Restaurant Review: The Wholesome Table at Bonifacio High Street Central

I'm not a very healthy eater, let's be clear about that.

I'm a firm believer that everything that is deep fried is delicious. Heck, even the nastiest of vegetables could be enjoyable once you coat it in a batter and deep fry it.

But when I first heard of this new organic restaurant opening in BGC Central, I got super excited. It's about time for my body to ingest some dishes made with ingredients that are “antibiotic-free, nitrate-free, unprocessed, raw, fresh, organic, cold-pressed, and superfood”.

Unfortunately, I had to learn the not-so-delicious way that it would be better if I stick with the deep-fried stuff.

The bar - on display were tons of different organic juices.

First of all, the wait for our table was ridiculous. It took us a little over two hours just to get seated. We decided to get cocktails first at the nearby Beso Cucina Vinoteka to kill time. We've already gotten drunk, and then got sober again but still no table for us (I kid you not).

When we were finally seated, it has become clear to us why it took that long for a table: service was really really slow. Just one look at their open kitchen and you could see that the cooks were moving at a glacial pace. We could also see that tables left and right were cancelling orders because it took ages for one dish to come out of the kitchen.

Burrata - topped with grape tomatoes, fresh basil and drizzled with balsamic reduction.

Good thing we advance ordered our appetizers. I failed to take a photo of the Calamari because it was gone with just a blink of the eyes. It's actually really really bland, and not that crispy. But we were too hungry to care.

As for the burrata, there is nothing really special about it. The basil doesn't seem to be fresh, and the cheese could be creamier.

Salmon in Basil Cream Sauce - fresh salmon tossed in organic cherry tomato passato & creme fraiche
The Barcelona - pizza with tomato sauce, turkey chorizo, shitake mushrooms, roasted garlic, fresh mozzarella and Grana Padano.

And then we had to wait forever for our mains to arrive. And once they get in our table, we were swept with tides after tides of disappointment.

The Grass Fed Beef Burger (not pictured) is dry and under seasoned. The Baked Bacalao (also not pictured) has nothing commendable. The Salmon pasta dish is unbelievably bland, I thought for one second that they used canned salmon and then soaked the hell out of it in water to get rid of that "metal taste". I mean, fresh salmon should have that distinct salmon fishiness, amarite?

Meatloaf - homemade and served with creamy, organic mashed potatoes and topped with bacon mushroom gravy.

However, there were still several hits that night. The Barcelona pizza is delicious, and you can really smell the lovely aroma of the Grana Padano. The Chicken Dukkah Salad (not pictured), albeit over-priced, is filled with crunchy and delicious vegetables.

The true star of The Wholesome Table is the meatloaf. Despite all of its organic-ness, the dish proved to be well seasoned, perfectly cooked, and overall well executed. This is probably what The Wholesome Table wants to achieve: that organic and healthy food can also be delicious and exciting. Sadly, they failed to do that in most of their dishes.

Good thing I was with these lovely people that night. Otherwise, I would have set those fake trees on fire.

Pros
You're eating healthy. Yey.
I appreciate the concept behind it.

Cons
Super incredibly slow service
Flies inside the restaurant
More misses than hits
Overpriced food
Organic doesn't have to mean bland

Rating

THE WHOLESOME TABLE: 30th Street Corner 7th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street Cental, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City