Brasserie Boheme by The Gustavian

I’ve heard about The Gustavian restaurant from my Cebuano friends since it’s pretty much popular in Cebu. People from Manila flocked when they opened their first branch at Eastwood Mall.

I can clearly remember my first dining experience at The Gustavian, September 18, 2009 to be exact. It was one of my memorable dinners with my family since I was off to London that night. I found that dinner a bit weird since it was like a last supper for me. My mom really insisted that we have that dinner, even if I was already running late for my flight (probably because it was my first time to fly alone). You can just imagine my mom giving me non-stop reminders the whole night! What’s funny though is that my parents would be following me after 7 hours! It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t see me for 2 months! LOL! 😀 And of course, I remember how much I loved all the food that we ordered. They had this separate menu with a variety of Filipino dishes. Since I’d be gone for a while, I thought of ordering Crispy Pata and the likes. I swear, everything that we had on our table tasted perfect! I thought of blogging about it when I got back from London, therefore, it was one of the restaurants I visited as soon as I came back. To my dismay, the menu with Filipino dishes in it wasn’t available anymore. 🙁 I’m not sure why they scrapped it out or was it just for their soft opening??? Well, I thought of trying out their 3-course set menu anyway, but that wasn’t really a pleasant visit for me. The main course and the dessert I ordered wasn’t for my taste. I only enjoyed my Mushroom soup that’s why I never had the craving to eat at The Gustavian again. 🙁

Last week, I was thinking of a new place to eat in Makati. I then remembered this restaurant in Salcedo Village that’s always packed with people whenever I passed by. I never knew its name, but with that number of people dining there, it must be really good. 🙂 As I got near, I finally saw the name on the wall, “Brasserie Boheme”. When I got closer, it read “by The Gustavian” at the bottom of its name. Oh dear, when I saw that, I wanted to back out! But then I thought, why is it always full of people?! I must have ordered the wrong dish or probably because it was just their soft opening in Eastwood. And so there I was walking towards the entrance of Brasserie Boheme…

Brasserie Boheme is located at The Picasso, the boutique seviced residences in Salcedo. It has a cozy, yet formal ambiance. I find the place perfect for get togethers with friends and for business meetings. Just like their branch in Eastwood Mall, beside the restaurant is their deli shop, where you can buy cheese, freshly baked bread, etc.

I tried out their 3-course meal again, which is called Menu du jour prix fixe, priced at PHP 490++. It comes with a choice of soup or salad, your choice of main dish, dessert and coffee or tea.

Since I couldn’t forget their Mushroom Soup from the last time I ate at The Gustavian, I ordered it again. It had shitake mushrooms, with a mix of cream and wine. I love mushrooms! My friends even fool me that I’m like Mario Brothers. No doubt, I would really love the Mushroom Soup of The Gustavian since it was literally full of chopped mushrooms! The soup was very thick, which made it like mushrooms w/ sauce! LOL! 😀 Kidding aside, the cream soup with a hint of wine was really very delicious. 😀

For the main course, they had several choices, like Grilled Salmon, Pork, Lamb Calderata and Seafood Plate. I read somewhere that they actually change their menu every month. As advised by our server, I ordered Beef Gorgonzola Saltim Bocca with Polish Panried Potatoes. After my first bite, I knew then that my previous experience at The Gustavian was probably just a one-off. The meat was very tasty and tender. There was some blue cheese, which I did spread on the meat. Every bite was indeed very delish! 😀 The 2 slices of beef may not be that thick, but I could barely finish evrything on my plate because of the chunks of panried potatoes! That dish was really heavy!

No matter how full I am, my tummy always has a special room for desserts. Hehe! 😀 Our wonderful server suggested a cake that wasn’t on their menu. I wasn’t able to get it’s name, but it was a cake with mangoes, cream and crushed graham crackers. Oh my, it tasted perfect! 😀 It wasn’t too sweet. I wanted more and more of it after every bite! 😀

Of course, the best way to end a meal is by drinking a cup of coffee or tea. I don’t know what has happened to me but for the past months, I’ve been a coffee drinker. I used to drink coffee at work 1-2 glasses everyday. My rest day from coffee was probably Sundays. Now, I’ve been drinking coffee almost everyday! Worse, I now appreciate brewed coffee and that is without milk or creamer- just pure black coffee. Gosh, is this a sign of aging?! LOL! 😀 The coffee served was freshly brewed. It had a hint of sweetness even without the sugar, which I loved. 😀 For those who aren’t fond of the bitter after taste of brewed coffee, Brasserie Boheme’s would be perfect for you. 🙂

I also tried out their Bolognese Pasta. They used huge Seashell or Conchiglie pasta. The meat and the sauce popped out of the shell in every bite! I’m not really a fan of Bolognese pasta since I’m more of cream-based or oil-based pasta. Surprisingly though, I found Brasserie Boheme’s Bolognese Pasta really delicious! It was very meaty, and just like other authentic bolognese recipies, it had small amount of tomatoes. 😀 What’s even better is it’s not that pricey. It’s about PHP 250 – 270 (sorry, I wasn’t able to get the exact price). Serving is good for one.