Fall-Off-the-Bone Ribs + Perfectly Grilled Seafood Shine at This BGC Spot

Burnt Bean
Unit 204, C2, High Street Central, BGC, Taguig City
Facebook:  facebook.com/burntbeanph
Open Sundays to Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

(SPOT.ph) When we think about going out for a meal of grilled meats and seafood, the first image that comes to mind is a rustic, simple shack and a strong, pungent, smoky aroma filling it. After any meal at these joints, one sniff and the person right beside you is bound to think, "Oh, someone's had some barbeque". Then there's also the undeniable mess that follows after eating, sauce everywhere, on your mouth and hands, and if you're like us who are a bunch of clumsy and messy eaters, stains on your clothes. All in all, grilled food, while a mouth-watering and often craved cuisine, might not be the best choice to eat for lunch when you're going back to the office after. But, tucked somewhere along a line of restaurants and chains in BGC's High Street is Burnt Bean, a wood-fire grill restaurant that serves up barbequed bites sans the fuss after. Pandering to the office crowd and the steady stream of posh customers who don't want to reek of smoke, this spot has found the sophistication needed for grilled food to survive these kinds of customers. 

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This BGC restaurant's menu is delicately touched by smoke and fire in every bite:

From the outside, a quick glance into the posh Scandinavian-meets-tropical interiors of Burnt Bean would leave no clue as to what it serves. Heck, you might initially see it as a café. While you may not be entirely wrong at that assumption, you're going to miss out on Burnt Bean's greatest asset—the grilled eats. 

Burnt Bean is a many-in-one concept brought to us by the folks behind Holy Smokes Barbeque. Yep, so they know how to work the grill. Initially planned to be a café-slash-bistro, the establishment also has a generous selection of wines and spirits, desserts, and pastries, making it a great spot for whatever dining pursuit you have in mind. Looking for a comfy place to drink coffee and relax? They've got you. How about a place to chow down on some meaty ribs and grilled treats? Yup, you can do that here. Want a fancy night out with some wine and alcohol? No problemo. 

The food at Burnt Bean is nothing short of diverse. You'll be able to find Mediterranean food, fusion cuisine with traditional French techniques, American fare, and even Southeast Asian bites. The curious case of the menu's variety is thanks to the tag-team partners behind Burnt Bean, Maisa Acosta, and Juano Gutierrez, who set out to make this spot a repertoire of the many memorable eats they've had while traveling. Speaking to SPOT.ph about future plans, they reference their food excursions from trips to the U.S. and Europe and domestic adventures as inspirations for future menu changes. But in the spirit of keeping to a theme, despite the smorgasbord of cuisines, Burnt Bean ensures one element is present in every dish—the touch of smoke and fire—maximizing the potential of their in-house wood-fire grill.

While at Burnt Bean, we had the chance to try out four of their bestselling dishes. A light and refreshing Watermelon Salad (P400), the smoky, crowd-pleasing Potato Pave (P380), a hearty filled-to-the-brim with seafood Seafood Marinara Pasta (P680), and the star of the table, the Penang Beef Ribs Rice Bowl (P680).

Starting with the Watermelon Salad, we were initially puzzled as to how it became "touched with smoke and fire." With its compressed balls of watermelon and honeydew, feta cheese, and arugula, this salad is a trip to the Greek Isles. Refreshing squirts of juice from the fruits pepper accompany your bites, along with the slight bitterness of arugula, but as you eat more of the salad, you find the fire component—a chili-honey vinaigrette. And there's your answer. With the right balance of sweet and spicy, this dish works to give you the boost you need to start up your metabolism for the dishes to come. No lie: this is arguably one of the best salads we've had all year. 

Served alongside the salad was the Potato Pave—think thin sheets of potato stacked on top of each other, fried to a golden crisp on all sides. It couldn't get any better than this. Fried potatoes? Sign us up. But this dish is not yet done giving. As if fried potatoes weren't enough of a hook, add a layer of bacon foam to the mix, and you've got yourself a winning appetizer. Yes, touched by the delicate smoky, porky goodness of bacon fat, the bacon foam ties the dish together. And while you may want to savor each bite of this dish, eat it fast. You'd definitely want the delicate textural balance between the crisp potato layers and the light airy bacon foam.

Now onto the entrées. If you're looking for a hearty pasta dish, there's no going wrong with Burnt Bean's Seafood Marinara. Generously topped with the freshest seafood, this dish takes the classic pasta to a whole new level. Not only do you get briny ocean flavors from the stock-turned-sauce, but you also get a delicately charred flavor from each of the seafood components in the dish. Yes, folks, each seafood topper has been grilled to perfection, with no chewy, stretchy squid bites or dry mussels, only sheer perfection in execution at every bite. The Seafood Marinara is rich and creamy, and while that can get too much after a few bites, Burnt Bean has got you covered. Don't knock the slice of lime on the side. Squish a few drops of that tangy citrus on to the pasta, and you'll get a zesty flavor that cuts through the richness adding an extra layer of sophistication to your bite.

Now for the star of the table, the Beef Ribs, specifically the Beef Penang-flavored one. At its core, all of Burnt Bean's meats are grilled the same way—a grueling 48-hour process with nothing but its own flavors and a little salt and pepper to season. So if you're in the market for some of their signature beef ribs but don't have the tummy space to eat a full rack,  you can still try it with the rice bowls they offer. The Beef Penang sauce is put on the side, so you're not overwhelmed with curry-like flavors intruding on your palate all at once. You can add on as much or as little as you want, and trust us, you can't go wrong either way. The beef ribs are succulent, moist, and tender. You can eat them on their own and be happy but adding the Penang sauce with a hint of the lime makes for a flavor bomb bite.

Fans of the OG Holy Smokes may also recognize some of the items on the menu, specifically, the best-selling sides and some of the grilled items. There are still remnants of the old menu but don't be mistaken, Burnt Bean is the leveled-up, sophisticated sister of what was Holy Smokes. A fitting look, feel, and menu for its current location at the heart of BGC.

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