you enter the restaurant, the place feel quite upscale but still homey and inviting.  



We actually discovered Grind Bistro through BigDish, an brand new booking app that offers up to 50% discount at some of Manila's finest restaurants. The best part about the app is that you can avail of the discount and book a table right on the app itself. That's right, you don't have to call the restaurant anymore! 

All you need to do is download the app, select your restaurant, and make a reservation. 


BigDish with show a confirmation of your reservation as shown above along with the discount. You only need to present it when you arrive at the restaurant and, based on our experience, it's quite hassle-free. Note that you may lose your discount if you are more than 15 minutes late! 

This is the perfect app for those of you who love good food but have odd eating hours because the app offers bigger discounts during hours when there are less people in restaurants (think 2-5pm on weekdays). Download the app now to see which restaurants you can book with BigDish, an app that makes the Manila dining experience even better. Now, back to Grind Bistro. 


The Ricotta Gnocchi (Php 450) consisted of soft gnocchi that's tossed in a warm beet pesto. I liked how the gnocchi was fluffy and nicely cooked with a savory taste that goes well with the slightly bitter greens. It's a bit unfortunate that the ricotta in the dish was a bit too light that I couldn't really savor it - I was looking forward to it a lot.

Given how pricey this dish is, it's not a dish I would recommend unless you really love gnocchi. You'd get more bang for your buck with either the Popcorn Shrimp (Php 395) and Poke Nachos (Php 495), which were highly recommended by some foodie friends. 


The Truffled Penne Carbonara (Php 495), made with  garlic, black pepper, cream, truffle oil, pancetta and egg yolk, was the standout dish of the evening. The moment this dish hit the table you get a nice whiff of truffle that it's very hard to resist digging in right away. 

The carbonara itself was nicely creamy and the crunchy pancetta strips on top gives it the perfect salty touch that works beautifully with the sweet taste of truffle. I would highly recommend you order the Truffled Penne Carbonara if you're dining at Grind Bistro anytime soon! 


The Grind Burger (Php 395) is Grind Bistro's version of a gourmet, all-American burger that's made with 100% USDA beef, vine ripe tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, sweet onions, american cheese, and Grind's own secret sauce! The burger is nestled in Grind's homemade brioche buns and served with crispy homemade potato chips.

The burger was good, with a well-seasoned and juicy 100% USDA Beef patty, but I wouldn't say it's the best burger in Metro Manila. The ingredients did blend nicely together with the perfectly cooked burger and it's a cut above regular burgers, but I would say it can compete with Manila's best burger joints, albeit a pricier version.  


Food Quality: 3.5
Service Quality: -
Ambiance: 4.0

Overall Quality: 3.5


I'm sure Grind Bistro has more to foodies in BGC with premium steaks and other delicious large plates that I personally haven't tried myself. A few of my friends have had a wonderful Grind Bistro experience, so maybe they were able to try much better dishes than I have. 

Grind Bistro is a good place to enjoy gourmet American dishes in Bonifacio Global City but the dishes do come with a really hefty price tag. 


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    Cheers,
    Chef Jay

    Grind Bistro Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

    Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review. The author did not pay for any of the dishes mentioned in this article. This, however, does not impair the unbiased opinion of the reviewer. 

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