SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central

SutrA Restaurant and Bar is the first restaurant (but the second establishment after Jamba Juice) that opened in Bonifacio High Street Central.

BHS Central promises to provide higher-end dining experiences from flagship restaurants of restaurant chains or signature resto concepts from known chefs.

This is the 4th restaurant concept from the Nand and Kevin Prasad tandem, which includes Duo Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Zuni and Asya Filipino Asian Restaurant.

SutrA promises an exotic experience “that excites the 5 senses throughout your dining experience”.

We decided to hold the Christmas Dinner of our family in SutrA to get a first-hand experience of the BHS Central promise…

Bonifacio High Street Central Restaurants:

• Jamba Juice Opens in Manila!
• SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central
• ARIA Mania in Manila?
• GEISHA, an Indian-owned Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant You’ll Love 🙂
• ELIAS and the Spirants
• Mango Tree: Finally, Thai Fine Dining in Manila!
• A Beso Cucina Vinoteka Date
• The Cake Club Dessert Haven
• A SLICE of Pia Cayetano
• SARIWON, Authentic Korean Barbecue – First Branch outside Korea
• Village Tavern, a Higher-End Friday’s?
• STELLA, Sister of Chelsea & the Star of BHS Central
• ‘CUE, Modern Barbecue
• NOLITA (North of Little Italy): A Taste of the Real New York Pizza in Manila?
• BHS Central: A Guide to the BEST Eats in Bonifacio High Street Central

SutrA has a modern, exotic Asian ambiance (ala an upscale P.F. Chang’s) but it feels a bit cramped (like those upgraded, renovated fast food restos).

In general, the service staff is well-trained; thing is, they tend to forget those dining outside from time to time.

The dining concept is a fusion of Continental and Pan-Asian food with excellent steaks.

(It’s more of a combination of the best of Continental dishes from Zuni, steaks from Duo and Asian food from Asya.)

SUTRA MENU:
First Impression Cold Tapas | Hot Tapas and Sophisticated Oysters | Sushi, Sashimi, Dumplings
Soups for the Soul and Salads | Main Entrees – Seafood | Main Entrees – Game & Poultry and Meat
From the Fire (Charcoal Grilled Seafood and Meat) and Sidings | From the Fields, Sweet Surrender

The prices are absurdly high. It feels like you are paying Hotel rates for the food so that they can pay their BHS South Mall rent.

On to the food…

The complimentary bread was really good — crispy outside while soft and chewy inside, and served hot with butter.

Our boys loved it! We kept on asking for replenishment until our orders arrived.

As we waited for our food, we watched the shadow play vividly projected on the walls of the BHS South building, just on top of SutrA. The play was entitled “The Great Big Giant Christmas Story”, which was innovative and fun to watch (from a distance).

Soup: Essence of Shiitake and Black Mushroom (P220 +10% service charge). Beef Consomme, Shiitake, Black Mushroom, Chicken-Corn Tortellini, Spinach.

We enjoyed their version of mushroom soup with its deep mushroom flavor in every spoonful. The P242/cup pricing was a bit disappointing for a small serving size good for one, though.

Salad: Arugula, Prosciutto, Spinach (P295 +10%service charge). Arugula, Prosciutto, Baguio Spinach, Ripe Mango, Red Onion, Avocado, Mild-Spicy Orange Vinaigrette.

The salad was well put together. It had the right combination of healthy greens (Arugula and Spinach) and fruits (Mango and Avocado) that matched the orange dressing. Sarap!

Dumpling: Earth (P170 +10% service charge). Spinach, Shiitake, Steamed.

The creamy combination of spinach and shiitake was good; but at P47/dumpling, I don’t think it was worth it.

Sushi: Volcano (P310 +10% service charge). Cream Cheese, Kani, Shrimp and Cucumber.

This was not yummy at all. The rice was slightly tough and had tiny ingredients inside each P57-sushi.

I don’t think the Pan-Asian part of the menu worked, with the overpriced dumplings and sushi.

Chilean Seabass 160g (P995 +10%service charge). Charcoal-grilled with Ponzu Sauce and Thai Jasmine Rice (+P60/siding).

We recommend ordering from the Fire (Charcoal Grilled Seafood and Meat) and Sidings menu.

The Chilean Seabass was milky and extra soft. Request to have the sauce on the side so you can enjoy the taste of the meat fully.

At first, we were informed that the order includes one free siding, but it turned out that we had to add +P60 per siding. A tip: Don’t order the Thai Jasmine Rice — it was a bit hard and not cooked well.

U.S. Prime Tenderloin 200g (P1,200 +10% service charge). Charcoal grilled with Bernaisse Sauce and Brown Rice Risotto (+P60/siding).

The steak was perfect! We like our meat a little pinkish inside, and we got our wish. It had just the right amount of oil and juices and that nice, charcoal-grilled taste. There was no need for the additional sauce. We also liked the Brown Rice Risotto siding with it.

The Main Entrees are priced right, but I would have expected it to include at least one siding.

Dessert Sampler (P330 +10% service charge). Moist Chocolate Cake Roulade, Parfait, Fruits in Season.

The dessert seemed to be uninspired, and eating it felt like a waste of calories. (Although, I did like the stacked glass presentation of this sampler.)

The ice cream and the Moist Chocolate Cake Roulade was forgettable.

Oreo Cheesecake (P210 +10% service charge).

Even the cheesecake looked so tired.

I suggest ending your meal with the Main Entrees and hopping to the next BHS Central restaurant for dessert. I can’t wait for the other restos to open to give SutrA some competition and that added push to improve.

Overall, we enjoyed our Christmas Dinner there because of the Chilean Sea Bass, the Steak and the well-trained service. We also loved their starters of bread, soup and salad.

We do recommend checking it out. Just stay away from the overpriced Pan-Asian favorites and the lackluster desserts.

What other food would you recommend in SutrA? We were not able to try the Tapas and Oysters — did you like them?

SUTRA RESTAURANT AND BAR
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South, 
Bonifacio High Street Central, 
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Telephone Number: +632 925-3565
Mobile Number: +63 917 862-0603
Email: sutrarestaurant@yahoo.com
Website: www.Sutra.com.ph
Facebook: Sutra Restaurant and Bar
Twitter:  @SutraRestoBGC

SutrA is open from 11am to 12mn, but it turns into a chillout lounge every Wednesday to Saturday from 10pm to 2am.

Bonifacio High Street Central Restaurants:

• Jamba Juice Opens in Manila!
• SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central
• ARIA Mania in Manila?
• GEISHA, an Indian-owned Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant You’ll Love 🙂
• ELIAS and the Spirants
• Mango Tree: Finally, Thai Fine Dining in Manila!
• A Beso Cucina Vinoteka Date
• The Cake Club Dessert Haven
• A SLICE of Pia Cayetano
• SARIWON, Authentic Korean Barbecue – First Branch outside Korea
• Village Tavern, a Higher-End Friday’s?
• STELLA, Sister of Chelsea & the Star of BHS Central
• ‘CUE, Modern Barbecue
• NOLITA (North of Little Italy): A Taste of the Real New York Pizza in Manila?
• BHS Central: A Guide to the BEST Eats in Bonifacio High Street Central

Live an Awesome Life,

 
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Contact me: anton@diaz.ph 

Full Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We paid for our meals. We are not connected with the owners or any organization promoting SutrA Restaurant and Bar.

P.S. Honestly, I was expecting a bit more from a BHS Central Restaurant to justify its premium hotel-like pricing in an outdoor fast food mall setting.

There’s no doubt there is a market for people paying for awesome food that you can typically only find in hotels. But I don’t think there are enough restaurateurs who have the right vision to deliver the high-end experience (like how Jason Hyatt is able to do it for Abaca and Maya).

Nonetheless, I’m still excited for the other BHS South Restos to open…