Review of 'Raging Bull Chophouse & Bar'
So for a bit of a nice meal I was taken to the “Raging Bull Chophouse & Bar” in the “Shangri-La at the Fort” hotel in GBC. It is quite a nice place and since I didn't pick up the tab I can't really comment on the cost (though it was quite expensive) but I can comment on the taste and the experience…
The restaurant is on the first floor on the balcony surrounding the lobby. A cool, elegant and quiet interior makes it a great choice for a pleasant, relaxing, meal. Reservations are pretty much required but the dress code is casual, indeed, we all had jeans on and they did not bat an eye - As long as we can pay the bill, I guess. The menu is quite small with the middle of the single page dominated by their steaks from around the world with a range of fairly substantial prices (PHP 1,650 to 7,950 - the last being a 100g Wagyu Tomahawk from Australia). All steaks are a la carte so you need to look at the sides of which there are quite a good number. We were also told of some other, off-menu, steaks they had just got in so I went for a “Veal Tomahawk” from New South Wales (Australia) which they had in that day. When ordering steaks you are also asked to pick from several sauces including “Truffled mushroom sauce”, “Choron”, “Hunter valley wine sauce” and “Black peppercorn sauce”. I chose the mushroom sauce as I just love truffles. Starters include various soups and salads. I also picked the “Caramalised Onion Soup” (PHP 290) as a starter.
Soon after ordering our server delivered some rather fun looking buns with horns, like a cow served warm and with fresh butter on the side. They were of a firm texture and tasted very nice.
The soup was quite mild (for onion) and had a crostini on top with a bit of cheese. It was not a french onion, much milder and simpler in flavour, all the better for it. It was served on a piece of slate with a sauce smear and some minor vegetable pieces for decoration.
The main event saw the steaks being delivered but before that we were asked to pick a knife to use - One with a bone handle, several more nasty looking ones and several designer knives. Gimicky, yeah, perhaps, I picked the Philippe Starck-designed knife which was an elegant single-metal affair that was deadly sharp. Likely they were worth quite a lot of money but it did mean the experience was that little bit more special…
The steak itself was served plainly on another piece of slate with some roasted vine tomatoes and garlic as well a small container with my mushroom sauce. The centre of the table had a set of eight glass containers containing various salts and spices to sprinkle (delicately) over the meat - Smoked salt, sea salt, etc. The steak was perfectly cooked and a bit tougher than I would have expected from veal but very, very tasty and full of delicious juices.
I had also ordered a side dish of potato fries with bacon that, though fluffy and crunchy were salty and not really that memorable. Probably the only disappointment of the night.
I was going to pass on dessert but we decided amongst of the four of us to order several desserts so we could try a bit of each. We ended up ordering the “Raging Bull Chocolate Treat” (PHP 340) - basically a fancy chocolate ice cream bar served with various bits of meringue and fruit - “Candy Floss Pavlova” (PHP 340) - as you would expect with a massive fur of floss on top of a large pavlova filled with fruit puree - and “New York Raspberry Cheesecake” (PHP 340) - a standard cheesecake with a nice creamy texture and delicious chocolate shards. Of the three I have to say I probably liked the ice cream bar the best though it did melt too quickly.
At this point, several hours after arriving, we were very much sitting back to enjoy the afterglow of a wonderful meal. I chose to avoid any strong flavoured drinks and stuck to sparkling mineral water, allowing the flavours of the meal to wash over me. It was all very delicious and probably one of the best steak dinners I have ever had.
Service throughout was courteous and friendly but unobtrusive, as it should be, letting us socialise amongst ourselves.
If you are looking for somewhere to splash out on a great steak dinner “Raging Bull” is a great choice - You get what you pay for. Sit back, relax and enjoy your time eating some wonderful food. Put it on Visa and don't think about it.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2017-03-17
Cuisine: American/British
Address: 30th Street, corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 1634 Metro, Manila, Philippines
Location: Manila (Philippines) - Bonifacio Global City
Map:
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Telephone: +632 820 0888
URL: https://www.ragingbullchophouse-fort.com/