Jump Into This New Japanese Spot in BGC for Temaki and a Fresh Mix of Flavors

Izakaya Geronimo
G/F Asian Century Center, 3rd Avenue corner 27th Street, Bonifacio Global City
Contact: 0962-097-4969 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/izakayageronimo 
Open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. onwards, Monday to Sunday

(SPOT.ph) “Geronimo! It’s like jumping off a cliff,” said Lui Clavano, owner of Izakaya Geronimo about the restaurant’s name. Izakaya Geronimo—which he owns along with his brothers LA and Mico, as well as Carlo Alvarez and Yoji Kitayama—aims to be the go-to restaurant for cocktails, dinner time, and post-dinner or “end game,” Clavano said. “What we do for you, is we're gonna make the transitions as smooth as possible to make you feel like you can do everything in one place. You're sitting down, you have friends over, you dine. As soon as it hits 10 o'clock, we come up with some music.” 

According to The Official Tokyo Travel Guide, the Japanese word izakaya is "made up of three kanji [characters] with the meaning, in order, ‘stay-drink-place.’ A spot to grab a drink, settle in, and get comfortable.” Izakaya can range from simple bar-like spaces to more intricately designed interiors with photos of the menus on the walls. Izakaya Geronimo has a Japanese zen touch: the scene is set to focus on the food and the company you’re with. The space is massive at 470 square meters—unlike other restaurants in the immediate area—and includes a sake bar, a sushi bar and a ramen bar. 

Also read: 
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The SPOT.ph Guide to Japanese Food

Here's what to try at BGC's new Japanese restaurant, Izakaya Geronimo:

A great pica-pica option as you settle down is the Crispy Shirauo (P600), or Japanese icefish, served with mayonnaise laden with toasted sesame seeds and white sesame seeds. The fish used is white bait, which is reminiscent of Filipino dilis—but the dish was more akin to eating flavored potato chips and dip because it was fried in batter.

Alternatively, try the Yuzu Burrata (P900) for a light starter. The burrata comes with white miso dressing with yuzu and muscat grapes. Who can resist the classic Italian cheese? It was, needless to say, extraordinarily good in the way that fresh burrata is, and, mixed with the hint of tartness from the grapes, it went well with our sake. We ate the dish all throughout dinner as a kind of palate cleanser in between the other dishes. 

Izakaya Geronimo keeps things bright and refreshing with a section of the menu dediated to raw and cold dishes. There's the Toro Wasabi Salsa (P2,500) for example, made of toro (fatty bluefin tuna) sashimi with a yuzu, mirin, and white-miso dressing. The dressing was particularly good, and a light touch of it was enough: if we had dunked the toro in the sauce it would have overpowered the freshness of the fish. 

Some of the dishes on Izakaya Geronimo's menu are relatable to the local palate—in particular, the Filet o Fish (P600) and the Popcorn Shrimp (P500). The former is a  modern fish-burger type sandwich with an almost-three inch thick fillet of Japanese spanish mackerel, also known as sawara, and a sauce of a mayonnaise mixture with takana, or pickled mustard greens. The fish tasted fresh and the fillet texture was subtle, plus the sauce makes it especially nostalgia-inducing. “The Filet o Fish sando is really just a good take on a fish fillet sandwich,” Erik Idos, head chef of the restaurant, explained. Meanwhile, the Popcorn Shrimp is made spicy and creamy by sriracha and mayonnaise, and it's just the right mix to be familiar to most of us Asians.

“We're just mixing flavors that we like. It's still true to izakaya style, but with a modern update,” said Idos. Idos, a Filipino-American, was the sous chef of Nobu in San Diego, then the executive chef of Nobu Intercontinental Hong Kong. He also opened CHINO in Hong Kong and Manila, though these have since closed down. “I love Japanese food and Mexican food. But growing up, we didn’t eat raw fish. It came later in my career and in my palate. When I moved to Asia, I traveled to Japan a lot. So I started to love Japanese cuisine more and more.”

And once the need for a more heavyweight plate arises, know that meaty options are available as well—like the Gochujang Lamb (P2,500). Think lamb chops from New Zealand coated with a gochujang sauce, and kept succulent in the center. By then, we had imbibed a large amount of sake and could taste the freshness of the chop.

But the stars of the night, for us, were Izakaya Geronimo's temaki—Toro Uni Caviar (P1,500) and Spicy Tuna (P200). The former included fresh fatty tuna with caviar and uni that was flown in from Japan. The latter had a hint of spice and its tuna was equally fresh as the first temaki. As opposed to the more popular cone-like form other versions go for, Izakaya Geronimo's take on the hand rolls are "like a taco type of style,” said Idos. For full-on Japanese temaki goodness and simple but powerful cold dishes, we recommend the restaurant.

Additionally, if you’re looking for a restaurant with subtle flavors in their hot dishes—nothing overt—this is the place to go. The alcoholic beverages are also varied and available in spades. 

“Erik works in collaboration with our executive chef at Wagyu Studio—one of our other restaurants—Yoji Kitayama," says Clavano. "They don't settle for anything less than amazing."

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